Michael Moodian

Dr. Michael A. (Mike) Moodian has been a college professor since 2006 and has served as a faculty member at Chapman University in various capacities since 2007. He teaches in Attallah College’s undergraduate and graduate Leadership Studies programs. The Leadership Studies Department presented Mike with the Richard L. Resurreccion Outstanding Educator Award in May 2023.

Mike cofounded the inaugural Orange County Sustainability Decathlon. This competition brought together college teams from across the globe to design and build innovative, highly sustainable, ultra-efficient homes, which were displayed at a sustainable village at the OC Fair & Event Center in October 2023. The event aimed to help position the greater Southern California region as the world's sustainability and clean-technology capital.

Mike released the television documentary Coastal Crisis: California's Vanishing Beaches, which PBS aired in the L.A. region in 2022. The documentary explores the causes and effects of coastal erosion on California's beaches. Mike is the program's co-producer, co-director, and lead writer. The documentary won the OC Press Club's top honor (the Real Orange Award), a Telly Award, and the Best of Festival Award at the 2022 Los Angeles Television, Script and Film Festival. Watch Coastal Crisis here.

Sage Publications released Mike's first book, Contemporary Leadership and Intercultural Competence, in 2009. This edited volume examines the application of cultural comprehension to organizations and the measurement of intercultural competence. The Association of American Colleges & Universities cited the book in establishing national learning standards. Mike also wrote a local history book in 2010, and he is currently under contract with the University of Toronto Press for his next book (details forthcoming).

Mike has received five gubernatorial appointments since 2015, first serving on the State of California Commission on Judicial Performance (CJP) for 10 years (2015–2025). Gov. Jerry Brown initially appointed him to the commission in 2015 and reappointed him in 2017, and Gov. Gavin Newsom reappointed Mike for a final four-year term in 2021. Mike served two years as the commission's chairperson (2023–2025) and three years as vice chair (2020–2023). He is the first person of Native Hawaiian ancestry to chair the CJP in its 66-year history.

After reaching a 10-year term limit with the CJP in 2025, Gov. Newsom appointed Mike to the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission and reappointed him for a three-year term in 2026. The California State Senate unanimously confirmed both appointments.

Since 2023, Mike has served on the board of Providence Mission Hospital, a major regional health care provider with campuses in Mission Viejo and Laguna Beach, during a period of significant organizational growth.

Mike has presented his research at national and international conferences and has served as an expert commentator on several television and radio programs. He also codirects Wilkinson College's Orange County Annual Survey.

The Orange County Register named Mike to its 125 Most Influential People in Orange County list for three consecutive years (2021–2023).

In previous years, Mike served as a board member and chair of Santa Margarita Catholic High School, the World Affairs Council of Orange County, and the United Nations Association of Orange County Advisory Board.

Mike earned a doctoral degree in education from Pepperdine University and a master's degree in communications and bachelor's degrees in communications and sociology from California State University, Fullerton. He is a former U.S. military reservist.

Mike lives in Rancho Mission Viejo with his wife, Dr. Margaret Moodian (‘03), and their young son and pets. In his free time, Mike enjoys being a taekwondo dad, coaching youth sports, and serving as a San Juan Capistrano Little League board member and division commissioner.