I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, the oldest of three, and the only boy.  My sisters and I are 14 months and 3 years apart, respectively.  The son of a single parent, my mother worked hard to ensure that we received a quality public education. Despite managing a full-time work schedule, as much as possible, she participated in school trips and outings. Ida, the family matriarch, was Ada Haynes Page mother from Davisboro, Georgia, Washington county.  Ada was the wife of James Page and they were married until James passed in 1979. Ada lived a long life and in September 2008, she was called Home.  She is the mother of James Jr., Harold, Ralph, Christine, Helen, Queen and Catherin "Cat" Page. Christine Payge (alternate spelling adopted) is my grandmother, and the mother of six children, with one stillborn (Peter Sessions).  Of the six children was Brenda Sessions, my mother. 

My personal recollection of my middle school transition did not go the way I would have preferred it, but I believe my initial experience laid a necessary foundation. I attended Crawford Long Middle School. It was that first year were I was introduced to my first true "inner city" experience and I also met two significant figures in my life, Mr. Moore and Mr. Pendelton.  Mr. Moore was my 6th grade homeroom teacher and was truly the picture of a parenting teacher. He was invested in enriching lives and teaching; and, he taught me how to tie a tie. In fact, he gave me the tie he was wearing, of which, I've kept to this day.  Mr. Moore was in cahoots, unknowingly, with Mr. Pendelton to get me involved in debate.  Through counseling with Mr. Moore, I made the decision to attend the debate meeting. Mr. Pendelton was the debate coach, and he brought a fire and intensity I'd never seen before. Even today, I don't know how much actual debate experience Mr. Pendelton had, but he sold me through his passion. He made me feel like debate was the activity for me.

That next year, I transitioned to Inman Middle School. It was here that I finished middle school, lead a fledgling debate program, learned to play the clarinet, gained the nickname "maverick" through debate, and realized my passion for debate; a natural outlet to learn and discuss an opinion, my opinion. Having that avenue was my outlet for all of the growing pains youth presents.

Much like my middle school selection process, high school was similar.  My middle school’s feeder school, the school that 98 percent of my friends were going to, was second on my mother’s list of options.  Debate have given me a voice, and I used that to express to her my interest in math and science.  Like any good mother, she guided my decision toward the high school that had a program that would nourish that, Benjamin E. Mays. I spend all four years of high school at Mays in the magnet Math and Science program. I learned that greatness is endless, I learned to focus, I learned self-love through the success stories of men and women that looked like me. I was able to leverage my perspective and cultural experiences at different schools to become a more rounded individual.  At the time, I didn't realize the success my mother was setting me up for, but hindsight is refreshing.

College was a similar theme but I initially attended and graduated from great institutions. My freshman year was spent at the University of Alabama. That was a great time and a challenging year for me, as it is with any freshmen with that new found sense of "freedom".  I debated there as well, and at the end of the year, I transferred to the University of West Georgia. At West Georgia, I discovered a different part of me, became more like my mom than I ever realized, realized that secrets are toxic, and found my power to perform. I graduated from West Georgia, July 2006, with a major in Political Science - Comparative and International Relations and a minor in French.

Later I reapplied to West Georgia for graduate school.  I received my Masters in Public Administration. My thesis was titled: "Veteran Health Care Administration: The Role and Direction of United States Veteran Healthcare Administration as compared with Canada and the United Kingdom."

For as long as I can remember, I've enjoyed staying busy - primarily because I have always been busy. In my youth, debate consumed both my academic year and summer. I've always gone to camps, worked on a research assignments, in addition to balancing that with work or school, it makes sense that proclivity would carry over into my adult life.

Today, my primary employment is with the government, where I'm a management analyst. In this position I assist in managing the oversight of economic opportunity programs. My skill set range to include, policy and procedure analysis, evaluation and promulgation, data integrity oversight, knowledge management, and strategic planning, and a host of data systems. My professional learning and development includes, Lean Six Sigma - Green Belt, 2014 Leadership Development Program graduate - Veterans Benefit Administration Leadership Program, several certifications in management, communication and leadership. The core of my experience has enhanced my keen analytic mind - around data, law and policy, and operational management - to understand and translate expectations and functional requirements into outcomes that are measurable and sustainable.

In my personal life, I maintain an active schedule by participating in several other activities and projects. Within the last year, I have begun volunteering as a debate coach at Cardozo High School. For the last five years, I have lived in the Washington, D.C. area, and relocated here for work and career opportunity. Over that time, I've had several life experiences, professional and personal, that have and continue to shape me, and I've begun writing a book. I've given myself 16 months to complete it cover to cover.  I find time to blog as well.  Prior to beginning the book last year, I needed to channel some energy and blogging about food, wine and coffee became that outlet.  I consider myself a novice in the blogging arena and I am actually taking online courses to get better about the nuances of blog management. That's one lesson I've learned, I [you may] know a lot but I don't know everything about everything.

Last, but not least, is my consulting company, BMS consulting.  The vision behind my company is simple, assisting others translate their vision. My business was the manifestation of life experiences. Sometimes my desire to "help" was misconstrued by others. While I felt my intentions were well meaning, it was not always taken that way. Today, I've married that desire to "help" by leveraging my professional and life experiences. Using my range of analytic abilities, I currently assist small to medium size businesses evaluate and improve internal processes.