I have lived in the Southern Tier for most of the past 25 years, including the last seven years as a homeowner on Elmira's Near Westside. I graduated from Corning-Painted Post West High in 1984 and earned an associate's degree in Liberal Arts from Corning Community College in 1985 before going on to earn a bachelor's degree in journalism from Syracuse University in 1987.

Address: 627 W. Gray St., Elmira Employer: Cornell University Job: Graduate School communications director Education: Corning-Painted Post West High (1984), Corning Community College (A.S. liberal arts, 1985), Syracuse University (B.S. journalism, 1987) Personal: Divorced Resume: Click here

Since then, I have worked as a newspaper reporter and editor, a Web developer, a technology manager, and as a media relations professional. I am currently director of communications for Cornell University's Graduate School, but my career started here in the Southern Tier. One of my earliest jobs was covering Horseheads football for the Corning Leader and, later, I worked a summer in the mailroom at the former Aetna Life & Casualty payment processing center in downtown Elmira.

Since then, I have worked as a reporter for the Syracuse Post-Standard and held communications jobs at both Rochester Institute of Technology and Syracuse University. I returned to this area in 1995 to become the Star-Gazette's first online editor. I helped shape the newspaper's presence on Time Warner Cable's fledgling high-speed Internet service (now known as Road Runner) and went on to lead development of Star-Gazette Online and, briefly, served as the newspaper's Metro Editor.

I have spent much of the last 10 years in Web communications. I worked for Corning Inc. after a stint in New York working for Accenture, the consulting company.

I've never run for office before, but I've worked on and covered many campaigns. Most recently, I went door-to-door for Sam Barend, the 2004 Democratic candidate for Congress. As a reporter, I covered city and county government and became intimately aware of and drawn to its workings. I haven't worked in government, but I always believed the role of the press made me an active member of the Fourth Estate, charged not with making the laws, but with scrutinizing and explaining the actions of the elected officials who made them.

When I decided to buy a home in 1998, I made a choice, as a young professional, to buy a house in Elmira -- not Corning, not Horseheads, nor any of the other fine communities in this area -- because I believed Elmira had the most to offer. I still believe that.

As a resident, I understand the issues of the city and how they play out in all our neighborhoods. My work experience is diverse, but has a central theme: change and innovation. As a former newspaper reporter and editor who covered city and county government, I understand the business of government. In fact, it was my job to make sure others understood it, too. As a former Web developer and technology consultant, I understand how innovation and risk-taking can pay off. As a manager at Corning Inc., Gannett, Accenture, and now at Cornell University's Graduate School, I learned how to lead, innovate, and inspire. To me, a mayor's job must contain large doses of inspiration, motivation, and perspiration.