I live in Buffalo, New York, where I grew up, and graduated from Daemen College in Amherst, New York in 2004 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art - Illustration (Illustration/Drawing emphasis). I also earned a New York State Teaching Certificate in Visual Arts and a New York State Secondary Teaching Certificate in English Language Arts from D'Youville College in Buffalo, New York in 2008. While working as a freelance illustrator, I also worked as a graphic designer in the Buffalo News' Advertising Operations/Prepress Department in Buffalo, New York from 2004 until 2006. I have also been a caricaturist for different social occasions since 2004, and since 2007 I have been an illustrator and designer for City Love Buffalo Clothing in Buffalo, New York. Currently, I am also a teacher in the Buffalo area. As a student at Daemen College, I won the "Floydie" Award for Best Figure Drawing at the Daemen College Undergraduate Student Exhibition in 2003. I received Second Honors at the same Student exhibition the previous year. In May 2004, my Senior exhibit in Illustration was featured on a Channel 4 (Buffalo, New York's CBS affiliate) news broadcast. In 2008, I won Second Place in the annual Allentown Art Festival Poster Contest. I have also placed First in The Buffalo News Editorial Cartoon Contest for students in the High School Division in 2000, and one of my editorial cartoons was featured in the book, Editorial Cartoons by Kids 1996 in 1996.