Michael received his OT degree from the University of Toronto in 1983. He practiced in Thunder Bay, ON, for seven years (earning a Dip. Hospital Departmental Management) before moving to Saint John, NB, to join the provincial government as the very first OT on the Interdisciplinary Team (and where he earned his MBA degree from UNBSJ).
In 1996, Michael joined a Canadian university project in Kuwait to assist the Kuwaiti government to enhance and re-establish their rehabilitation services after the first Gulf War.
Michael then moved to the USA where he consulted with rural hospitals to develop their OT services. In 1998, he moved into academia and taught in both OT as well as OTA programs in the USA. Michael returned to Canada and joined the Mohawk family in 2006. He also holds a cross-appointment as an Assistant Clinical Professor in the OT program at McMaster University.