About Michael

Over the last 30 years, Michael's passion for social justice and public service has led to his involvement in many areas:

At the Capitol

• Elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives from District 64B in 1996


• Chair, House Public Safety Finance Division


• Member, House Finance Committee


• Member, Public Safety Policy Committee


• Member, Crime Victims/Criminal record Division


• Past Chair, St. Paul Delegation - Minnesota House of Representatives


• Past Chair, Metro Caucus - Minnesota House of Representatives


• Member, Council of State Governments Public Safety and Justice Task Force


• Member, National Conference of State Legislatures Committee on Law and Justice

In the Community

• Community Advisory Board, Junior League of St. Paul


• Former Board Member, Clearway Minnesota


• Former Board Member, Eastern European Medical Society


• Former Board Member, Scenic Minnesota


• Former Commissioner on the Saint Paul Charter Commission


• Former social worker and teacher


• Member, GreenPeace, Sierra Club, Amnesty International, ACLU


• Member, Jewish Community Action

Employment & Education

• Master of Public Administration, Hamline University


• Bachelor of Arts in Education and History, College of St. Scholastica


• Resource Specialist, Battered Women's Justice Project (current)


• Author of two books on domestic violence


• Co-founder, Duluth Domestic Abuse Intervention Project


• Consultant with the Open Society Institute - assisting countries in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in crafting domestic violence laws and policies for police the courts, and human service providers


• Former member, Duluth City Council


• Former adjunct professor, University of St. Thomas


• Former consultant, County of Los Angeles Probation Department


• Former director, Dakota County Domestic Violence Project