Michael is an expert witness and subject matter expert in construction and building codes based on being a state certified building contractor, state licensed building plans examiner, ICC Certified Building Official, electrical plans examiner, fire inspector and disaster response inspector with over 30 years of experience. He is also a Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM)Michael’s experience includes several years spent in the local government sector with the Hillsborough County Development Services Division in the Building Department. He worked as a plans examiner and then was subsequently promoted to the position of General Manager of Building Code Compliance and Contractor Licensing and eventually became the Building Official for Hillsborough County; a jurisdiction of over 1k square miles and a population of 1.2 million. He is a credited reviewer of several FEMA construction-related documents including the Coastal Construction Manual, the Local Officials Guide to Coastal Construction and Natural Hazards and Sustainability for Residential Buildings. Michael’s experience extends into the non-profit sector having served as Senior Vice President to the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes – FLASH, Inc. In this role, he has taught classes, interacted with homeowners and the media to provide mitigation awareness and has acted as a subject matter expert and technical spokesperson appearing on several national media outlets over the past several years. Videos can be viewed here http://flash.org/protect.phpMichael is currently a Senior Project Manager at J.S. Held. J.S. Held is a global consulting firm with expertise in construction, environmental health & safety, forensic accounting, water & fire restoration, equipment, and forensic architecture & engineering matters.Established in 1974, J.S. Held brings together years of unrivaled technical expertise and unparalleled service to deliver reliable, comprehensive solutions to its clients. J.S. Held is renowned for recruiting and cultivating distinguished experts and being a trusted partner on the world’s most complex environmental, construction, accounting, and economic matters.Michael received a Masters in Public Administration in 2011 from the University of South Florida and is currently a PhD candidate at USF. He teaches as an adjunct at the University of South Florida and also serves as an instructor for the International Code Council and Florida Floodplain Managers Association teaching classes around the country on a host of construction, disaster response and floodplain management topics.