Dr. Paul Michael (Mike) Leonardo Atienza is an assistant professor of Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies at California Polytechnic University, Humboldt. He teaches courses in Asian/American Studies, transnational gender and sexuality studies, performance studies, media and cultural studies, and science and technology studies (STS).

His theoretical vantage puts in conversation feminist and postcolonial technoscience, queer of color critique, and global asia/america towards the study of the online and offline lives of queer Filipino men and their investments in finding intimate connections through mobile digital media platforms. These platforms include dating apps, social media, and messaging software systems.

Mike completed his doctoral degree in cultural anthropology in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. At UIUC, Mike completed an M.A. in anthropolopy in addition to a graduate certificate in Gender and Women's Studies. He is also affiliated with the Department of Asian American Studies.

Prior to his doctoral work, he received an M.A. degree in Southeast Asian Studies as well as B.A. degrees in music and English at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). During his time at UCR, Mike was a certificate of merit recipient from NACADA, The Global Community for Academic Advising with ten years of student academic advising experience assisting several departments and programs in the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at the University of California, Riverside. They were also a board member for the Riverside Asian American Community Association where he developed and managed their college internship program.

In addition to his ethnographic work, he collaborates with performance artist Maria Arte Susya Purisima Tolentino, or Ma. Arte for short (formerly Aloha Tolentino). Mike sings with keroncong performers Orkes Pantai Barat (West Coast Orchestra). Find us on YouTube or click here for our most viewed video: Lady Gaga Cover. Mike uses any gender pronouns.