Mike has spent his whole life in the Chesapeake Bay watershed; some of his earliest memories are of fishing and exploring waterfront parks with his grandfather. Growing up on and around the waters of the Chesapeake, he understood the importance of respecting and caring for the natural world at a young age. He took this appreciation with him when he attended Washington College, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biology, in the Physiology and Organismal Science concentration. During college he worked at Foreman’s Branch Bird Observatory, a migration bird banding station on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where he was eager to participate in ongoing research into the local bird populations. He also fostered a love for education, teaching in the college’s writing center and general biology labs. Since graduating, Mike has held a variety of positions, from Editor of the journal North American Birds, to educator at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, to field biologist with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and Birds of Urban Baltimore. He currently lives with his partner, and their cat and gecko, in Linglestown in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, where he spends his free time birding and photographing the plants and wildlife at local parks. Mike is excited to bring his enthusiasm for the natural world to Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake and for the chance to contribute to the stewardship and protection of the waters he grew up on.