Michael Applegate has worked at the Bright Futures Education Partnership for Monterey County for more than five years. He currently serves as the Interim Director. He also leads the data and research work of the Partnership and chairs the committee to advance racial equity. Prior to working at Bright Futures, he taught research and statistics courses from a social justice perspective at CSU Monterey Bay in the Department of Psychology. He has taught Chicana/o history to incarcerated youth in Santa Cruz County and is the founder of a Chicano/Latino men’s group called Sol de las Calles.  
He completed his bachelor’s degree with highest honors in psychology with a minor in Latin American and Latino studies and his master’s degree in social psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.