A Bay Area native, Mike holds an MA in Elementary Education and a multiple-subject teaching credential from UC Berkeley, along with an Educational Therapy certificate from UC Irvine. With over 30 years in education—including 18 years as a Developmental Learning Specialist and 6 years as an Educational Therapist—Mike has dedicated their career to working one-on-one with students to overcome learning challenges.
Since 2007, Mike has found their niche as a highly specialized 1:1 provider, drawing on their own neuro-atypicality and unconventional career path to bring exceptional empathy and personalization to their work. Based in Oakland, California, Mike serves students throughout the East Bay in-person and connects with learners everywhere via Zoom.
Mike’s educational philosophy was profoundly shaped by a pivotal moment in 2019 when they fully grasped the unnecessary toll—particularly on dyslexic students—of teaching language arts as if English were simply phonetic. This revelation sparked their passionate commitment to transformative educational approaches that honor how students actually learn.
When not revolutionizing literacy education, Mike pursues their wonderfully eclectic interests as a competitive pinball player, vaguely internet-famous giant soap bubble artist, self-taught musician, and Bay Area hiking guide. They live next to the Oakland Zoo with their partner Emily (an art teacher) and offspring Natasha and Delilah—though they report with mild disappointment that lion and elephant sounds don’t actually drift over at night. Mike remains perpetually wistful about missing too much live music.
Videos about Education, Mike’s Music, Soap Bubbles, Shenanigans: https://www.