Councilmember Michael Nash is a native Normanite and has lived in Norman for 35 years. Less than a year after 9-11 he registered to join the active duty United States Marine Corps infantry. In 2004 he served as part of the Marine Raiders and the Maritime Special Purpose Forces attached with Marine Recon and Scout Snipers for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, and in 2005 served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. He married his hometown sweetheart Shandell Hartman in 2006. After the Marine Corps, he attended the University of Oklahoma in pursuit of his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, followed by a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in robotics, control systems, sensing and measurement systems, and sensor development.
Ward 5 consists of mostly rural area and covers the largest land mass of all the wards in Norman. The Ward starts at approximately 36th Avenue East excluding a small section between Alameda and Lindsey where the western boundary is 48th Avenue SE. South of Lindsey Street the western boundary is 24th Avenue East and south of Imhoff Road the western boundary is Classen Boulevard. The eastern boundary continues east to the far side of Lake Thunderbird and encompasses Little Axe with the east border being as far out as 180th Avenue.
Michael is a proud member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and strives to provide mentorship to the Native American youth. He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and has a diverse range of experience developing new technologies in sectors including the aerospace, oil and gas, HVAC, commercial plumbing, general construction, and information technology. He has worked on projects for Flogistix, Baker Hughes and Halliburton, and in 2019 spoke at NASA on the application of robotics and AI in modern day technology and innovation. Since 2011, Dr. Nash has provided consultation services to companies netting over $20M in solutions to clients, and in 2018 shifted focus full-time on the development of new technologies with the founding of Nautilus Technologies. He and his wife Shandell Hartman Nash have been married since 2006 and have had two sons together, Ethan (born 2013) and Monty (born 2017) and one daughter, Brielle (born 2021). Michael previously served on Council for Ward 5 from September 2020 to July 2021.
Councilmember Nash serves on the Finance Committee, the Community Planning and Transportation Committee, the Business and Community Affairs Committee, and represents Council at the Animal Welfare Oversight Committee.