I was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where I had the good fortune of spending most of my childhood surrounded by a loving, extended family. My father's side of the family, mainly rural farmers and laborers, was a stark contrast to my mother's family who were mostly college educated professionals. Together, they taught me the value of a hard day's work, satisfaction that comes with problem solving and seeing a job through to completion, fulfillment achieved from being able to share the fruits of your labor with your community, and humility knowing you must rely on the assistance of others to be successful. It is through these core values that I dedicated my life to surgery and serving the needs of sick and injured children.

My surgical training has carried me from Alabama to Minnesota, Ohio, and New York. I was fortunate to meet my wife during general surgical training at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where she was working as a nurse. We were blessed with our first son during my pediatric surgery fellowship at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New York. We moved to Fort Worth in 2009 when I joined the pediatric surgery staff of Cook Children's Medical Center. My family has grown, with the birth of two more sons, and we have felt embraced by the community of Fort Worth.

I am currently board certified in general surgery, surgical critical care and pediatric surgery from the American Board of Surgery, and I am a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. My clinical interests include trauma, critical care of neonates and children, congenital anomalies, tumors, minimally invasive surgery and chest wall deformities. I currently serve as the Medical Director for Pediatric Trauma Services and Co-Medical Director of Pediatric Critical Care Services at Cook Children's Medical Center (since 2010).

Outside of surgery, I enjoy spending time with my family. My sons are very active in sports and I often spend time coaching them and their teammates. My favorite hobbies include golf, working with carpentry or craft projects, drawing and cheering on Alabama football.