About Michelle

Meet Michelle

Born to a Latina teenage mom and a telephone lineman in a small Wisconsin town, Michelle began working at age 12, delivering papers, caring for neighborhood children, working retail, clerical and food service jobs to supplement student loans and pay much of her way through college. 

Michelle went on to serve in the Peace Corps in East Africa, then earned a Masters degree in education policy and administration from Harvard University.

Michelle’s lifetime commitment to public service and community centers advocacy for workers’ rights and labor. A proud member of UAW 2320, she was recently elected Vice President of the Huron Valley Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO. She is a former Michigan One Fair Wage spokesperson. As a county commissioner, she fought for increased wages for county workers.

Michelle serves on the National Advisory Boards of Climate Power, OnePointFive Climate Strategies, and Jane Fonda Climate PAC, working to elect Democrats up and down the ballot.

She founded and chairs her county’s first Environmental Council and spearheaded measures committing the county to ambitious decarbonization targets and a strong resilience plan.   

A nationally recognized environmental leader, Michelle has been quoted by CNBC, The Guardian, Scientific American, Washington Post, The Hill, Politico, Mother Jones, Common Dreams and more. As an elected official, she fought the Nexus and ET Rover Pipelines which impacted her constituents, and is proud of earning the nickname “Mouthy Michelle” from the fracking industry. 

A mother of two, she lives on her family’s 80-acre farm and rewilded prairie in Michigan.

  • Former DNC member from Michigan, 2017-2021, elected by peers as Midwest Representative to the Women’s Caucus and a Founding Sponsor of the Poverty Council.

  • Highly sought-after speaker at dozens of events annually

  • National Advisory Boards: Jane Fonda Climate PAC, Climate Power and 1.5Climate Strategies Group

  • Vice President and Director of Political Education, Huron Valley Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO

  • Proud UAW 2320 member

  • Boards: The Ecology Center, Huron Valley Workers Organizing and Research Center, 

  • Former Vice Chair, Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners. Flipped a red seat to blue. Spearheaded initiatives to establish the County’s Environmental Council, reduce County use of single-use plastics, institute a wage study to ensure fair and equitable wages and benefits - and fought for a living wage for County mental health care workers.

Michelle is a nationally recognized leader and organizer who is proud to serve.

Endorse Michelle for DNC Climate Council

Michelle is running for re-election as Chair of the DNC Environment and Climate Crisis Council at the August 23, 2025 DNC Meeting. Since she founded the DNC Climate Council and launched it just over 5 years ago, Michelle has become a key voice for climate and environmental justice inside and outside the Democratic Party.

We need Michelle as Climate Council Chair, and her record shows there is no question she should be re-elected. Whether you are an individual or an organizational representative, Michelle would be honored to have your support.