Background
Michael brings more than 25 years of healthcare experience spanning pharmacy, post-acute care, and
managed care — giving him a rare, end-to-end view of how health systems actually work and where they
fall short.
After earning his PharmD from the University of Arkansas in 2001, Michael built his career at the
intersection of clinical expertise and commercial strategy. His tenure at Medline Industries — where he
grew from managing their homecare business to leading managed care and health & wellness —
sharpened his ability to build enterprise partnerships, navigate complex payer markets, and translate
clinical value into sustainable revenue.
Today, as SVP of Payer Strategies for Food for Health at Umoja Health, Michael is focused on one of
healthcare’s most compelling emerging opportunities: food as medicine. He leads payer strategy and
partnership development, continuing to pioneer whole-person population health solutions. His work
centers on sustained engagement, behavior change, and interdisciplinary support. Driven to enable
actionable change via scalable nutrition intervention tools, and deliver measurable value — for
risk-sharing organizations.
Michael is known for building teams and partnerships that move fast without losing sight of the mission.
He lives in western NC with his wife Celeste — and when he’s not closing deals, you’ll find him on a golf
course, pickleball court, or out biking and hiking the mountains.