PLC BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Michael Cox is a Product Manager for Global Impact Bond at the Wellington Management Company. Prior to this role, Michael was a Vice President at Morgan Stanley and held consulting positions at Deloitte within Strategy and Operations, Citi Ventures, and at an investment advisory firm. Before consulting, Michael served as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of the Mayor of the City of New York working on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and innovation, and was a candidate for New York State Senate.
Michael began his career as an 8th grade teacher for America Corps Member in East New York, Brooklyn before serving as a Legislative Assistant to Congressman Gregory Meeks, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. As a Congressional Staffer, Michael was responsible for a portfolio that included Education & Workforce and Small Business committees, as well as trade, social policy, economic development, national security, and health. During this time Michael served in a leadership capacity on the Congressional Black Caucus Education Task Force, was a member of African American Men on The Hill and was instrumental in several pieces of legislation and policy deals including The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans.
In 2012, Michael was appointed by the White House to join the Obama Administration, where he served at the United States Commerce Department and held successive roles covering key economic issues including trade, science and technology policy, and economic development for Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker.
After serving in the Obama Administration, Michael led Government and Community Affairs for New York University in Brooklyn, and helped develop a Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math corridor in downtown Brooklyn. During Michael’s time at NYU, he drove record levels of participation with Minority and Women owned firms and served on various boards that shaped a more equitable and productive Downtown Brooklyn.
Michael is a graduate of Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship, where he was a member of the Football and Track & Field teams and holds an Advanced Honors Certificate in International Business Diplomacy from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Michael also holds a master’s degree in education from Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education, a Master’s in Public Administration from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service where he concentrated in Social Impact, Innovation, and Investment, and a Master’s of Business Administration from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
Civically, Michael has served on his local Brooklyn Community Board, the Teach for America Alumni Board, and the advisory board of Made in Brownsville—a social enterprise focused on fostering tech and entrepreneurship skills among underserved young people in Brooklyn. In 2023, Michael was appointed to the Board of Directors of Progressive Life center for children and families, a non-profit servicing youth in foster care.
In his personal time, Michael is a member of Christian Cultural Center church, One Hundred Black Men of America’s New York Chapter, the Council on Foreign Relations, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.