Background
I grew up in Bellevue and attended Bellevue public schools (Wilburton and Woodridge Elementary, Odle Middle School, and Sammamish High School, to be precise). At the age of 18, after graduating from high school, I moved to the Portland area. For 2 years, I worked for a technology startup. The company specialized in avant-garde technologies such as online video games and Internet e-mail (neither of these are a big deal now, but in 1993, this was bleeding-edge).
Two years at a failing startup is enough to burn out even the most hardcore technologist, and in 1995, I packed up and moved to Conway, Arkansas (conveniently located halfway between Toad Suck and Pickles Gap) to attend Hendrix College. Academically, Hendrix was excellent, but at the end of the day, it's in Arkansas. Don't get me wrong, some of my most brilliant friends are from Arkansas and I'm glad I had the experience of attending Hendrix, but I couldn't get over the culture shock. After a year, I transferred to The Evergreen State College, where I earned a B.A. with a dual emphasis in water resources and computer science.
While at Evergreen, I discovered writing was a good way to earn money for college. I wrote two technical books for the New Riders division of Macmillan. After graduating, and with the help of one of my former Macmillan colleagues, I landed a contract at Microsoft writing documentation for server products. I ended up staying, although my job has evolved quite a bit over time. I now manage technology for an IT enterprise spanning 7 facilities with a 7-figure annual budget, supporting multiple lines of business with over $13B in combined annual revenue. The work I do is critical to the operation of the business, and has touched the lives of over a billion people around the world.
In my personal life, I travel as often as I can; it's my life's goal to see every continent in the world. I have made good progress so far, and have only Antarctica left on my list. My frequent use of the airport (and frequently negative experiences) led to my keen interest in the Port of Seattle and its management.
One of the most influential people in my life was Peter Walker, my grandfather. He served for many years as fire chief (McLean Road VFD) and as commissioner of Skagit County Dike District 12. "Poppy," as we called him, dedicated his life to public service. He served with passion and integrity, even though doing so came at a substantial personal cost. Following in my grandfather's footsteps, my father spent the majority of his professional career at the Seattle School District, teaching in high school classrooms from Queen Anne to Franklin to Rainier Beach to Ballard. For my part, I have spent the majority of my professional career solving complex technical problems with large computer systems. This may seem like an unusual qualification for Port Commission, but I think that it's actually a good fit. The Port isn't working well because its operations need to be improved, and that's something I'm really good at doing. I would be very proud to carry on in my family's tradition of public service.