Helping visual storytellers create images that last beyond the day has been Mike’s mission in settings as diverse as National Geographic Magazine, The White House, several of America’s visually powerful newspapers, as an educator and an independent consultant and editor.

His work as an editor and the work of those he has edited has received the highest of accolades again and again.

He just concluded eight years as director of The Alexia grants competition while an endowed faculty member at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School.

Mike was twice named Newspaper Picture Editor of the Year. He has been a picture editor for more than 40 books. The National Press Photographers Association honored Mike with The Sprague Award, its highest honor.

He has edited the work of magazine photographers of the Year twice, first and second place newspaper photographers of the year three times; and first and second place college photographers of the year. His staffs have won Picture Editor of the Year and Regional Photographer of the Year recognition multiple times.

Mike has judged Pictures of the Year (POY) five times and judged many other international, national and regional photographic competitions and juried grants including the W. Eugene Smith Grant, The RFK Memorial Fellowship, the Walkley Awards in Australia and The NPPA/Nikon Sabbatical. He has taught at several workshops in the U.S., New Zealand and Latin America and lectured at a wide range of universities and photographic conferences.

Mike earned a masters degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism with a thesis that created a viable magazine, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with double majors in journalism and Spanish.

He has the good fortune of being married to Deb Pang Davis, a Sr. UX Designer at Disney. She’s a talented designer and educator.