Shop Spirit Wear

Michael Evans '96

community leader always helping others

Offering employees a rewarding career used to be easy: You’d hire a bright young person out of college, plug him into an entry-level role, and then watch him climb the corporate ladder over the years as he progressed toward retirement. The company could plan for this continuous process—hire people based on their degrees, help them develop slowly and steadily, and expect some to become leaders, some to become specialists, and some to plateau.

Our alumni are experiencing a different work world, one in which the notion of a career is being redefined.  Michael Evans, ’96 is a prime example of how one mid-career graduate has forged a path that diverges dramatically from traditional models.  Mike’s early influences on his career path could be traced back to HMHS and his participation in a summer program called “Anytown”.  The program brought together student groups from around the state to discuss race, equity and inclusiveness.  Mike said, “This was an eye-opening experience that led me to think about the privilege and opportunities that had come to me growing up in Haddonfield”.  He continued to expand his understanding by majoring in African-American Studies and taking extensive coursework in education at Dartmouth where he earned his undergraduate degree.  Mike indicated, “I wanted to find work that was more in alternative education and focused on anti-discrimination”. 

Not surprisingly, Mike found himself drawn to opportunities in the non-profit world.  He spent two years with “Breakthrough”, a national organization with regional sites that provided a path to college, starting in middle school, for low-income students who would be first-generation college students.   Mike, drawing on his education studies, wrote curriculum for after school and summer programs and trained college-age students who would serve as mentors to the young students.

Mike’s passion for alternative education models remained unabated.  He spent twelve years of his career working on programs related to youth, personal and social change, and sustainable agriculture.  As the Youth Program Coordinator for the Food Project in Boston, Mike coordinated and implemented year-round programming for 60 urban and suburban teenagers teaching agriculture, diversity awareness, personal development, leadership and communication skills.  He led workshops for these students on issues such as race, stereotyping, gender, sexual identity, socio-economic status, and hunger.  Mike noted that “This out of school experience was very powerful.  The students learned to work with their hands and to give back to the community by growing food for people in need.  The program went a long way to letting them become their best selves while helping others”. 

Mike expressed that one of his goals upon graduation was to find work that would “build bridges between communities”.  When the opportunity presented itself, Mike became the Co-founder and Co-director of Urban Roots in Austin.  Modeled on the “Food Project”, Urban Roots was a transformational youth development program that taught job and life skills while growing produce on 3.5 acres outside downtown Austin.  The harvest from Urban Roots was donated to local hunger relief organizations.  

More of that bridge building would take place when Mike became the Associate Director of Utahns Against Hunger and the founder of Real Food Rising.  The Associate Director’s role put Mike in a position to be an anti-hunger advocate across the public sector.  Through his collaborative efforts with Utah farmer”s markets and the Department of Workforce Services, the number of markets that accept SNAP/food stamps was increased.  Mike became an advocate on the state and federal level to ensure low-income citizens needs regarding food were considered when bills were proposed.  As he had done previously in Boston and Austin, he launched a third youth development sustainable agriculture program, Real Food Rising. 

Most recently, Mike and his family moved to Williamstown, MA, where he accepted a position as the Assistant Director of the Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives at Williams College. The Zilkha center pursues sustainability at the college in collaboration with many other departments on campus and further afield.  Zilkha provides connections between diverse groups, designs, and advocates for operational change, researches, implements and shares best practices.   Mike also has been teaching Winter Study courses on food justice and farm workers rights, campus sustainability, and podcasting.  Mike has written that “At Zilkha, we have to understand and value the intersections of sustainability with social justice, environmental justice, equity, and inclusion”. He noted, “I still feel that I can make a difference working with young people especially around issues such as climate change and food”.

In the 21st century, Mike Evans is helping define for himself a career that embodies elements that many of us value very much.  He has managed to build a professional identity that exemplifies his expertise and skill set. While threading his way across the country, he has advanced professionally and can point with pride to his professional accomplishments: organizations he has led, programs he has founded and lives that he has touched.  And finally, he has found meaningful work that sustains him and gives him purpose.  Well done, Mike.