Michael graduated from Delaware Valley College in 1998 with a B.S. in Ornamental Horticulture and Environmental Design. His immersion into the field began early on, drafting residential plans for a small landscape architecture firm in northern New Jersey while still attending school.
Post-graduation, he worked for several years for the Greater Newark Conservancy, an environmental non-profit organization located in Newark NJ, designing and constructing a 1.5-acre educational garden in the heart of the city’s downtown region. For the past 16-years, Michael has worked for landscape and design firms, working in all facets of the business from initial meeting and design, to the construction and implementation of plans. While versed in many styles and aspects of the field, he has a penchant for ecological restoration — from building meadows or stream and wetland rehabilitation, to reforestation and habitat projects catering to specific reptile, mammal, or bird species.
Michael has been an adjunct professor at the County College of Morris in Randolph, and is currently a professor at the Barnes Arboretum in Philadelphia, teaching Landscape Design III for nearly the past decade. Though a teacher, he enjoys being a student as well. “Nature is the true driving force that has educated and inspired me to do what I do. Preserving our native landscape is vital, and I’m excited to be a part of its advocacy.”
Michael’s free time activities help bring him closer to nature, and he can often be found hiking, white water kayaking, snowboarding, or hugging big trees.
Michael joined Hess Landscape Architects in 2022.