Mike spends his professional hours working to improve the interactions between people and technology. Specifically, user-centered design that makes said technology easier and more enjoyable to use, which, oddly enough, isn’t an especially easy thing to do. Consequently, his favorite usability tester is the person who’s most likely to be flummoxed by a website interface or a software application: his mom. With his desire for thoughtful design and a diverse tenure as a user experience lead, Mike provides strategic perspective and practical utility to the Taproot team.

For his entire career, Mike has led in-house UX design teams or served as a “UX team of one,” designing national real estate web portals, learning management systems, data-driven IoT platforms for public safety and education, enterprise web and mobile applications for government agencies, and touchscreen kiosks for resorts.

From the coral reefs of Miami as a kid, to the fresh water springs of Live Oak as a teenager, to the canopy roads of Tallahassee ever since, Mike has grown and learned amidst the natural beauty of Florida. He graduated with a degree in graphic design and advertising from Florida State University and then continued at FSU to complete a master’s degree in Communication. From time to time he has returned to teach as an adjunct professor.

In his free time, Mike mentors students interested in UX and leads Refresh Tallahassee, a local UX meetup. He loves painting with watercolors, playing acoustic guitars, restoring old boats and singing harmonies on reimagined hymns. That said, he mostly loves spending time with his wife and four kids, especially with a glass of wine on the back porch while the sun sinks into the horizon.