Michael is an award-winning producer, director, and a communications consultant with more than 30 years of international experience. He is deeply committed to peace and social justice work, with experience helping people from diverse cross-cultural settings communicate their stories.
Michael has a proven ability to bring projects in on budget. He was one of the founders of the production group Sisters & Brothers (1981) and served in a variety of production roles on their slate of films including The Weight (one-hour shot on super 16mm), The Radicals (full-length historical drama shot in central Europe), and a variety of children’s shorts.
In the early 1990s, Michael produced video that interpreted themes focusing on nutrition, health care, literacy, education, and community empowerment for the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services in Cairo, Egypt. Later, he served as producer and director for the awarding-winning video series, including Reflections on the 23rd Psalm for People with Cancer for Vision Video, Pa., USA, on location in Israel/Palestine and produced and directed a series of videos on building mental wellness, for use in the educational setting.
From 1996 – 2005 Michael commissioned and gave oversight to feasibility and market studies conducted by Coopers & Lybrand, based in Tel Aviv, Israel. The study was commissioned for the creation of Nazareth Village, a full-scale recreation of Nazareth, as it was in the first century. Nazareth Village is a visitors’ center in Nazareth, Israel. He also commissioned and gave oversight, in collaboration with the University of the Holy Land, to four years of research in the anthropological, historical, archaeological disciplines to build a clear and strong foundation for construction of and the interpretive work of Nazareth Village (www.nazarethvillage.com). He served as the center’s first Executive Director during a time of economic and political unrest. More than one million visitors found their way to the Village since it opened its doors to the public.
Michael then moved back to Canada where he worked as the director of marketing and communications for Ontario charity KidsLink, until 2011.
He went on to develop and produce independent productions for Jacaranda Communications, as well as working with a variety of businesses and non-profit organizations.