Peer pressure is the impetus for the development of my blog. Chas Anderson, my friend and colleague at the Minnesota Department of Education, has been "encouraging" me to start a blog. I have succumb, primarily as a means to be able to share my experience travelling to Central America with family and friends. The American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) has invited me to represent the United States on an international exchange program to El Salvador and Nicaragua from July 11 – 25, 2008. I will have the unique opportunity to meet with senior level government and political officials at the national, regional and local levels, as well as business leaders and members of the civic community to engage in candid dialogue on a wide range of political, cultural, and economic issues.
