Co-founder of Roots, Michael serves with our MA statewide organizing team COWOP, which aims to underwrite and mobilize for policy that supports worker co-ops and co-op housing vía technical assistance and direct capital. He serves on the GARE (Grant government alliance on racial equity) board for Western MA to better raise the voices of our worker co-op team members who largely belong to impoverished and/or marginalized communities. Michael comes from a labor background working internationally on farms but loves the strategy side of development and has supported the build out of an NYC catering company while living in Brooklyn, NY. As a laborer working in catering for Amherst College, Michael became heavily involved in workers rights, especially after the pandemic hit, and his team was being forced into COVID dorms without proper gear. While Michael left Amherst College in 2021 to support the development of one of our local worker co-op teams, Rose & Cole’s Transport, he continues to serve on the Amherst Labor Alliance Board to increase pay and better working conditions for the average dining hall worker at Amherst College. His role on the Constitution committee advocates for language that will be inclusive of and scalable to other workers within the college, other workers within the five college system, and then other workers whose businesses depend on the college for their income. Michael's goal as apart of Roots & Dreams is to empower the working class and increase the ownership and control of our government, national resources, and economy by whatever levers we can find. We are so thankful for his solid commitment and weekly volunteer hours that move our vision forward!