Michael D Laba

Mike Laba is the third generation of his family to live in Rochester, N.Y. He graduated from Gates Chili High School in 1992 andearned an undergraduate degree in criminal science at Rochester Institute of Technology. Laba served more than six years in the U.S. Army _ the first two years, he was on active-duty training to become an X-ray specialist, then he enrolled in the Reserve's medical and civil affairs units. He was a special assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense in Washington, D.C., for nearly two years, where much of his work centered on helping to manage the assets of coalition countries deployedin the war on terror. He was working in the Pentagon when it was struck by a hijacked airline on Sept. 11, 2001, but was not injured. He resigned in August 2003 to do private business consulting work.