My life experience includes a Bachelors degree in physics from the California Institute of Technology, a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, nine years in the Economics Department of the Rand Corporation in Santa Monica, California, including three years as the Program Director of the Health Care Research Program, three years doing computer-based analysis of the stock market, and eight years consulting on energy policy issues, with emphasis on alternatives to nuclear power. In 1983, I founded Vermont Creative Software, a software development and marketing firm, and was CEO until 1999. 

In 1995, I established Dharma Cloud Foundation to work towards improving the quality of life on the North Coast. The Foundation has supported the Caspar Community, the Monday Night Sangha, the Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery, the Mendocino Land Trust, the Coastal Commission's effort to adopt a scenic bridge railing, the Mendocino Institute, and the Campaign to Restore Jackson State Redwood Forest.