Occupation: I am a research director at a global research and advisory firm called Gartner in Stamford. I was there for seven years before working at Hartford Financial Services for two years, then I returned to Gartner and have been there for 13 years since. When I went to Fairfield University, I was a computer science major. I was drawn to technology. When I started my career at Gartner, I evolved from building technology to managing global technology teams to most recently managing development teams in Gurgaon and Chennai, India.

Family: My wife, Rachel, is a history teacher at Newtown High School. She’s been teaching for over 20 years. She taught at White Plains High School and most recently was at Danbury High School for five years. We have four kids. Our oldest is Jaclyn, who is a freshman at Virginia Tech; David is a senior at Abbott Tech; J.P. is a freshman at Newtown High School; and Abigail is a seventh grader at Newtown Middle School

Pets: Brady is a rescue. I want to say he’s half German shepherd/half beagle. He’s an older dog and is the type that likes to sit on the front porch all day long.

How long have you lived in Newtown? Since 2005. Our family lives mostly in New York, and we used to live in Stratford, so we would drive through Newtown to get sandwiches at The General Store and one night, we stopped at the St Rose Carnival. We absolutely loved it here, and with a growing family, we felt it was a really great town where we could plant our roots.

What do you like to do in your free time? Spend time with the kids and town involvement. We’re active with our church, St Rose, and we love going to the library and The General Store. We also spend a lot of time on the playing field because all my kids play sports — from basketball, baseball, soccer, and cross country. I’m an active coach for the baseball and basketball programs in town. For the last six years, up until September, I was the president of Newtown Youth Basketball. I also am a high school basketball referee all across Fairfield County.

What is your favorite travel destination? Anywhere with a beach. The beach for me is about tranquility and getting away from it all. I love Watch Hill, Rhode Island; Long Beach Island in New Jersey; and the Outer Banks when we can get in a longer trip.

What is the best part about Newtown? The sense of community. I’ve developed friendships with other coaches and parents where I trust them to be wonderful role models for my kids.

Who has been the greatest influence in your life? My dad, Jack O’Leary, was heavily involved in his community. We go down every year for a scholarship dinner in his name because he started the sports program at my elementary school in New York City. He influenced me to serve my community, serve my family, and be a person that really gives of himself. In my senior year of high school, he had passed away, but people that I see, even recently, say what a good guy he was.

If you could spend the day with one person, who would you choose and why? About seven years ago, my niece Ciara Rose passed away, and she was only 10 months old. She had a rare disease where she basically could not grow muscles. It would be neat to spend the day with her and do things a kid would want to do: walking around town, getting some ice cream, maybe going to a carnival.

What is your favorite quote? “A hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove... but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.” That’s been poignant to remind myself to stay humble in service for my own family. I have been honored and blessed to coach and mentor many of the kids in town. I hope in some small way I made a difference.

What is something you cannot live without? My wife and the salsa and chips from El Coyote.

What is your proudest accomplishment? Seeing that my children are happy doing what they are doing and seeing them grow.