Mike Ellison is an actor, music and spoken word recording artist, and an Emmy® Award winning producer. Born to parents living and working in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia before the family relocated to Reston, Virginia where he was raised, Mike fully realized himself as an interdisciplinary artist in Detroit. Also known as MIKE-E, his independent music projects include AFROFLOW I, AFROFLOW II and FLYTANIUM, along with popular singles released in Ethiopia and Rwanda, and collaborations with several international artists. Mike’s acting credits span film, theater and television, with recent appearances on CHICAGO PD, CHICAGO FIRE and BMF.

Mike created and headlined the AFROFLOW Tour in partnership with American Cancer Society. Utilizing music and community engagement to encourage cancer prevention and tobacco cessation among youth populations disproportionately targeted by the industry, the groundbreaking US national tour endured for seven years.

With a Communications Degree from the University of Virginia, Mike began his career in sports marketing and public relations. He’s utilized the creative arts as a vehicle for cultural collaboration and charitable endeavors throughout the United States and his birth country. Mike’s father, the late journalist Bob Ellison, was the first African American president of the White House Correspondents’ Association.