Michael is a partner in Brunswick’s Washington, DC office and heads the firm’s higher education sector.  He has more than three decades as a chief public affairs officer, counselor, and strategist for some of the world’s leading research universities, academic medical centers, and media organizations.

An expert in communications strategy, executive positioning, media relations, issues and crisis management, stakeholder engagement, government relations and policy advocacy, Michael advises corporate and nonprofit boards, CEOs, and high-profile leaders on critical issues in higher education, research, health care and sports, among other areas.

Michael joined Brunswick in 2022 after 14 years as vice president for public affairs and government relations, chief communications officer, and spokesperson at Duke University, where he also co-chaired the university’s comprehensive COVID response efforts, helped lead the creation of a new university in China and steered Duke’s communications and advocacy initiatives in Asia, Middle East, Europe, and the Americas.  He previously served for more than a decade as vice chancellor for public affairs at Vanderbilt University. 

Earlier, Michael was senior vice president for policy and public affairs at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in Washington, D.C. and held news reporting and executive leadership roles at the Voice of America and U.S. Information Agency.   

A founder and former chair of Futurity.org, a digital network of more than 70 prominent U.S. and international universities and research centers, Michael is a visiting professor of the practice of public policy at Duke and serves on the boards of WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio, PBS-NC, the Seminar, and the Institute for Public Relations.

Michael graduated from Duke and received a master’s degree in public policy from Stony Brook University.