Experience
Michelle brings 20+ years of academic and practitioner experience in nonprofit leadership and management, leader development, research and evaluation. She served the nonprofit sector in various leadership capacities, including as an AmeriCorps member, donor, program director, board member, consultant, and ten years as an executive director for a national nonprofit organization. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Leadership Studies with a focus on Nonprofit and Philanthropic Leadership and her research examines how developmental experiences on-the-job impact leadership development. While completing her doctoral coursework, she served as a Doctoral Research Assistant at The Nonprofit Institute at the University of San Diego, where she provided client-focused research and evaluation services for leading-edge nonprofits in the San Diego and Orange County regions. She is also a certified leadership coach and maintains a small coaching practice working specifically with nonprofit women leaders. She has presented her own research at both academic conferences and practitioner events, and has presented multiple workshops on Investing in People is a Win-Win-Win for Funders, Nonprofit Leaders, and their Organizations.
Current Role
Michelle is a Senior Evaluation Associate and the lead evaluator for the nonprofit portfolio in CCL’s Societal Impact group. In this role, she leads the evaluation design, data collection, analysis and reporting/data visualization for nonprofit clients who are interested in understanding the impact of leadership development initiatives on individual participants, the groups they lead, their organizations, and the communities they operate in and support. In addition, she plays a key role in leading evaluation efforts and providing curriculum consultation as a member of the core team of PropelNext, a new leadership initiative designed to help nonprofit leaders improve both their leadership and evaluative capacity. Finally, she provides leadership and support to several initiatives designed to facilitate internal learning and standardize data collection and reporting across all leadership development programs at CCL.
Michelle also serves as co-lead of the LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group (ERG) and is an active member of the Asian Pacific Islander (API) ERG.
Educational Background
Ph.D. (expected 2023) in Leadership Studies, Nonprofit and Philanthropic Leadership from the University of San Diego
M.A. in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from the University of San Diego
B.S. from Cornell University
Professional Affiliations and Certifications
American Evaluation Association (AEA), Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), Association of Certified Nonprofit Professionals (CNP), Fieldstone Leadership Network San Diego (FLNSD), Group Relations International (GRI).
Curriculum Vitae
Contact Information
Areas of Expertise
Nonprofit Research Methods, Program Design & Formative and Summative Program, Evaluation, Nonprofit Evaluative Capacity Building, Nonprofit Leadership and Management, Experience-Driven Leadership Development
