Brandon

What are your personal aspirations?

My personal aspiration outside of work is to continue raising my little eight-month-old with a secondary goal of maintaining sanity and self. My work aspiration is always to continue trying to find a sustainable relationship to work, which I have struggled with in the past.

What aspirations do you have for working with us?

My main aspiration is that you all find ways, energy, and time to connect yourselves as deeply to the lab as you would like. And that you have the space to explore your curiosity, whether related to your research or not. With all the competing forces asking for your attention and energy, I know that is always a challenge. But you all enrich our lives and our work, and I hope that we get space to work with you and you with us. We always know that your time with this specific program is short, and I know we all aspire to help you get the most out of it while you’re here and for it to prepare you for what comes next (what’s your five/ten-year plan?)

What does collaboration mean to you?

Collaboration to me means respect, in lots of different ways. Timely responses and open communication, transparency about capacity and needs, understanding and care, and good faith attempts at meeting others where they are.

What do you spend time on?

Besides raising Ben and spending time with Eliza (my wife), I also play music around town. Mostly jazz, mostly trumpet. We have a gig this very evening (Tuesday, October 1st!). In work, I mostly spend time connecting people to each other, teaching or helping others to teach, and writing.

If I were a song, I would be…

"Music for 18 Musicians” by Steve Reich. I could not come up with anything better, so I landed on this for the way that it speaks to collaboration, transcendent collaboration, and individuals playing a role in the whole. Also, I met the drummer for The Talking Heads when my friend performed it in college.