Michael specializes in transaction management, structuring and teambuilding. He grew up in New York, where most of his family still lives. Although a “city kid,” he developed a love for the outdoors working at overnight summer camps as a teen. He escaped the Big Apple for college at the University of Michigan where he was told he was the only philosophy major who sounded like Rocky Balboa. After a short stint back in New York after college, Michael moved to Chicago to attend law school and has lived there ever since.

Michael started his professional career as an attorney, spending 10 years doing transactional work and commercial litigation, then eventually leaving Mayer Brown to transition to a business role at JLL (formally Jones Lang LaSalle). Michael worked at JLL for over 13 years, during which time he was Senior Vice President and Global Transaction Management Product Lead and was recognized with three national “Da Vinci Awards” for innovation.

Always interested in the health and wellness field, and married to one of the country’s leading experts in Integrative Medicine—Dr. Melinda Ring—Michael became a founding member of the Urban Physic Garden, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to educating the public on the healing power of plants and good food as good medicine. Realizing the vital impact our nutritional choices have on our overall health and well-being, Michael wanted his next career to align with this passion. So, when Michael met Mark Thomann at a good food expo in 2016, Spiral Sun was born.

Michael holds a BA from the University of Michigan and JD from the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. He has lived in Chicago for the past 30 years where he currently resides with his wife and two sons.