In 2007, Michael received his MS in Applied Geography from UNT, focusing on culturally led urban redevelopment. Michael is currently a doctoral candidate in the Urban Planning and Public Policy program at the University of Texas at Arlington. His work has appeared in City, Culture and Society, Applied Research in Economic Development, Regional Science Policy and Practice, Industrial Geographer, and is forthcoming in Cities. He has also co-authored research reports for the Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, and the Texas Transportation Institute. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic: Cities and Portland State University's Artisan Economy Initiative. In addition to his research and writing, National Public Radio, Wired, Denton Record-Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, Dallas Observer, and the DFW affiliates of NBC and CBS seek his perspective concerning the cultural economy.

M.S., Applied Geography, University of North Texas, 2007
B.S., Secondary Education-English, Pennsylvania State University, 1991