Professional Teller

Mike’s first full sentence was “Tell me a Story.” Well, that might not be exactly true. His Mother maintains his first words were, “I didn’t do it!” But Mike mostly remembers the story request. In one way or another Mike has been a Teacher since he was 15 years old. In the 1960s Mike was the youngest Red Cross Swim Instructor in Richmond, Virginia. He went on to become a Youth Minister and then a College Campus Minister at UCLA, Gallaudet College, Clemson University and the University of Tennessee. He spent the next 30 some years as a Middle School and High School teacher.

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Storytelling is the Common Thread that has run through Mike’s life all those years. In his Ministry years Mike never Preached. He told Stories; Parables designed to help us see what we really believe and how we live out our values. As a schoolteacher story weaved throughout his curriculum. In 2004 the National Council for Spiritual and Ethical Education named Mike the National Teacher of the Year based on his creative use of storytelling to help students form their own story in a way that would create healthy and happy lives.

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Mike retired from teaching in 2018. But he couldn’t stop himself. He joined the Portland Storytellers Guild and has served on their Board. He has told stories in Bars, School assembles, Classrooms, Corporate meetings, Senior Centers, Community Centers, Libraries, Churches, and in 2019 he won a Moth Story Slam (Sponsored by National Public Radio) and went on to compete in the Moth Grand Slam. In 2021 Mike was selected to be a keynote teller for the One Book One Beaverton Festival.

 

Mike’s Storytelling Workshops focus on Narrative Storytelling, helping people construct personal stories. He has worked with Seniors, Student Leadership Programs and Community Centers and he enjoys helping groups put together Storytelling Shows for their families, friends and local Communities.