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How I Lead

Calm, accessibility-aware leadership for complex digital delivery.

You’re looking for someone who can lead high-stakes projects, keep teams aligned, and make accessibility and user experience part of how you deliver—not an afterthought. That’s where I’m strongest.

I bring a rare mix of enterprise-scale transformation, deep accessibility expertise, and hands-on instructional design. I’ve led $1B+ programs, built accessibility training at scale, and kept delivery calm when the work is visible, political, and complex.

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I measure my work by how much it improves life for others—and whether I’m being the person my dog thinks I am.

The roles I’m best suited for

I’m transitioning back to program and project leadership roles. My recent focus on accessibility wasn’t a detour—it sharpened how I lead delivery.

I’m most effective in roles that:

  • • Own complex digital or infrastructure programs with real business and regulatory risk.
  • • Need accessibility treated as a core non-functional requirement, not a compliance checkbox.
  • • Require strong cross-functional communication between executives, product, design, and engineering.
  • • Benefit from a leader who can teach as well as direct—making change stick, not just announced.

What kind of leader you get

  • • Calm under pressure, even when stakes are high and visibility is intense.
  • • Direct and honest, with a bias toward clarity over jargon.
  • • Comfortable in both Fortune 40 and smaller, resource-constrained environments.
  • • Able to be project leader and hands-on executor when needed, without losing the strategic view.
See where I’ve done this

Why this combination matters right now

Modernization, accessibility, and AI are raising the bar on how you lead projects. My background puts me directly at that intersection.

01

Modernization under real-world constraints

Finance, insurance, and public-sector organizations are under pressure to move off legacy platforms without disrupting customers or regulators.

I’ve led exactly these kinds of efforts—including claims modernization and national data center programs.

02

Accessibility as a differentiator

Accessibility now touches brand, risk, and revenue. It’s not simply a legal issue—it’s how you reach more customers and avoid costly rework.

I help teams build accessibility into their existing product, design, and QA rhythms, rather than bolting it on at the end.

03

Leadership that can teach

Change only sticks when people understand it. Instructional design and years of teaching changed how I communicate in projects.

I design communication and change plans to be understood, remembered, and applied—not just heard.

What I bring to your organization

The short list of reasons teams call me when delivery risk and expectations are high.

01

Deep project & program leadership

Modernization with real business outcomes.

  • Led the $1.6B State Farm Canadian divestiture with zero negative customer impact.
  • Managed a $2B data center build with Cisco, IBM, and Oracle, delivering with clear risk visibility.

02

Accessibility expertise & training leadership

A technical differentiator, not an afterthought.

  • Built cohort-based accessibility training that moved teams from theory to measurable WCAG 2.2 adoption.
  • Designed workflows where accessibility fits into product and QA rhythms instead of slowing them down.

03

Strong cross-functional communication

Making the complex understandable.

  • Translate technical and accessibility issues into clear business impact for leaders.
  • Keep engineers, designers, and stakeholders aligned without adding noise.

04

Vendor management & negotiation

Clear contracts, clear expectations.

  • Experience hiring, coaching, and managing vendors on complex programs.
  • Understands both sides of the contract from time as a client and as a vendor.

05

Human-centered change leadership

Change that sticks, not just launches.

  • Brings calm authority, mentoring, and stabilizing influence to stressed teams.
  • Focuses on sustainable change rather than short-lived initiatives.

Proof from people who’ve worked with me

A few perspectives from leaders and peers on how I show up in projects and programs.

Michael’s leadership was instrumental in propelling a large enterprise data center program forward. The program was lean, complex, and highly visible, and he continually optimized resources while keeping momentum and clarity for everyone involved.
Duane Whitlow · Enterprise Program Leader
Michael inspires others with his passion and leads with vision. He gets to know his team, and the encouragement he offers makes every member feel unique, important, and capable. He addresses issues early and effectively, while always bringing humor and humanity.
Dave Schuster · Architecture Manager – Technical, State Farm
Michael is a principled leader who is passionate about advancing the discipline of project management. He has a rich history of developing others and leading large enterprises through change. He remains one of my most influential mentors.
Garren King · PMO Leader
Dynamic, engaging, thoughtful, funny, humble, inclusive… Michael connects with people from every background and makes accessibility understandable and relatable. I felt lucky to work with him, and the next company that gets him will too.
Lee Amador · Lead Accessibility Analyst, Hilton

The impact you can expect

  • • Programs that move forward with clear ownership, realistic plans, and calm execution.
  • • Accessibility built into how you design, build, and test—not tacked on after go-live.
  • • Stakeholders who know what’s happening, why, and what’s coming next.
  • • Teams that feel supported, not micromanaged—and do the best work of their careers.

If you’re hiring for a senior project or program leadership role and need someone who can bridge enterprise delivery, accessibility, and real-world constraints, I’d be happy to talk.

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