Hon. Michael Signer, Ph.D.

Mike is an experienced practicing attorney and strategic policy advisor with expertise spanning corporate, regulatory, Constitutional, and employment law. He has counseled Fortune 100 companies, pre-IPO startups, NGOs, governors, mayors, and political campaigns, while crafting and executing complex strategies to impact legislative and regulatory outcomes at every jurisdictional level.

Experience

Mike most recently served as North America Policy Director for Airbnb (2022-2025), overseeing 50 public policy professionals representing the company's interests across thousands of U.S. and Canadian markets and working closely with the company’s Legal team on significant cross-functional initiatives. He spearheaded initiatives on economic empowerment, housing affordability, trust and safety, and regulatory compliance for the publicly-traded hospitality technology company.

For five years, he was Partner, VP and General Counsel of WillowTree, the country's largest independent digital design agency, sitting on the firm's executive committee. He led negotiations for multi-million dollar agreements with Fortune 500 companies, founded the Social Impact practice, and directed development of an 85,000 square foot headquarters involving complex state and local agreements.

In 2010, he co-founded Madison Law & Strategy Group, representing clients including the Southeast's largest hedge fund, major alternative energy companies, and dozens of early-stage technology firms.

His legal experience includes serving as counsel to Governor Mark Warner of Virginia, handling complex matters including death penalty appeals and homeland security issues, and as an attorney at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr in Washington, D.C., where he was a member of the Public Policy and Strategy and Government Litigation groups.

Policy and Strategic Leadership

From 2016–2020, Mike served as mayor and city councilor of Charlottesville, Virginia, a AAA-bond-rated city. His tenure included managing the city's response during the violent Unite the Right rally of 2017, expanding technology tax credits, and implementing initiatives supporting political refugees and protecting historic neighborhoods. Under his leadership, Charlottesville was ranked #4 for entrepreneurs by Entrepreneur magazine and #5 Happiest, Healthiest City by the Today show.

Following his mayorship, he founded and chaired Communities Overcoming Extremism: the After Charlottesville Project, a bipartisan coalition including the Anti-Defamation League, Ford Foundation, Charles Koch Institute, and New America. The project convened national summits and produced best practices for combating extremism, garnering coverage from National Public Radio.

National Security and Democratic Resilience

Mike has extensive national security experience, serving as a founding member of the Truman National Security Project and national security director for the 2008 John Edwards presidential campaign and chairing Governor Terry McAuliffe’s Transition Council for Homeland Security. He was Senior Policy Advisor at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, where he directed the Homeland Security Presidential Transition Initiative, successfully advocating for reforms including merging the Homeland Security and National Security Councils in the Obama administration.

He served on the State Department Transition team for President-elect Barack Obama and has spoken on national security at international forums including conferences in Israel, Qatar, Berlin, and Italy. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Truman Center for National Policy.

Thought Leadership and Recognition

Mike is the author of three books on democracy and leadership, including Cry Havoc: Charlottesville and American Democracy under Siege (PublicAffairs, 2020). He has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, and Time, and appeared on Meet the Press, Face the Nation, and The Rachel Maddow Show.

He is a recipient of the Anti-Defamation League's Levenson Family Defender of Democracy Award, the Rob DeBree & David O’Malley Award for Community Response to Hatred from the Matthew Shepard Foundation, and in 2017 was named one of Forward Magazine's 50 most influential Jewish leaders in America.

Education and Credentials

Mike earned his Ph.D. in political science from UC Berkeley as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and his J.D. from the University of Virginia. He graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University on scholarship. He is a member of the Virginia and Washington, D.C. Bars, the Association of Corporate Counsel, and the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Mike lives in Fairfax County, Virginia, with his wife Emily, a national security expert, and their twin 10-year-old boys.

For more, see michaelsigner.com