Mark A. Michaels
I have a JD from NYU and an MA in American Studies from Yale. I have been a playwright, an activist, a private investigator, and an educator. My life partner, Patricia Johnson, and I are award-winning co-authors of 5 books. We lectured internationally from 2000-2015. My publications encompass several fields: law (with a focus on Native American issues), sociology (the eugenics movement and the immigration discourse), sexuality, and self-help. I am an explorer and adventurer, a realist and a mystic, passionate about self-awareness and fascinated by questions of cognition, epistemology, and perception.
Curriculum Vitae:
2007-Present, Ivory-billed Woodpecker searcher/researcher/expert. Co-founder of Project Coyote/Principalis, originally an independent effort now in partnership with the National Aviary.
1999-2015, Writer/Lecturer on Tantra, relationships, and sexuality. Co-author of five books with Patricia Johnson; lectured nationally and internationally; offered online and in-person instruction.
1990-2001, Staff Attorney, American Indian Law Alliance/ Deputy Director, Native American Council of New York City. Worked with indigenous groups from around the world on human rights and environmental issues, advised the leadership of the New York area Native community on issues affecting urban Indians, including establishing a legal services program for community members. Provided policy and legal support to the Traditional Circle of Indian Elders and the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy.)
1986-1993, Freelance playwright and translator, various works produced and given staged readings off and off-off-Broadway. Translation of Goldoni’s The Beneficent Bear won a new play award and was selected by the Charlotte Repertory Theatre for a staged reading in 1993.
1989-1991, Literary Manager, New Voices at Greene Street. Produced monthly readings of new plays. Responsibilities included reading and selecting material, choosing directors, casting, and leading audience discussions.
1987-1989, Literary Manager, Roundabout Theatre Company. Advised Artistic Director on mainstage season, selected material for and produced occasional staged readings, wrote program notes, led audience discussions, translated and adapted Goldoni’s The Mistress of the Inn for mainstage production.
1986-1987, Literary Intern, Roundabout Theatre Company.
Publications:
“Multiple lines of evidence suggest the persistence of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) in Louisiana”. SC Latta, MA Michaels, TC Michot, PL Shrum, P Johnson, J Tischendorf, M Weeks, J Trochet, D Scheifler, B Ford. Ecology and Evolution 13 (5), (2023): e10017 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.10017
“Multiple lines of evidence indicate the survival of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) in Lousiana”. SC Latta, MA Michaels, D Scheifler, TC Michot, PL Shrum, P Johnson, J Tischendorf, M Weeks, J Trochet, B Ford. bioRxiv, 2022.04. 06. 487399
“Foraging Ivory-billed Woodpeckers in the Singer Tract in Louisiana: matching James T. Tanner´s field notes with his photographs from 1939”. MA Michaels, M Lammertink, WC Hunter, TC Michot. The Migrant 92 (2), (2021): 53-63. https://tnbirds.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/28181-TOS_Migrant_Jun2021_Complete.pdf
“Looking for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in eastern Cuba”. MA Michaels Journal of Caribbean Ornithology 34, (2021): 79-80. https://jco.birdscaribbean.org/index.php/jco/article/view/1301
“Historical status of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Virginia”. B Leese, MA Michaels,
The Raven 91, 2020: 4-9 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355999329_Historical_status_of_the_Ivory-billed_Woodpecker_in_Virginia
“Spinning the Wheel of Destiny” chapter in Sex Positive Now (with Patricia Johnson, Allena Gabosch, ed., in press) https://www.amazon.com/Sex-Positive-Now-Everything-positivity/dp/064870212X
“Mindful Sex” chapter in Llewellyn’s Book of Mindful Living (with Patricia Johnson, Robert Butera and Ellen Byron eds., Llewellyn, 2016) https://www.amazon.com/Llewellyns-Complete-Book-Mindful-Living/dp/0738746770
Designer Relationships: A Guide to Happy Monogamy, Positive Polyamory, and Optimistic Open Relationships (with Patricia Johnson, Cleis Press 2015) https://www.amazon.com/Designer-Relationships-Monogamy-Polyamory-Optimistic/dp/1627781471
Partners in Passion: A Guide to Great Sex, Emotional Intimacy, and Long-term Love (with Patricia Johnson, Cleis Press, 2014) https://www.amazon.com/Partners-Passion-Emotional-Intimacy-Long-term/dp/1627780289
Great Sex Made Simple: Tantric Tips to Deepen Intimacy and Heighten Pleasure (with Patricia Johnson, Llewellyn, 2012) https://www.amazon.com/Great-Sex-Made-Simple-Intimacy/dp/0738733458
Tantra for Erotic Empowerment: The Key to Enriching Your Sexual Life (with Patricia Johnson, Llewellyn, 2008). https://www.amazon.com/Tantra-Erotic-Empowerment-Enriching-Sexual/dp/0738711977
The Essence of Tantric Sexuality (with Patricia Johnson, Llewellyn, 2006). https://www.amazon.com/Essence-Tantric-Sexuality-Mark-Michaels/dp/073870900X
Nelkin, D., and M. Michaels. “Biological Categories and Border Controls: The Revival of Eugenics in Anti-Immigration Rhetoric.” International Journal of Sociology and Social Research 18 (1998): 35–64. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/01443339810788425/full/html
Mark A. Michaels, Indigenous Ethics and Alien Laws: Native Traditions and the United States Legal System, 66 Fordham L. Rev. 1565 (1998). https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol66/iss4/38/
Mark A. Michaels and Tonya Gonella Frichner, “War Declared on Religious Freedom,” Native Nations, 1:30, (1991).
Film:
Writer/Executive Producer/Protagonist - American Grail: A Quest for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Principalis Productions 2023), Andy Sarjahani, Director, Jolene Pinder Producer
Writer/Instructor Advanced Tantric Sex Secrets (Alexander Institute, 2008) https://www.amazon.com/Loving-Sex-Advanced-Tantric-Secrets/dp/B0013K2YRI
Writer/Instructor Tantric Sexual Massage for Lovers (Alexander Institute, 2008)
Meditation CD:
Ananda Nidra: Two Sensual Meditations for Awakening Ecstasy (Projekt Records, 2012)
Education:
B.A. (Honors and Distinction) University of Michigan, 1980.
J.D. New York University School of Law, 1985
M.A. (American Studies), New York University, 1994
M.A. (American Studies) Yale University, 1996