Mike and his wife Tammy lived in the Riverside area before moving into their retirement home in Pauma Valley. They have two sons and two grandchildren. 

Mike started his career at 20 years of age serving as a volunteer firefighter in the La Habra Heights Volunteer Fire Department. He then worked for the Los Angeles County Fire department before being hired as a full-time firefighter with the City of Riverside Fire Department. During Mike’s career, he promoted up the ranks from Firefighter to Interim Fire Chief. Amongst the many emergencies, he responded to in his career, two were historic, the World Trade Center collapse and Hurricane Katrina disaster.

Mike has volunteered as a youth mentor in several programs, including Youth Education Mentoring Program (YEMP) for middle school students, High School Business Academy, and Riverside Community College’s “Puente” program. He served as the Vice-Chair of the California State Board of Fire Services, Director on the State’s Office of Emergency Services FIRESCOPE Board, and on the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission Taskforce which addressed protecting Californians from wildfires. Mike earned dual Bachelor degrees in Fire Administration and Fire Prevention Technology.

After retiring from the City of Riverside, he served as a Retired Annuitant, in the capacity of an Assistant Chief for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES), Fire & Rescue Branch. His primary job with OES was to help coordinate the master mutual aid system at large scale fires, ensuring that mutual assistance is operating within the parameters in the California Fire Assistance Agreement.

Mike is grateful to live in this special community and appreciates the opportunity to contribute by serving on the Pauma Valley CSD.