Michael
Educator
My journey as an educator began as a Junior in high school, when I volunteered as a teaching assistant in a second-grade classroom at Jefferson Elementary in downtown Minneapolis. My job was simple: if the kids wanted to read, I’d read with them, and if they wanted to go outside and play, we’d go out and play. In college, I volunteered to participate in a program on campus that brought local high school students to campus to encourage them to attend college. The experience motivated me to go to graduate school and get a Masters in Education, focused on the bridge between high school and college. I spent 4 years working in higher education supporting first and second year students transitioning from K-12 into higher education.
I took a brief break from education to attend law school, but in 2015, I jumped right back in and started teaching at Santa Clara University School of Law. Teaching adults requires a different skillset than teaching in K-12, but the experience of being in the classroom responsible for the education of a class full of people gives me a special appreciation for the joys, challenges, and struggles of being an educator. My unique path as both educator and administrator also gives me insights into how to support our teachers and staff members as we work together to support our students and families.
Attorney / Advocate
I graduated from law school and passed the bar exam in 2013. From the beginning, equity has been a core focus of my career. In my second year of law school, I worked for the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, supporting their early efforts to protect LGBTQ+ people from employment discrimination, an issue that would eventually make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. I then spent two years serving as Chair of Santa Clara County’s EEO Advisory Commission, responsible for supporting the County’s efforts to ensure that all employees and residents have equal access to government services.
In private practice, I’m lucky to be able to work with small businesses around the region, and my specialty was always socially responsible companies. I was a leader in the early benefit corporation movement, supporting businesses that made people and the planet a core part of their mission, and was a founding member of the Benefit Company Bar Association, a group of attorneys from around the country who supported such companies. Our local businesses can and should be partners in handing down a better world to our children.
Neighbor / Community Leader
One of Elk Grove’s greatest strengths is its strong, friendly, and supportive community. We are thrilled to be a part of that, and only too excited by the opportunity to pay it forward.
My husband and I moved to Elk Grove as the COVID-19 pandemic was cresting in late 2020. Despite the periodic shelter-in-place orders and return-to-work false starts, we managed to settle in, meet our neighbors, and become part of the community. We got to talking over the back fence with one of our neighbors when one of Sacramento’s notoriously strong windstorms knocked down the top half of one of our trees and we needed to borrow a chainsaw. We enjoyed a fireworks display put on by another neighbor, whose annual 4th of July display lit up the sky and filled the street. We shared renovation tips with a couple down the street. And, we hosted a small house party for a few friends to introduce them a local candidate running for office.
We volunteer for community service projects through the Laguna Sunrise Rotary, help out with the annual Yard Sale put on by the Elk Grove Historical Society, and attend as many local fundraisers as we can to ensure that Elk Grove’s thriving non-profits have the funds to continue their important community work. Contributing to our thriving neighborhood and Elk Grove community is the bedrock of what I hope to accomplish as an Elk Grove USD Trustee.
Husband / Uncle
Family is the greatest joy of my life. I grew up in the suburbs of Minneapolis, with my parent, Frank and Joan, my brother, Matthew, and my sister, Lauren. My parents instilled the value of education from our earliest days, and pushed us to thrive in school. We are all lifelong learners, and my mother even graduated law school at the age of 62.
In 2017, my friends prevailed on me to download the dating app, Tindr. I only went on a single date. He was a handsome guy from Lodi, California, and he came all the way down to San Jose to meet me for coffee. 7 hours later, he’d charmed me into a second date, and 3 years after that, he agreed to be my husband. Thanks to COVID-19, however, we settled for a small wedding in front of the state capitol building, with just our parents and my husband’s life-long best friend, who officiated.
Soon after Brent and I moved in together, I discovered the joys of being an uncle, or more specifically a “gay uncle” or “guncle.” My husband brought with him four nieces and nephews, and since we got married, my family has added three more, including the most recent arrival, Tomas, who as of the start of my campaign was just one month old. Being an uncle of children and young adults of vastly different ages brings an incredible amount of joy to my life. In the same day, I can be rocking my one-month-old nephew to sleep, while talking my 19-year-old nephew through the trials of young adulthood. There’s nothing quite like the fun and responsibility of being an uncle.
