Randall I grew up on a farm in rural Indiana where my family grew tobacco, corn, wheat and soybeans, and raised cows and pigs. My parents still live in the same farmhouse where I grew up, and they raise a huge garden full of strawberries, corn, potatoes, carrots, beets, tomatoes, apples and other fruits and vegetables. I am the youngest of five kids. My two brothers and two sisters are all older than me, but some of their children are my age, so there were always kids around to play with. To this day, our extended family gatherings are so large we have to eat in shifts! Even though no one in my family went to college before me, my parents valued education and encouraged me to do well in school. I was fortunate to earn a nearly full academic scholarship to attend Wabash College, a small liberal arts school in central Indiana, where I graduated Magna Cum Laude. I then spent two years working in Germany, and five years working in New York City before finally settling down seven years ago here in the San Francisco Bay Area. I currently work as the national publicity manager for a company that produces independent film for broadcast on PBS television. I love my job, especially contributing to public education about important topics. For my work, I get to watch many great documentaries and films, and occasionally attend film festivals such as a yearly trip to the Sundance Film Festival. A major highlight was a meeting at the offices of the Sesame Workshop where I actually got to take a walk down Sesame Street! In my spare time, I enjoy reading authors such as Julia Alvarez, Toni Morrison, José Saramago, Alice Walker, and Faulkner. I work out daily, love to garden in our back yard and grow vegetables like tomatoes and green beans – clearly a connection back to my roots on the farm! I am also the cook of our family, but Stuart is always a huge help with food prep and cleaning up. I am a fluent speaker of French, German, Spanish, and Wolof, which is an African language. I love to travel both in the US and abroad to visit friends and explore new places. But Stuart and I still make time two or three times a year to spend time with my family on the farm where I grew up. The farm is my touchstone and helps me maintain strong connections to my friends and extended family, even though we may live far away. I look forward to being a dad and can think of no greater joy than to be a parent and to give love, attention, and care to a child of our own.