Mike Neal brought the noble ideals of his graphic design education to the Los Angeles advertising world as an art director for Ogilvy and Mather, where he learned the key lesson that “There’s got to be a better way!” Building on his work for community organizations like the Long Beach Public Library and environmental programs for the Port of Long Beach and Heal the Bay, as well as lecturing at California State University Long Beach, UCLA, and USC, he joined SVA to merge his dual impulses to inform and entertain, ensuring that every insightful criticism is balanced by a horrible pun. To this end he has blogged for Pentagram, brought his thesis research for a “better way” on the planet Mars to bear for PRI’s “Studio 360,” and appeared as a guest lecture at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal.