After studying Microbiology, Mike joined the staff of For A Change magazine in 1987. An interest in the peoples behind Europe's 'Iron curtain' took him to several of these countries before, during and after the 1989 collapse of communist regimes. With his wife, Karen, he taught English in Poland 1992-3 before returning to the UK where he joined the Foundations for Freedom program http://www.f-4-f.org helping run training programmes for young leaders in former communist countries.