Born in 1965 in Yerington, Nevada - a third generation Nevadan - whatever that means.
Education: Graduated from Ephrata High School (Ephrata, Washington) in 1983. Graduated with a degree in English Literature from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1991. Received a Master of Public Administration from the University of Utah in 2004.
Work History: Started working on the family farm at a very young age. Worked through college as a blackjack dealer and other jobs. Enlisted in the Army after graduating from college. Worked as a senior network engineer in the Army, for the Government Accountability Office, and as a consultant. Worked as a technical manager and project manager for the LDS Church. Spent some time as the Director of Information Technology for Payson City. Has spent the last several years in various management roles with the UTOPIA project.
Growing Up
Paul was born in Yerington, Nevada. Growing up he lived in Nevada, California, Illinois, Washington and Oregon. Throughout most of his childhood, his family lived on various farms and ranches.
Geektastic!
In high school, Paul was absolutely geektastic. He played trumpet in the marching band, he was president of the FFA and of the Key Club and vice president of his senior class. The high school accomplishments he is most proud of are his time with the jazz band and his attendance at Boys State.
College and More
Paul graduated from Ephrata High School in Ephrata, Washington in 1983 and from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1991. In that eight years, he attended Washington State University, Lake Tahoe Community College, Brigham Young University and the University of Nevada, Reno where he received his Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. He served a full time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (in Utah of all places), worked as a custom harvester, in several fast food joints, and as a change carrier and a blackjack dealer in several casinos at Lake Tahoe and in Reno. Later, Paul completed the University of Utah's Executive Masters in Public Administration Program.
Most importantly, it was during this time he met Steffanie. He still isn't sure why she consented to date him in the first place, why she married him, or why she has stayed with him all these years. On this issue, his philosophy is to do everything he can to keep her from asking those questions.
Army
After graduating from college, Paul joined the Army and spent seven years on active duty as a computer and network specialist. He was assigned in Germany, Hawaii and at the White House Communications Agency in Washington, DC.
Career and Family
After leaving the Army, Paul spent some time in the Washington, DC area as an information technology consultant. Eventually, he couldn't bear the time the job required him to spend away from Steffanie and his three growing children (Erin, now 18 and recently graduated from the International Baccalaureate program at Hillcrest High School and now a freshman at Utah Valley University; Ryan, just turned 16 and a Junior at Alta High School; and Sera who is now 12 and tackling the challenge that is middle school). Paul quit his consulting job and his family packed up and moved to Utah. They have been here since 1999 and Paul has worked several jobs including at LDS Church headquarters, for the City of Payson, and for a number of organizations involved with the Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA). Currently, Paul owns and operates a telecommunications consulting company (OHIvey). OHIvey’s purpose is to help municipalities and other organizations realize the benefit of open service provider fiber to the premises (unless you have a little time, don’t get him started on that topic – he tends to go on and on…).
