Born in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, I came to the United States at the age of ten. I lived on the border for another ten years before picking up and moving to -- of all places -- South central Pennsylvania, armed with my bachelor's degree in medical technology, to work at a rural hospital as a medical technologist (clinical laboratory scientist).

People who mentored me and wanted the best for me convinced me to go back to school, so I did. I earned a master of public health degree in epidemiology and biostatistics from George Washington University. Armed with that degree, I moved to the Baltimore, Maryland, region to work as the influenza surveillance coordinator at the Maryland Department of Health. Those were some fun times, especially during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic.

My mentors there -- and some I met along the way -- convinced me to go back to school, so I did. I earned a doctoral degree in public health with a focus on epidemiology. While working on that degree, I had the privilege of traveling to South Korea, Colombia, Italy and Puerto Rico. Armed with that degree, I worked as a consulting epidemiologist, a freelance data analyst, a senior epidemiologist at a large county health department in northern Virginia, and the director of public health for a non-profit.

I am also an associate at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, an adjunct at George Mason University, and the Director of Public Health for a non-profit medical society. I am the father of an astonishing little girl and the husband of a wondrous woman.

I also like tacos.

As with any of my writing and opinions outside of work, none of my opinions necessarily reflect the thoughts, opinions, or values of my employers, colleagues, friends, family, or house cats.