Scott was raised in Wisconsin with strong Midwestern values that instilled in him a love of family, an intrinsic sense of what is right, good manners, personal responsibility, and a strong work ethic. Trimming tree plantations with a hand saw, working landscaping in the heat of summer, and flipping burgers at McDonald’s taught him the value of money and hard work. Family time revolved around the out-of-doors, skiing, hunting, fishing, canoeing, and exploring the wilds of Wisconsin and Minnesota.
An inherent drive to set and achieve aggressive goals propelled Scott to the top of his class at the University of Michigan, where he graduated summa cum laude in Aerospace Engineering. Awarded a full grant from the US Office of Naval Research and a prestigious Draper Fellowship, Scott earned his Master’s in Aerospace Engineering from MIT, specializing in flight control systems. During his thesis research, Scott had the honor to work with NASA Space Shuttle astronauts investigating the effects of space flight on the human body. After graduation, Scott joined the Aerospace Corporation in Los Angeles, where he wrote complex computer simulations of USAF launch vehicles and satellites.
Not satisfied with just being a rocket scientist, Scott switched gears and co-founded WebCrawler, one of the very first internet search engines. This began his 30-year career in information technology which includes the University of Washington, several successful startups, and 9 years with Amazon.
Scott has been successful by building strong relationships and coalitions with a shared purpose, across thousands of people in different organizations with competing goals, to arrive at solutions that actually solve real problems for people. He ran for US Congress in 2022 to leverage these skills to help save our country.
An adventurer at heart, Scott has explored all 7 continents, climbed most of the 100 highest peaks in Washington State (and wrote the definitive guidebook on the subject), and is a private pilot license flying sea and land planes. He moved to Washington in 1998 to pursue his love of nature. From the mountains, forests, and rivers to the farmlands, vineyards, and orchards, Scott has spent decades exploring the splendor of WA. And as spectacular as this land is, it’s the humor, humility, authenticity, and patriotism of the people who really make this his home.
Scott and long-time love Jen have a blended family of three teens, ensuring that things are always exciting in the house. They live in Snoqualmie, where you can usually find them at the rifle range, fishing, rafting beautiful rivers, or at home on family movie night.
