Mike Alpert
Owner, Product Developer, Professional Talker
As the primary product developer of Cogent Solutions, Mike Alpert believes in empowering educators so they can more freely empower the next generation. Mike founded Cogent in 2019 with the goal of bringing streamlined, private sector solutions to public education. Mike’s corporate experience as a project analyst for an international renewable energy firm (Iberdrola Renewables) and as a financial services specialist (employee credit union of Intel and Microsoft) led him to realize the importance of education across all fields. Mike earned his MBA at Portland State University, with focused coursework in finance and innovation management, and took his expertise to the classroom and front office, where he worked over the next decade as a teacher before becoming a building administrator. Mike is a Crystal Apple Award Winning educator, and has worked in both small, rural districts and large, suburban districts in the Portland metro area, even serving overseas as a teacher and Central Administrator in Prague, Czech Republic. Mike is a founding board member of Ex Novo Brewing Co, the world’s first non-profit brewery, and is the creator of The Curiosity Blueprint. On his “off days” (a little educator joke) you can find him training for his next half-marathon or at home with his wife and their son.
Education
BA, English, Texas A&M University
MBA, Portland State University
MAT, George Fox University
State of Oregon Licensed Teacher & Administrator