Michael was born in Hartford, CT. From a young age, he experienced the struggles of so many low-income families as he watched his single mother fight to feed, clothe, and care for three young children. Those early experiences continue to fuel his passion to create change from the bottom up. Michael spent 15 years working low-wage jobs before he decided to return to college to complete his degree. When he graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, he became the first person in his family to receive a Bachelor’s Degree. After decades of work at the intersection of housing rights, workers’ rights and the abolition of the prison industrial complex, Michael completed a Master’s Degree in Labor Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He moved to Nashville with his family in 2016. Before becoming the Deputy Director of Stand Up Nashville, Michael worked for the Central Labor Council of Nashville & Middle Tennessee. Michael shuns the spotlight in favor of doing the behind-the-scenes work to build powerful organizations and winning campaigns. One of his proudest moments was helping win Tennessee’s first ever Community Benefits Agreement worth $75 million.