Michelle is a lifelong Boston resident and community activist who has worked in many nonprofits throughout the city for the past 35 years.  Currently, she is the Director of Operations at Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, an organization that advocates for equity in education.  Before joining MBAE, Michelle served as the Executive and Special Projects Administrator at YW Boston. She also worked at Friends of the Children-Boston, serving the roles of Development Director, Deputy Director, Executive Director, and Director of Administration and Community Partnerships. She has held leadership roles at Strong Women, Strong Girls, Federated Dorchester Neighborhood Houses (now College Bound Dorchester), Gate of Heaven and St. Brigid Parishes, and Literacy Volunteers of Massachusetts. Michelle received a BA in history from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Michelle is a breast cancer survivor, but lost her sister to a rare form of cancer in 2017 at the age of 49. In dealing with this loss, she started a holiday charity drive in memory of her sister to benefit homeless teens at Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Boston’s only homeless shelter for teens. She also discovered yoga and its healing properties, and in June 2021, completed her first 500 hour Yoga Teacher Training with the Yoga Liberation Front led by David Vendetti. Then in 2022 at the age of 56, she completed her second 500 hour Yoga Teacher Training.  Michelle also became a certified Pilates instructor shortly after.

Today Michelle is passionate about helping others and continues to do so through work, through teaching yoga, and through volunteering. She is currently collaborating with Patti and Project Ellie. When she and Patti met, they realized they had too much in common to ignore! She became a member of the Project Ellie board so she could help  serve more of the city’s homeless and do her part in spreading more kindness.