Wealth Advisor for Thrivent-Journey Financial Consultants

I am a native of Minnesota and grew up in the North St. Paul area near my grandfather’s farm. I met my wife while attending high school and now she and I live in Cambridge on my own hobby farm raising corn, beef and pumpkins. One of my unique passions, in my spare time, is the conservation and restoration of farmland back to its natural environment and wildlife. While financial planning and land conservation can seem like they are very different paths to be on, they are quite alike in that it’s about planning for today, the future and the next generation and finding the resources and people needed to partner with to reach those goals.

Over the years I have had the privilege to collaborate with local agencies to restore areas of my own farm back to native prairie, wood lands and wetlands.

In 2017, an Anoka Ramsey biologist used my farm for a pollinator study, and we were able to come up with using pollinator friendly plants to create buffer strips around the wetland on my farm.

In 2019, with the help and cooperation of the Minnesota DNR, we planted over 60 bushels of acorns and other species to restore a 7-acre piece back into a wood lot. While I won’t be around to see those trees produce acorns, I look forward to my grandkids being able to play in a forest I planted for them!

My current project is to work with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to restore about 10 acres back to native prairie. We are removing current non-native plants and will reseed it with all native grasses and flowers. It should be beautiful when it is finished! Once that project is complete, the US Fish and Wildlife Service have expressed interest in helping us restore a 3 acre wetland that is currently farmed but is typically poor producing. I am really enjoying meeting with and working with all of the folks at the DNR and the US Fish and Wildlife Service as we work toward our mutual goal of land conservation.

I enjoy being very busy, so as long as I am outdoors, spending time with my family or working with clients on their financial planning, I am enjoying life. In addition to my wife, I have three children and eight grandchildren.

I would love to connect with you on LinkedIn or if you prefer follow my team on Facebook to see what we are up to.