Middendorf, a Chicago native, was educated at Northern Illinois University and holds a Master of Business Administration in Finance from DePaul University. Building on his successes as a corporate manager and marketer, Middendorf followed a special call to found Lighthouse Catholic Media (LCM), a lay apostolate that became the largest producer of Catholic audio talks on the planet before merging with Augustine Institute in 2015. Middendorf served as Executive Vice President For Mission Expansion at Augustine Institute before becoming AMU’s fourth President in February 2022. He and his wife, Christine, are the proud parents of four children.