Michael was born and raised in a thoroughly Italian-American neighborhood in Boston's Revere suburb. Traces of a Boston accent still come through, but that doesn't mean he hasn't found a sense of community in his new home. Michael attended New Hampshire's Dartmouth College for fine arts, but only paints and draws on occasion now given his hectic schedule, much of it involving the local gay community.

Michael is the volunteer president of D.C.'s gay and transgender community center, where he moved in 1999 after approaching his former employer, the American Student Association, about a transfer to the District. Now he's the executive director of the Postsecondary Electronic Standards Council, a non-profit higher education association. Starting in 2002, he volunteered for The Center and assumed the role of president in 2005.

He and his partner Mike Tinker live in Northeast D.C. with their very large Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Maximus.