Born in New Jersey in 1982, I relocated to Arizona in 1996, where I have built both my career and family life. I have been happily married to my wife, Danielle Kraus, for nearly 20 years, and together we have built a large blended family with 18 children — 12 girls and 6 boys — with another baby girl expected in June 2026. Family has always been the foundation of my life and continues to shape my values, leadership style, and commitment to serving others.
Professionally, I bring nearly 27 years of experience in the retail and grocery industry. Throughout my career, I have held a wide range of leadership and operational roles including Receiver, Operations Manager, and Store Management positions, gaining hands-on experience in all aspects of grocery retail operations. I currently serve as a District Sales Manager with Frito-Lay, where I focus on team development, operational execution, customer relationships, and driving results across multiple locations. I am passionate about building strong teams through collaboration, communication, mentorship, and accountability. I believe successful leadership starts with investing in people, creating a positive culture, and working together to achieve common goals while delivering outstanding customer service and operational excellence.
Outside of work, I am deeply involved in my local church community, volunteering within the children’s ministry and kindergarten departments. I have a strong passion for mentoring and encouraging children, and I truly enjoy watching young people grow, learn, and build confidence. Giving back to the community and investing in others are important parts of who I am.
In my personal time, I enjoy the outdoors, especially camping and hiking throughout Arizona. I also have a passion for custom woodworking and artistic craftsmanship, including creating unique pieces through Lichtenberg wood burning techniques. Known for my outgoing personality and positive attitude, I enjoy connecting with people, building relationships, encouraging others, and creating environments where individuals and teams can succeed together.
I have been to management workshops, not leadership training. This has totally changed my perspective and encouraged me to propel forward in developing my skills.
I am honored and humbled to be a recipient of the Head Start WEST’s Legacy Scholarship. The scholarship helped me get one step closer to achieving my goal of becoming a Head Start Director.
I took part in The disproportionate impact of COVID 19, and how to provide “real” support for black/brown children and families and I just want to say this was an amazing webinar. I hope we can look forward to further conversation on this topic.
Thank you so much for making events like this! I really enjoyed and learned so much teaching strategies to implement STEM in the classroom.
The HR Network was an excellent opportunity to network and learn the best practices from other HR professionals within Head Start programs. You will be amazed by the level of talent and experience of the participants.
The Summer Camp training was powerful and inspiring! Each presenter was very engaging, it’s hard to even pick a favorite session!
The Leadership Challenge training was very relevant to my work as a Head Start leader! Great facilitation; stayed with the program yet allowed time for individual and small group reflections.
Regular price $12.00
Regular price $39.00
Questions? Contact us at headstartr9@headstartwest.org.
