Personal Statement
Following a defining Peace Corps experience in the Brazilian outback, I applied my Princeton education as an administrator and teacher in independent schools for 25 years, drawn especially to students who needed personal and academic self-confidence before they would succeed in the classroom. After serving as headmaster of a Providence, RI, boys’ school that I led into coeducation, I embraced the challenge of ushering a long-established boarding school’s faculty, student and parent body through the building and implementation of a ground-breaking school model based on the infusion of best practices with then-emerging computer technology.
In 1997, I joined a leading capital campaign consulting firm based in Portland, Maine, attracted by its commitment to making “a lasting difference for good” through its work with northern New England non-profits. I quickly learned that rather than having moved on from a career in education, I was simply applying it in a new, real-life classroom with volunteers and staffers as students. It was a fortuitous match. I rose to become Executive Vice President of the firm until founding Porter Caesar LLC in early 2009.
I am a natural facilitator and team player, adept at working with others to frame the context of an issue, then moving to its heart. A quick study who enjoys problem solving, I have learned that listening is the key to building relationships based on trust and respect. I am comfortable in any social situation, model a strong work ethic, and laugh easily with others and at myself.