As a college student, Michael learned Spanish during his year in Seville, Spain, where he also mastered the local dance, served as a Red Cross volunteer at Seville’s bullring, participated as a barefoot penitent in a Holy Week procession, and backpacked through 10 European countries. After college, Michael did the logical thing for a Spanish major: he moved to rural Fukushima, Japan, to teach middle school English. During his 4 years in Japan, Michael traveled extensively, practiced Aikido, competed in mountain bike races with his students, and performed at festivals as part of his town’s Taiko drumming group. Michael has also labored on an organic farm and held leadership positions at impactful nonprofits, where he addressed food insecurity in rural North Carolina, advocated for pedestrian safety in Atlanta, and improved secondary education in Puerto Rico. Before retiring in 2024, Michael worked as a public health training consultant for several divisions of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while continually connecting with young people through his son’s Boy Scout camping trips and youth group service projects. Just last year, he took family adventures to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Canada, Italy, and Greece. Michael has led Putney’s Exploration Japan and Language Ecuador & Galápagos programs, and loves creating “ah-ha” moments for students through international experiences. He is conversational in Japanese and fluent in Spanish.