About Me
I grew up with some of the first anime titles to become widely available in the United States and have never lost my love of Japanese animation and culture. While I was attending college and law school, I saw first hand the evolution of these fan communities in the U.S., and I developed a fascination with the way in which art, religion, and culture interact in popular media and entertainment. This led me to obtain a double major in English Literature and Anthropology. My fascination with Japanese culture grew through my study of Aikido, and I earned a second degree black belt while briefly experimenting with a number of other martial arts forms such as Judo, Kendo, and Jyodo.
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When I graduated from law school, I sought to combine the perspectives I learned from my legal education and my Master's program in Public Administration by pursuing a career in Judicial administration. I have been fortunate to spend the vast majority of my 25 year career in successively more responsible administrative management roles in the 20th Judicial District Probation Department in Boulder, Colorado.
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During this time, I continued my investigation of the interplay of religion, culture, art, and anime. When I saw other fans shared the desire to engage with anime on an intellectual level, that led to the creation of many fan panels. I have presented these at numerous anime conventions over several years. They cover a variety of subjects such as the how the Art of War is depicted in anime, the importance of central religious and mythical works like Journey to the West, and the ways in which Buddhist and Shinto themes appear in numerous titles.
It was this familiarity with anime and video games that led me to the opportunity to work with Jim Tanner on certain probation cases. Through this work, I discovered that a significant gap in knowledge exists between the experiences of these fan communities and those who work in law enforcement and child protection. I decided to expand the focus of my work at that time in hopes that I can help fill the gap in this knowledge and provide a resource for both sides of this discussion because of my life lived in both worlds.
Live Training
I come to your venue and put on a training. If you have specific topics you would like me to cover, I can add a section to the training to address those.
Half Day Workshop: This is an overview of anime, manga, and video games. I explain the cultural background behind them, the differences between industry and fan creations, and the main areas client populations will run into issues.
Full Day Workshop: This is an expanded version of the half day. I go into much more detail on what content is problematic and how clients are likely to encounter it.
Webinars
I provide web based training and discussions about anime, manga, and video games for system professionals in one, two, and four hour increments. One and two hour webinars are focused on specific aspects of Japanese culture, history, or specific fan interest areas. Four hour webinars enable deeper explorations of specific subject areas or a larger, holistic overview of considerations for system professionals who are working with clients in these areas.
Brown Bags
I provide one hour brown bag sessions, either in person in the Denver-Metro area or via webinar outside that area. These sessions will be tailored by me to meet the specific needs, questions, or concerns that you and your staff may have.
Problem Solving Sessions
​As a strong believer in the idea that prohibition and complete bans are not effective long term strategies for client success, I am available to consult via in person or virtual meeting to discuss the ways in which a specific individual is accessing and utilizing anime and gaming material. These sessions are not limited to justice system involved individuals, and are available to anyone who needs help with developing a road map for appropriate consumption of this media for individuals in the fan community. These sessions will be designed around a specific review of the individual's viewing interests, any concerns that are commonly present in that material, and appropriate restrictions or guidelines to ensure appropriate use.
Client Specific Reviews, Assessments, and Reports
I am available for discussions regarding specific clients and their viewing and use of this material. I will review the records of the titles they have been viewing, video games they have been playing, or material that they have been reading and provide guidance regarding the content that might be concerning, problematic, or otherwise requires more supervisory oversight. These reviews will consist of a meeting with the supervising individual to understand the client's particular situation, needs, and risk factors, followed by a detailed review of the material being consumed with findings summarized in a written report. A follow up session to review the report with the supervising individual and, if appropriate, the client, is available.