Michelle has over 20 years of professional experience in community and economic development spanning the for-profit, non-profit, entrepreneurial and arts and culture sectors. She has led robust public outreach and community engagement programs for both for-profit entities and non-profit organizations. Michelle’s work with TREND includes leading the advisory services portfolio including serving as the relationship manager for the winner and five finalist teams of the Pritzker Traubert Foundation’s Chicago Prize 2020, providing technical and project management support to advance catalytic community development projects; advising the foundation on rollout of Chicago Prize 2022; identifying and evaluating community-based real estate projects on behalf of We Rise Together, an initiative of the Chicago Community Trust; and serving as operations administrator for the Chicago Emerging Minority Developer Initiative (CEMDI). Previously, Michelle was Vice President of Community Relations at Related Midwest where she managed community and local partnerships for two of the largest HOPE VI revitalization programs, ABLA and Lathrop Homes, as part of the Chicago Housing Authority’s (CHA) historic Plan for Transformation. Michelle earned a Master of Arts Managementspecializing in Arts Entrepreneurship from Columbia College, Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Hampton University.