From Wall Street to Downingtown: A Dad’s Fight for His Son & His Community

On this episode of Good2Know in Chester County, host Jenny Leigh sits down with Mike, a Downingtown dad, advocate, and the founder of Downingtown Tax Group. In 2019, Mike’s oldest son, Connor, was diagnosed with Sanfilippo Syndrome, a rare genetic disease often called “childhood Alzheimer’s.” There is no cure and no treatment. Since then, Mike and his family have been raising money and awareness. They made the short film Save Connor, they host the much-loved Designer Purse Drag Queen Bingo each year, and they started the Sanfilippo Project, which shares interviews with rare disease families. Mike also hosts the Rare Dads Roundtable, a Zoom group where dads of kids with rare diseases come together to learn from each other and support one another. Mike also talks about how his career went from options trading and financial advising on Wall Street to running his own tax prep and tax planning firm, alongside his father (an enrolled agent) and his wife. He explains why tax planning matters, how owning his own business gives him more time with Connor, and why his Thursday night soccer league keeps him going. In this episode: What Sanfilippo Syndrome is and why families have to lead the fight for a cure How local businesses and the Chester County community came together for Connor The Rare Dads Roundtable and why opening up takes courage Tax preparation vs. tax planning, and why the difference matters Why Chester County, and the OJR school community, feel like home