Michael Andriano was born and raised in Central Florida, specifically, Oviedo.

Michael shares: "Growing up, my Father was the pastor of a large Christian church in Oviedo. Since I was a child, I’ve always known that I was different; that feeling did not come to full fruition until I was old enough to understand that I am an LGBTQ man. My parents did not take this fact well and when I was 20 years old, I was sent to conversion therapy. When that did not “work,” I was kicked out of the home. I struggled for many years coming to terms with who I was and my family did as well. Today, I am grateful through all of those challenges that me and my family were able to come to terms with who I am as a person and I have had their full support for a long time now. I recognize that kind of healing and grace is not the case for so many LGBTQ people so I am truly blessed in that regard."

Michael adds: "Going through this experience led me to want to be a lawyer. I wanted to help and serve people. I know what it feels like, even still sometimes, to be disregarded, devalued, and stigmatized so my thought process is that if I can lead with kindness, love, encouragement, and compassion, I am taking steps to fulfill my purpose which is service to others and to try and never make people feel the way that I did."

And he continues: "As far as we know, I am the first open LGBTQ President of the Orange County Bar Association Foundation. The mission of the OCBA Foundation (OCBAF) is to increase awareness, appreciation and respect for the legal system by educating the public about the rule of law and the role of lawyers and courts in that system. We try to achieve this goal by awarding scholarships to deserving students, awarding grants to people/organizations/associations that are putting on community events that have a legal education component, and by putting on our own community education events. For example, we often partner with the Legal Aid Society to host citizen events discussing hot button topics such as landlord/tenant law, immigration, family, consumer protection, etc. Those events usually consist of a panel discussion made up of lawyers, judges, community leaders to give general overviews of the laws and procedures in these areas. Then there is usually a time for questions from the citizens. The goal of the Foundation’s scholarship award to undergraduate students and the book awards to law students is to better serve our Orange County community through legal education. The undergraduate scholarship is awarded to a deserving UCF legal studies student or a Valencia paralegal studies student. The Foundation particularly considers it a blessing to hear personal stories of triumph over traumas experienced in their family lives, academic lives, work lives, etc. Those are the stories that always touch the hearts of the Board members to see how a young student has overcome so much and continues to succeed in life no matter the circumstances. It also gives a focus on how the student is going to use those experiences to shape their passions and career going forward to ultimately help other people."


Michael expresses his philosophy: "My perspective is this: Each of us come with different backgrounds, experiences, and ideas on how to get the job done. It is a wonderful mix that enables us to make it work because we all have a shared goal of bettering the community that we serve. Diversity and inclusion is not about checking boxes or excluding people. At its most basic level, it is about valuing people – all people. God created all different kinds of people. Each race, culture, and creed bring different experiences, ideas, and thoughts concerning how to approach issues and to serve. They should be embraced and not excluded from the table. We learn best from each other based on our differences, but with the caveat that we are all the same human race.

What I love about working with the Foundation, and with other organizations, is that we serve people without consideration of ourselves and policy. We lead with love, kindness, and empathy. People have tried to make “diversity and inclusion” divisive and dirty words but that position fails to recognize the value that different perspectives bring to the table."

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