Meet Mike

Photo courtesy of Skarigo Photo

Small town values are at the heart of everything I do.  Born in East Stroudsburg, PA, I was raised learning the virtues of faith and family in the shadow of the Pocono Mountains.

My family was small and we got to spend a lot of time together.   I cherish the relationships I was able to develop with them, especially with my maternal grandparents who took a special interest in my growth and development.  I was also fortunate to be part of a close-knit faith community at our Eastern Orthodox Church at a young age.  By attending church regularly and by learning from the example that my parents and grandparents provided, I came to understand the importance of hard work, honesty, and caring for the larger community that today forms the backbone of my Democratic values.

After graduating from Lehigh University in 1998, I married my high school sweetheart, Mandy Shrom.  We moved to Virginia in 1999 and decided to establish roots in Ashburn in 2002.  Shortly after moving to Loudoun County, we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Morgan, in 2003.  In 2006, our son Jackson was born.  We couldn’t imagine a better place to raise a family than in Ashburn.

Organizing the Diabetes Community

In 2000, I began my career as a grassroots organizer.  After spending a few years on the staff of a grassroots public affairs firm, I took my current job as the Director of Grassroots Advocacy for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).  My role there is to develop, expand, and nurture a nationwide network of activists to communicate the need for Congress to expand funding for type 1 diabetes research.

Mike and Mandy with their children, Jackson and Morgan (Photo courtesy of Ellie Van Houtte Photography)

Working with the families that volunteer for JDRF has been a transformative experience for me both personally and professionally.  While my values still drive my decisions, my work has taught me that building a close-knit community isn’t done through mandates or directives but instead from taking the time to listen and relate to the stories of our volunteer families, many of who have young children coping with type 1.

Guided by their needs and motivated by their example, I have worked with these volunteers to help create one of the most influential disease advocacy groups in Washington, D.C.  During my tenure, we have worked together to secure over $1 billion in federal funding for diabetes research.  That money has funded breakthrough treatments that have improved the lives of those with diabetes immeasurably.

Serving the Loudoun Community

When I’m not helping to organize the diabetes community, I have made a commitment to serving the Loudoun community as a volunteer.  In September 2010, I began a four-year term serving families in need as a member of the county’s Family Services Board.  During the spring and summer, my weekends are spent collecting donations of fresh produce for Loudoun Interfaith Relief as a volunteer for Loudoun Plant-a-Row.

I enjoy spending my free time with my family, reading political biographies, watching football and baseball, and coaching Morgan’s soccer team.

We still live in the same community in Ashburn to which we moved in 2002 and that I hope to represent as the delegate from the 87th district in 2012.