About / Contact

Miguel (aka Mike Firm) is a Portland-based creative with a focus on multimedia, storytelling, and community building. During the past 10+ years he has worked in secondary and higher education, as well as the museum and nonprofit sectors.

He leads his work with systems-level, community-led, and relationship-based practices and values. Miguel’s role as a designer is to not only highlight the pervasive systems that adversely impact our conditions, but to also take actionable steps towards creating new and just futures with his communities.

This requires an interdisciplinary, collaborative, and people-centered approach that centers design justice and participatory frameworks.

Miguel currently works at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) as a Talent Development & Inclusion Strategist, and he has an MFA in Collaborative Design from the Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) and BS in Mathematics from Portland State University.

His MFA thesis “Space Activation: a collaborative exchange between BIPoC Artists and cultural institutions“ focuses on the framework and process of space activation and placemaking and how this can encourage and foster stronger relationships and collaborations between both of these groups.

In his free time he makes conscious/political hip-hop music, leads a grassroots Latinx collective, and does some diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) consulting on the side. You can also find him watching a slew of video essays, collecting trading cards, dabbling in creative coding, and chilling with the homies.

I’m always searching for new opportunities to engage, connect, and be in community - check out my CV and let’s build together.