Michael D. Mitchell & Associates
Civil Rights Professional, Attorney, Consultant, Advocate
Fair Housing, Fair Lending, Community Development
My professional life is dedicated to addressing issues of social and economic justice. I express this commitment by working to ensure that underserved communities, vulnerable consumers and communities of color have access to the near limitless opportunities of American life free of discrimination.
During my career I have developed new programs, led cutting edge initiatives, managed organizational growth and change, and been one of the leading “private attorney generals” enforcing and advancing the Nation’s fair housing and lending laws in creative ways, including participating in some of the largest and most impactful fair housing settlements in the insurance and lending fields.
Michael D. Mitchell
Biography
Michael D. Mitchell has a longtime commitment to civil rights, and economic justice, having worked in the field of civil rights law enforcement for over 25 years. He most recently served as the Director of National Neighbors, a program of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) where he has also been the Vice President of Fair Lending. Mr. Mitchell spearheaded the Coalition’s systemic fair lending initiatives, lead efforts to combat predatory lending, lead the national mystery shopping/testing program of lenders, conducted training on fair housing planning, fair lending enforcement, and provided technical assistance and fair housing capacity building training to state and municipal agencies and community organizations. Additionally, he managed the coalitions enforcement efforts and provided compliance and best practice partnership services to lenders and housing providers.
Mr. Mitchell has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Howard University School of Law since 2007, and has also served as an Instructor at the National Fair Housing Training Academy, and is a frequent speaker at national and regional conferences.
Before joining NCRC, Mr. Mitchell worked for seven years with the Equal Rights Center as the Director of Enforcement, and the Fair Housing Council of Greater Washington where he served as the Director of the Fair Housing Center of Suburban Maryland. In these positions he conducted testing of housing providers, public accommodations, insurance companies, and lenders, and participated in several cases that led to landmark decisions.
Mr. Mitchell also worked for the City Rockville, Maryland, as the City's Human Rights Officer. In this position he worked to enforce Rockville's Human Rights Ordinance as it pertained to discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.
Prior to coming to Washington, he practiced law in Oakland, California for three years, working both as a solo practitioner and serving as an Associate in the Law offices of Richard R. Wright. Mr. Mitchell is an honors graduate of Morehouse College, Class of 1979, and a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.