After high school, I moved to San Antonio and earned a BA in psychology at Trinity University. I married my wife Susan (from Dallas) the day before we graduated from Trinity. We moved to Austin the next year where I attended the University of Texas, completing a PhD in human experimental psychology, with a focus on psycholinguistics and reading acquisition. I went to work for the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (www.sedl.org), headquartered in Austin, in 1978. My initial work there was to co-lead a study on how English-Spanish bilingual children learn to read. I was selected by the SEDL Board to be its President and CEO in 1996. We grew to a staff of about 100, and our specialty was in moving education research to practice. In 2015 SEDL merged with the American Institutes for Research. In 2017, after facilitating the AIR/SEDL merger, I reduced to half-time work; I have been working on a book on reading, which I am about to finish. I will likely retire in summer 2018.

Susan and I have two sons, both of whom graduated from UT; they work in Austin so we are fortunate to see them frequently. Beyond work, my passions are in the outdoors. I started backpacking when I came to Austin, and have backpacked with my sons almost every year since they turned 10. We have been all over the world, but by far, our favorite places are in the Wind River mountains in Wyoming.

I look forward to connecting with you all at the reunion, if not before!