A proud Maryland Terrapin, Mike joined Teach For America and taught K through third grade at Public School 192 in Harlem. Ninety-two percent of Mike’s third graders scored proficient or advanced on the NY state test, which was far above the school average of 26%. These students still hold a special place in Mike’s heart—he still regularly communicates with them over two decades later.

After earning master's degrees from Bank Street College and Harvard University, Mike founded the Achievement First Crown Heights Elementary School in Brooklyn, NY, where 99 percent of his third- and fourth-grade students scored proficient on the state reading exam, and 100 percent were proficient on the state math exam with 72 percent scoring advanced. Most notably, the cohort of fourth graders outperformed those at NYC’s highly selective exam schools.

Mike then moved to Los Angeles, and founded KIPP Empower Academy (KEA), the first blended learning school in the KIPP network. In 2013, the school's first year of standardized testing, KEA became the highest performing public school in L.A. and ranked tenth out of over 5,000 elementary schools in California. As a result, KEA was featured on NPR and in Education Week, USA Today, and the Huffington Post. In line with the school’s mission of empowering students to be “strong in mind, body, and spirit,” KEA’s step and breakdancing troupe—Step Up, Break Down—became the first elementary KIPPsters to perform at the KIPP School Summit.

Additionally, Mike has stepped in as a turnaround principal for three separate schools. In his most recent turnaround, 71% more students scored proficient in ELA and 55% did so in math on Arizona's state exam after just one year. Mike has also mentored and coached school-based and regional leaders for the KIPP Foundation, the Broad Academy, and within CMOs in Colorado and Arizona. He currently resides in Phoenix with his two dogs, Bella and Sadie.