- Studied acting and directing for 18 months at the Guthrie Theater, under the direction of Raye Birk, after completing graduate school at the University of Southern California.
- Interned for one year at the Bologna Film Archives (Cineteca di Bologna) while studying at the University of Bologna in Italy.
- Graduated with an MFA in Writing, Directing, and Producing for Motion Pictures from the USC School of Cinematic Arts (USC Town & Gown Scholar).
- Studied Film Criticism, Art History, and Italian Literature at the University of Bologna (DAMS - Discipline delle Arti, della Musica e dello Spettacolo) for one year as a student in the Bologna Consortial Studies Program.
- Graduated with a BA in Film Production, Cinema Studies, and Italian from the University of Minnesota (Phi Beta Kappa).
- Graduated with a BSB in Marketing and Finance from the University of Minnesota (Holden Graphic Arts Scholar).
- Graduated with an AS in Filmmaking from Minneapolis Community and Technical College.
- Former volunteer mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities (Minnesota).
- Former volunteer Guardian ad Litem for the Ramsey County Juvenile and Family Court (Minnesota).
- Former volunteer ESL Teacher for the Hmong American Partnership in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
- Former volunteer teacher for Junior Achievement of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
- Promoted from intern to editor on the feature film Letting Go of God (2008), written and directed by Julia Sweeney and produced by Maria Burton, while he was a graduate student at the University of Southern California.
- His family can be traced back to the 1500s to the village of Chiusa Sclafani, Palermo, Sicilia, Italy.
- Winner of the Barry Morrow Screenwriting Fellowship for his short film Jurisprejudice (2001).
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