Michelle is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School and holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from York. She is a social entrepreneur, author, lawyer, consultant and speaker.
Michelle is a leading expert on youth engagement, organizational health and generational change. Michelle's insight into generational demographics allows her to keep ahead of trends as they begin with Gen Y and move upwards into the broader market. This expertise, coupled with Michelle's exciting style, is why clients continually retain her to flip the mindsets of senior leaders and develop new strategies for engagement.
Michelle is currently the Executive Director of Youth Action Network (YAN), a 10,000 member strong national charitable organization dedicated to youth activism and empowerment. Since her teen years, Michelle has been an advocate for social reform. As a high school student, she founded ASPIRE, a community mentorship group that paired young women with community leaders to promote healthy self-esteem and provide exceptional role models. Since then, Michelle has worked tirelessly to promote youth activism, mentorship, empowerment, global awareness and leadership within Canada and around the world. Her nationally recognized founder projects include Aspire; Where is the Love?, a national media literacy program using images and examples from hip hop and pop culture to teach engagement, global issues awareness, and leadership; and YouthActivism.ca, a national portal of youth-lead initiatives and opportunities.
As a public engagement speaker, Michelle has provided keynote addresses at over 100 conferences around the world, including every province in Canada, New Zealand, Strasbourg, Krakow, Thailand, and across the United States. She has facilitated workshops at dozens of event globally, providing individuals and organizations with insights on issues ranging from youth engagement to employee wellness.
Globally, Michelle was the Child Labour Campaign Coordinator for the International Trade Union Confederation, representing 125 millions members in 145 countries, working with international governments, businesses and grassroots organizations to combat child labour within their respective communities. This work took her around the world, from Paraguay to Thailand, from Geneva to the United Nations General Assembly.
Michelle's work has been recognized by numerous organizations and community groups who have honoured her with more than a dozen national and international awards including the 2004 YWCA Women of Distinction award and the Rotary Youth Impact Lifetime Achievement Award. Her high profile work also lead to Maclean's calling her "one of the Top 25 Leaders under 30" in Canada, featuring her on their cover. Michelle has been the frequent subject of various newspaper and magazine articles, and has been featured on CBC Metro Morning, CHRY, CHIN, CityTV, the Liveable City, VOX, amongst dozens of other media; and has been the subject of two documentaries. The Toronto Star named Michelle "a woman to buoy the soul" and the City of Toronto honoured her with the Person's Day Award in recognition of her leadership and contributions to the community. In November 2006 Michelle was named by the Globe and Mail and the Women's Executive Network as one of Canada's Top 100: Most Powerful Women. She frequently appears on local and national media as a public engagement and leadership expert.
Profiled in many media articles, Michelle has been the cover subject of half-a-dozen magazines, and has been highlighted in all the major Canadian newspapers, including the Toronto Star calling Michelle “a woman to buoy the soul.” She has appeared as a public engagement and leadership expert on CBC Metro Morning, Global Television, CityTV, TVO, MSNBC and The Hour, CTS, as well as been the subject of two documentaries.