Founder and Executive Director

Michael M is an international development and migration expert, with 20 years of experience in projects across 40 countries. He grew up with a restless intellectual curiosity about the world and its many cultures, languages, and issues. This naturally drove him into a lifelong fascination with complex global challenges and how to address them best.

Michael has worked at the European Union institutions and as a consultant on World Bank, UNICEF, and international development agency projects. He worked as a Research Director in Washington, D.C., where his work was showcased in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House. His inputs played a role in White House decisions across both Democrat and Republican administrations. These included crackdowns on immigration fraud, tackling migrant exploitation, and the decision to target people trafficking gangs under anti-terrorism laws.

Qualifications

• Master of Science (Merit Award) International Development, University of Birmingham.

• Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française C1 (Advanced) Level - Alliance Française.

Professional Certificates

• Fundamentals of Immigration Detention - United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

• Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Pathway for East Africa - Humanitarian Leadership Academy.

• Data Analysis and Visualization Fundamentals – IBM.

• Results-Based Project Management - Inter-American Development Bank.

• Immigration and Labor Markets in Economic History - University of Bayreuth.

• Macroeconomics – Oxford University.

• Microeconomics – Oxford University.

• Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers – University of Qatar.

• Introduction to Ukrainian Language and Culture - Open University.

• Gender Justice - Oxfam.

• Moral Foundations of Politics – Yale University.

• Understanding Research Methods – University of London.

• Qualitative Research Methods – University of Amsterdam.