Michele Catherine Mician

Michele Catherine Mician, age 42, passed away unexpectedly on November 28, 2017 in Sarasota, Florida. Michele was born on October 26, 1975, in Tampa, Florida to Miloslava (Mila) and Rudolf Mician.

Michele graduated from Gaither High School in Tampa in 1993. She attended American University in Washington D.C. and continued her studies at the University of South Florida (USF) to earn a B.A. in Technical Writing in 1997, a certificate in Latin American studies in 2001, a graduate certificate in Women's Studies in 2002, and her M.S. in Environmental Science and Policy in 2003. Michele also studied Rainforest Ecology at La Suerta Biological Field School in Costa Rica and earned a certificate in permaculture design from Cazadero, California's acclaimed Earth Activist Training course.

As an undergraduate, Michele was a volunteer coordinator for the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. She was a project manager and team leader at Kinkos in Carrollwood for five years; during which, she implemented a pioneering recycling program to reduce waste. She was a proud member of Chi Omega Sorority, and after graduating, she delighted in being involved in alumni chapters. She had countless owl (her sorority's mascot) momentos. Michele volunteered for various organizations including USF Ambassadors. She was as an editor for The Oracle, USF's newspaper, and was the editorial assistant for several academic journals including Organization and Environment.

While in the M.S. program at USF, Michele was very active in the Tampa Bay community. She served on the Women's Status Committee under President Genshaft, as a volunteer and education tour guide at Sweetwater Organic Farm, as a project coordinator for Hands on Tampa (HOT). She was also involved in community outreach for many local organizations.

After graduate school, Michele worked as a cartographer and GIS analyst for the Hillsborough County Real Estate Department. From 2002 to 2008, she was a neighborhood coordinator for Sarasota's Neighborhood Partnership Office where she organized the Florida Neighborhoods conference, was the founding editor of Neighbor to Neighbor, and was responsible for Sarasota's certification as a Local Green Government. Later, she served as Sarasota's first sustainability coordinator creating the "Your Green City" program. Simultaneously, she was an adjunct professor in the Women's Studies department at USF's Sarasota Campus.

In 2009, Michele moved to Palm Springs, California to take on the position of Sustainability Manager for the city and recreate and expand on the her successes in Sarasota. She worked diligently to improve sustainability adding over 40 electric vehicle charging stations, introducing desert landscape programs, and creating an urban forestry inventory and local food production programs. The City won numerous awards and designations through Michele's efforts including the California Center for Sustainable Energy's State award for sustainable cities. The City plans to name the community gardens she helped create in her honor.

In 2017, Michele returned to Sarasota as the Executive Director of the Florida House Institute (FHI). During her brief tenure, she reinvigorated the Institute. She was not afraid to get her hands dirty. Her drive and passion for STEM, sustainability, and environmental education were undeniable and infectious. She used her platform to help individuals, her community, and the environment. She developed and expanded many programs including the butterfly and pollinator corridors, urban bee and chicken keeping, and edible gardens. Michele also submitted a 1.4-million dollar grant proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF) which could secure FHI's future for years to come.

Michele was very involved in Rotary International. She was a Rotary Global Study Exchange team member to Japan in 2006, Friendship Exchange for Peace in Thailand in 2008, and a Rotary Peace Fellow at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand in 2012.

For fun, Michele enjoyed athletic activities such as running, swimming, biking, and dancing. She was an avid triathlon and marathoner and yoga instructor and practitioner. Michele was also an amateur poet, having compiled a collection of over sixty poems, and singer / songwriter.

Michele was proud of her Czech and Slovak heritage. She was fluent in Czech, Slovak and English

Michele's exuberant energy, compassionate leadership and contagious spirit will be missed, but her legacy will live on in the people and organizations she helped and the ideas and knowledge she helped spread.

Michele is survived by her mother, Miloslava (Mila) Mician, and brother, Rudolph (Rudy) Mician. Michele was preceded in death by her father Rudolf Mician.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on January 20th at 2:00 p.m. at Toale Brothers funeral home at 40 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota, Florida 34236 – across the street from where Michele worked for the city.

The family has asked for donations to the Florida House Institute, where she worked, and Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center (SPARCC Sarasota) in lieu of flowers.