Denis Keohane was born and bred in Ireland but had never been to Galway until his wife dragged him there. And . . .  he loved it. It is often the other people in our lives that open our eyes and give us a push.

“I wanted to lead my children by example.”

And so too, when Keohane reflects on his greatest achievement, he cites his college degree and the encouragement and support his family gave him to get it.

“I am a self-made man,” says Keohane. He came to the U.S. in 1988 with a little money and no college degree. He took the money he had and now runs a million-dollar business in residential development. It took time and hard work and so did the degree. It took 5 years, but now he has bachelor of science degree in business and plans to pursue an MBA.

He has three daughters in the Milton School system, two at the high school and one at Pierce, and notes, “I wanted to lead my children by example.”

“This is how I want to give back.”

Keohane is not alone in the reason he gives for running for a seat on the School Committee, “This is how I want to give back.” And he wants to do it now while his children are still in the schools.

His children are enrolled in the French Immersion program, and he recently stated at the League of Women Voters debate that, “You are probably looking at the biggest supporter for French Immersion in Milton.”

Keohane is a businessman, not an educator. He is committed to education but believes that Superintendent Gormley is in command of the educational strategy and policies and there is not much he would look to add to that. His contribution would be on the business side.

“I have to worry about a payroll every week.”

“I will be fair, but I will be firm.”

Keohane says his strengths are in his professional experience. He is expert at budgets, business management and has strong negotiating skills. He believes those skills will come in handy when reviewing capital expenditures and sitting down with the unions when their contracts come due. “I will be fair, but I will be firm.”

“It’s all about the money,” he notes. The schools will be facing a number of construction-related issues going forward, and costs need to be challenged and evaluated. “I view every nickel that goes out as a nickel out of my pocket.”

“I never [take] anyone for granted.”

But Keohane has learned that he may not always get his way. When working on a condo development years ago in South Boston,  a vocal 90-year-old woman opposed the construction. Keohane took it for granted that the woman would not follow through with her objections, so he continued with the approval process. As it happened, the woman was the mother of 10 children and 50 grandchildren. Together they held the process up for two years. All “because I did not approach her at the beginning of the process. I never took anyone for granted again, ever.”