NASS represented the intersection of everything I cared about most in spine — rigorous science, clinical innovation, and a community of colleagues who pushed each other to be better. I became involved early in my career because I believed that the future of spine surgery would be shaped by those willing to contribute beyond the operating room. What has kept me engaged is the evolution of that mission. Watching NASS grow into a platform that now encompasses evidence-based guidelines, technology assessment, and global outreach, including work I was personally involved in through the Belize Spine Foundation and the Evidence in Technology Course of which I founded, has been enormously rewarding. NASS gave me a forum not just to receive knowledge, but to contribute it, and that reciprocal relationship has been one of the most meaningful parts of my career.

It's hard to choose a single accomplishment from a career that spanned 25 years of clinical practice, research, education, and entrepreneurship. But if I'm honest, I'm most proud of building Spine Colorado from the ground up. It wasn't just about creating a financially successful practice — it was about proving that a surgeon in a mid-sized mountain community could deliver world-class spine care, train the next generation, conduct meaningful research, and still be present for the community. That practice became the foundation for everything that followed: the clinical trials, the patents, the Belize surgical mission, the Evidence in Technology Course (now run by NASS), the Biologics Foundation (now run by AO Spine) and ultimately my transition into the medical device industry. It showed me that medicine could be practiced without compromise — with the same rigor and innovation you'd find at any academic center in the country.

Get comfortable being uncomfortable earlier. I was trained in an era when the path was well-defined, medical school, residency, fellowship, practice, and it was easy to stay in that lane. But the moments that most defined my career came when I stepped outside it: designing a clinical trial, co-founding a company, performing the first spinal surgery in Belize or performing the first new spine technology surgery in Colorado or the United States, transitioning to the medical device industry after 25 years in practice. None of those were on any roadmap. I'd tell my younger self to seek out those intersections sooner and find the nexus between surgery and science, between clinical medicine and business, between local impact and global reach. The rewards, both professional and personal, are found there.