About
CrackerHammer is the official website and online home of Michael Mercadante.
Who Is Michael Mercadante?
I’m a professional driving instructor, multimedia artist and writer with expertise in education, psychology, history and instructional design, living and working in the Philadelphia suburbs. That’s the short version.
The long version? Over the last 25 years, I’ve had an incredible variety of odd jobs. I’ve been a kindergarten teacher, summer camp counselor, retail manager, disc jockey, costumed mascot, scientific researcher, sports cinematographer, security chief, college professor and comic book publisher – and that’s just the tip of it. Through it all, I’ve honed my creative skills with a wide variety of projects, including graphic and website design, Flash animation, video production, photography and illustration.
I studied fine art, photography and television production in high school, and started college as a Communications major at the local community college. I spent a year studying film and fine art at The College Of Santa Fe, and then took ten years off. I returned to college in 2005, earning a B.A. degree the following year from Temple University. That degree is in American History, which is another passion of mine. I’m currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Psychology with a dual specialization in Educational Psychology and Applied Behavior Analysis.
To date, I’ve been working professionally as follows:
- writing: 20+ years
- video production: 20+ years
- photography: 20+ years
- illustration: 20+ years
- website design: 10+ years
- flash animation: 10+ years
- traffic safety research/education: 9+ years
- general education: 8+ years
- project management: 8+ years
I’m currently licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education as a professional driving instructor, and certified as a Defensive Driving Instructor by the National Safety Council. I teach behind-the-wheel, in the classroom and on modern virtual-reality simulators, and specialize in training teens and adults with special needs, including autism, learning disabilities and traumatic brain injuries.
