Meet Michelle

Michelle and her husband, Ed, moved their family to Grosse Pointe Park 18 years ago and recently celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary. They met while at Michigan State and were married in the MSU chapel a few years later, shortly after Michelle graduated from Loyola University-Chicago School of Law. Ed has been a career journalist for 40 years now. They've lived in 4 states, stretching from the Mid-Atlantic to the Mountain West.

In 2008, when Michelle and Ed wanted to move back to the Detroit area to be closer to family, they decided to make their home in Grosse Pointe Park because of its top-rated schools, the walkable neighborhoods, and the close proximity to downtown Detroit. They are very happy they did!

Through the years their kids have attended both public and private schools and they even homeschooled one of their children for a year! Michelle is a big believer in meeting kids where they are and helping them to discover what makes them tick, what brings them joy, and where they fit in the world.

In her earlier life, Michelle worked as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, focusing on contract, funding, and ethics law. This is work that would most certainly inform her work on the board. She took a leave from practicing law to provide caregiving to her ailing parents and to spend time with her young children and, as often happens, life got very, very busy and she never returned.

Michelle worked in the lunchroom at Maire Elementary in addition to other volunteer roles while her children were in k-12, however Michelle is probably best known for her work to end gun violence. She's volunteered with Moms Demand Action for 10+ years and has worked persistently in the past several years to bring Wear Orange to the community. If you've seen the orange ribbons around town or the "Wear Orange" signs, or noticed the orange lights in early June, Michelle and her Moms Demand Action team made that happen! Michelle is very proud of their work and the way this community has responded to Wear Orange but she will be most proud when gun violence is a thing of the past. Until that happens, Michelle will keep showing up to build a future free from gun violence.