About Me

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I was born and raised in the fertile confines of the San Joaquin Valley of California. Eventually my family moved south and I graduated from Westlake High School in Ventura County. Since 1998 I have been hanging my hat in the greater Provo/Orem metroplex in Utah. I attended Utah Valley State College (UVSC) and earned a degree in communication with a journalism emphasis and a minor in humanities. While in school I was active with the student newspaper, eventually serving as the Editor-in-Chief in 2004-2005 (a tumultuous year when students invited Michael Moore to campus, causing the local town fathers to completely lose their minds–an event that served as the basis for the documentary This Divided State).

Upon graduation, and with traditional journalism in the toilet, I begrudgingly moved into public relations. For three years I did PR for my alma mater as it transitioned into a state university. Now working as an academic advisor for 700 students at Utah Valley University (UVU) I shepherd the next generation of communication professionals into a tumultuous job market.

I am currently in the early stages of developing a Social Media Studies program at UVU, so I spend a lot of time researching things like Facebook and Twitter. In 2011 I co-founded a weekly twitter chat that brings students and social media professionals together to talk about the industry in Utah. It is called #UTalk and you can join in every Thursday at 6:00 PM just by following the hashtag #UTalk.

I am an active member of the National Academic Advisor Association (NACADA) and I present often on the subject of PR and Social Media in academic advising.

I plan on sticking around higher education and I just started a grad program at the University of Utah in Educational Leadership and Policy. 

When not at UVU I keep myself busy with various side projects. I do some freelance graphic design work, with clients like the Orem Owlz, and the occasional film project. A film I helped produce called The Sonosopher was featured at the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, CA). 

In 2005 I married Errin Julkunen and we have a little girl name Evie. Errin and I met in the campus newsroom and we share a love for all things televised. We live in the beuatiful Rose Park neighborhood of Salt Lake City.