Mike grew up in the village of Ouzinkie and he maintains a home there and spends as much time in the village as he can. His mother is the late Dorothy Morrison, and his grandparents are Pat and Dora (Katelnikoff) Pestrikoff, all of whom resided in Ouzinkie for the vast majority of their lives. Mike has been married to his wife Debbie for 26 years and they have two daughters Makayla (23) and Chanel (18).

As many villagers did, Mike started commercial fishing while in grade school and continued fishing during the summer months throughout high school and college. Upon graduating from college, he accepted an engineering position with Boeing in Seattle. In 2003, he moved back to Alaska to be closer to family.

 

Mike previously served on the ONC board from 1997-2000. During his career, he worked for Alyeska Pipeline Service Company (APSC) and Koniag Inc. (KI) as a project engineer and/or manager. While working full time, he continued his education and obtained his MBA degree and Advanced Project Management credentials.