Name: Mike Neal | mneal@sga-inc.net

SGA Specialty: Branding and Creative Strategy

Birthplace: Long Beach, CA

Education:  School of Visual Arts, MFA in Design Criticism. California State University, Long Beach, BFA in Graphic Design.

Clients Served: City of Los Angeles Stormwater Program, Fish Contamination Education Collaborative, San Bernardino County Zero Waste Communities, City of Irvine Environmental Programs, Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association, Orange County Conservation Corps

Greatest adventure: Serving as Executive Officer and Journalist of Crew 84 of the Mars Desert Research Station. For two weeks, I lived and studied in a simulated space habitat isolated in the Utah desert with an international team of scientists and engineers as part of an ongoing experiment to anticipate the hypothetical conditions of living and working on another planet. You can hear my report on PRI & WNYC Radio’s Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen. http://www.studio360.org/2010/mar/12/life-on-mars/

Favorite quote: “Hop inside guys, and I’ll show you how this thing works. Or, at least how it’s supposed to work.” -Gadget Hackwrench, Chip and Dale’s Rescue Rangers.

When I’m not working at SGA, I am: Teaching advertising design at Chapman University, speaking at large on design futuring and pop culture, and studying Global Sustainability in UCLA’s certificate program.