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Words from Michael

Smart growth for a strong tomorrow...

As a Rowlett city councilman, I will represent you and your values. My goal is sustainable growth without compromising the spirit of our beloved city.

For many of us, Rowlett is already a dream come true - a destination city with a small town feel. We are all certainly proud of the growth that our city has already achieved, however we must endeavor to maintain our current pace of economic and cultural development.

From an open door to opening doors, my tenure as city councilman will be defined by two realities: accessibility and opportunity. I know my fellow residents know what's best for our city, and with your help, I intend to lead Rowlett into the next decade carrying forth the legacy that has already been established.

biography

Michael spent his childhood growing up on Air Force bases around the United States. After his father retired from the Air Force they moved to Mesquite where Michael lived until graduating 6th in a class of 511 from Mesquite High School. While still in school Michael earned the prestigious Royal Ranger Gold Medal of Achievement (which is the equivalent of the Boy Scout Eagle) for his leadership and scouting ability. He received a full academic scholarship to college but after two years decided he wanted to serve his country and enlisted in the US Air Force.

Michael’s leadership continued to flourish as he graduated from Air Force Basic Training as an Honor Graduate, won several Firefighter and Airman of the Quarter awards, also graduated as an Honor Graduate from the Non-Commissioned Officer Preparatory Course and eventually earned another full scholarship from the Air Force ROTC.

After completing ROTC and graduating from Angelo State University, with a degree in Computer Science, Michael reentered the Air Force as a 2nd Lieutenant. At his first duty station Michael was given the opportunity to manage his organization’s software process improvement initiative where he led them to the highest process rating ever received in the Air Force at that time. After that success he was transferred to the Air Force Software Process Improvement team. During that time, as a Software Engineering Strategies Officer he worked, not only with Air Force organizations, but Navy and Army organizations as well. Michael was also selected for special assignment to Bosnia-Herzegovina.

After separating from the Air Force in 1998 Michael worked in social work for a short time. He was employed as a lead assistant counselor at Sundown Ranch in Canton, TX, a residential drug rehabilitation home for adolescents. After that he was employed as a child abuse investigator with Child Protective Services for about one year where he saw, not only the horrendous abuses done to many of our children, but also the exceptional volunteer efforts of CASA workers and the outstanding support received from local law enforcement in Henderson County.

In 2000 Michael was hired as a process improvement expert by Verizon (formerly GTE), one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies. He worked in that capacity for 4 years before moving into project management where he led some of the company’s largest wholesale projects to completion on time and under budget. In his last year at Verizon he was selected to lead a test liaison team that would work with the retail development organization and their test teams to streamline the discovery and reporting process of critical and non-critical issues, reducing time to resolution by 50% and closing out issues with <2% ETA slippage.

Most recently Michael has begun working as an independent contractor. Recent projects include the review of a DOD weapons technology development survey as well as managing a primary campaign in a US Congressional race, pulling over 20% of the vote against a 13 year incumbent.

Michael has also volunteered a great deal of his time outside of his professional career. He has served on the local level as a Royal Ranger Commander (Christian Scouting ministry) rising to sectional and district levels of leadership in that program. He was selected to co-chair the City of Rowlett’s multi-million dollar bond program committee and served on the city’s Arts & Humanities Commission. Michael is also a member of the Rowlett CERT and Fire Corps Programs and is currently enrolled in both Leadership Rowlett and the Rowlett Citizen’s Police Academy.

Michael and his wife Jill have seven children and one grandchild.  They also have a passion for helping children and have begun developing plans for Mended Fences, a long term, residential foster care youth ranch. They are currently looking for land and donors. Michael also serves on the boards of several non-profits.