The Sunlight Foundation build upon several of Mike’s earlier experiences. These include what he learned about the power and value of robust, contemporaneous public disclosure both during his years as a securities and corporate lawyer at the international law firm now known as Wilmer Hale Wilmer Hale {www.wilmerhale.com}, from which he retired in 2005, and as the Chairman and co-founder of CoStar Group, Inc. {www.costargroup.com} (NASDAQ symbol CSGP), which today provides 24/7 Internet access to vast amounts of accurate information about virtually all (well over 45 billion square feet) of commercial, industrial and retail real estate properties throughout the United States, Great Britain, France and elsewhere. The Sunlight Foundation also reflects what Mike learned about the power of peer judgments in his years as a member, ultimately as President, of the PEN Faulkner Foundation {www.penfaulkner.org}, the leading writer led and focused organization that both honors and builds audience for contemporary American fiction by peer awarded prizes for the best novels and short stories published each year.
The other major activity to which Mike now devotes considerable time and resources is as the Chairman of The Shakespeare Theatre Company and its Harman Center for the Performing arts in Washington. DC {www.ShakepeareTheatreCompany.org}, recognized as the nation’s finest classical theater company.
Mike has been and remains actively engaged in a number of other for profit and non-profit activities, in addition to The Sunlight Foundation and CoStar Group, Inc.
In the realm of business, he serves as the Lead Director and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Perini Corporation {www.perini.com} (NYSE symbol PCR), one of the nation's oldest and best run publicly held construction companies and as a member of the Board of Directors of SRA International, Inc. {www.sra.com} (NYSE symbol SRX), a leading systems integrator focused primarily on serving the federal sector, which has for many years running been selected by Fortune Magazine as one of the 100 best U.S. companies to work for. His earlier service on the boards of two other public corporations ended when they (National Education Corporation and Steck-Vaughn Corporation) were acquired. In the privately held business arena, together with two other principals, Mike is an owner and director of Astar Air Cargo, Inc. {www.astaraircargo.us}, a privately held air cargo carrier serving DHL, Inc., the United States government, and other charter customers; the Chairman and CEO of Le Paradou {www.leparadou.net}, Washington, D.C.'s finest restaurant, which he co-founded with legendary chef Yannick Cam; the Chairman of Zenith Gallery, Inc. {www.zenithgallery.com}, one of Washington's longest lived contemporary art galleries, which he co-founded with Margery Goldberg; and a member of the Board of Directors of Oz Fitness, Inc., a chain of fitness clubs in the Pacific Northwest.
In the not-for-profit arena, in addition to his role as the Chairman and founder of The Sunlight Foundation, previously mentioned, Mike currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of The American Himalayan Foundation {www.himalayan-foundation.org}, which focuses principally on education, healthcare, welfare and cultural preservation and restoration activities in the Himalayan region, principally Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan, as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Miami, of the Dean's Advisory Committee of the Harvard Law School, of the Committee on University Resources of Harvard University and of the Society of Fellows of the Aspen Institute. Mike served as the Chairman and co-founder of the Washington D.C. Advocates for the Public Interest, and a member of the boards of the Center for Law in the Public Interest and of the Support Center of Washington, D.C.