Michael is the Manager of Security Education, where they provide advice to civil society groups and human rights defenders to stay digitally secure. In addition to their work at Access Now, Michael supports the development of Qubes OS, a security and privacy-focused operating system. Previously, they interned at the International Reporting Project and the Office of Communications and Information Policy at the US State Department. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Michael studied at the University of Chicago, in China at Capital Normal University, Zhejiang University, and the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies, and completed their master's degree at Johns Hopkins University's School for Advanced International Studies.