User:Lucas559

About me
I am a Canadian educator living, working and playing around Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada. My personal interests include outdoor pursuits such as mountain biking, backcountry skiing, and mountaineering. A dream vacation would include hours and hours in the wilderness with a couple of friends and a few life-or-death moments to keep things spicey. My wife is from Central America and exposes me to more cultural and ecological concerns. My boy reminds me of the youthful and unjaded side of life.

COI
I receive remuneration for some work I do on and off Wikipedia from James Heilman (User:Doc James). As such, I will not edit articles about them or "vote" in discussions in which they have already voted. My contributions, however, are my own and I take full responsibility for them.

Wiki aspirations
My general focus is to better the quality and accessibility of information to all citizens on earth. In particular, I hope to facilitate the improvement of Wikipedia through educational outreach programs like editing marathons. As an educator, there are lots of opportunities to inform high school and university students about the workings of Wiki. Although it is a widely used tool, it often maligned, misunderstood, and not exploited to its full potential. I want to help change that.

Education and worldview
I have a Masters in Economics and Bachelors in Education. I lived, worked, and studied in many places. I consider myself very open-minded yet skeptical and evidence-based in my thinking.

What's in a name
"Lucas559" is an obscure reference to 26" mountain bike wheels: 559mm. The "Lucas" portion is actually my name. I figure the community will seem less virtual if my 'name' pops up in conversations and collaboration.