Michael Castle Miller

Michael is a governance consultant who has served as an advisor to governments, international organizations, civil society, and private investors in over 25 countries. He specializes in the legal and public policy frameworks for special jurisdictions -- such as special economic zones and semi-autonomous areas -- that improve institutional governance for developing countries. He has drafted laws and regulations, helped create administrative agencies, design policy reforms, and structure public-private partnerships. He is the Founder and Executive Director of Politas, which provides innovative legal and policy solutions to help cities and special jurisdictions achieve inclusive growth.

Michael's professional experience ranges from legal and policy consulting to real estate negotiation, and from organizational management to community engagement. Michael was the Managing Director of Locus Economica, a boutique SEZ consulting firm advising on numerous World Bank, UNIDO, and direct-government projects. Michael also served as a consultant with the World Bank, working on urban law and development issues. Before that, he worked for the Public International Law and Policy Group.

Michael earned a J.D., summa cum laude, from American University, Washington College of Law and an M.A. in International Politics from American University, School of International Service. His work has been featured in National Geographic, fDi Magazine, der Standard, Christian Science Monitor, and Weltwoche. His publications in legal journals cover the political economy of international trade and investment, comparative local government, “Charter Cities,” U.S. immigration law, and expropriation jurisprudence. He has given talks and participated in panel discussions on special jurisdictions at several conferences internationally.

Michael is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy and a Senior Program Officer of WEPZA, a trade association of SEZ practitioners. He is also an active member of the New York State Bar Association and licensed to practice law in New York.

Michael is also the founder and lead of the Lunar Development Cooperative (LDC) Working Group and developed the LDC concept. The LDC will be a public-private partnership that provides infrastructure and critical public services to enable a thriving human settlement on the Moon. The LDC is designed to generate a profit by capturing rising land values on the Moon. He formed this concept and group in collaboration with space experts from the National Space Society and other space organizations.

They have been working on this project since July 2019. Read the white paper for more.