Michele was born and raised in New Jersey, but has lived at some time or another in Williamsburg, Virginia, Baltimore, Maryland, Washington, DC, St. Louis, Missouri and Cambridge, Massachusetts. A native of Willingboro, NJ, Michele received her BS in Kinesiology from the College of William and Mary, an Advanced Certificate in Non-Profit Business Management from Washington University- St. Louis, and her EdM in Education Policy and Management from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. While at William & Mary she was a proud member of the Women’s Division I soccer team and pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.
Michele joined the fight for educational equity in 2002 when she was hired as the first Director of College Placement at the KIPP Academy in the Bronx, NY. Michele spent ten years supporting first generation college bound students as they applied, matriculated and graduated from college. She has helped students navigate the college process in various charter and private school settings, including KIPP Academy-Bronx, Sidwell Friends School and Friendship Public Charter Schools in Washington, DC and North Star Academy in Newark, NJ. She spent the last two years leading the Alumni Affairs team at Teach For America- NJ where she was charged with motivating and inspiring the alumni movement of almost 1,000 TFA alumni, culminating in the 20th anniversary celebration this past spring. She is extremely excited to join the JerseyCAN team where she will be able to continue working for kids across the state in the fight for quality educational options.
I aspire to be like Dr. Howard Fuller. Here's why:
Now I know this is lofty, but this guy is fearless. He has a tireless commitment to improving the educational outcomes for kids in the most needed neighborhoods and communities. He is timeless, unapologetic and pursues justice for kids across the country without making excuses for what’s possible. Motivating, inspiring, honest and with great conviction, he walks the walk and talks the talk. His book No Struggle No Progress is a testimony to what it takes to love and care about people and to want to fight for what's right, for justice.
I love my job because it gives me an opportunity to advocate for kids in a place that I’m proud of, my home state of New Jersey. Now more than ever we have to fight for high-quality education for our kids and families in cities like Camden, Newark, Trenton and Jersey City. The challenge is great, but I believe that through our work together we can make the changes necessary sooner rather than later. I believe with every bit of my heart that every child has the capacity to achieve greatness when they have access to great schools and teachers. I can’t imagine doing anything more urgent.
My five-year-old nephew is currently enrolled in Camden City Public Schools. His parents don’t have the resources to send him to private school and they shouldn’t have to. Unfortunately, the reality is that the public school system in Camden has failed the children of the city for years. If I’m not doing this work, my nephew could be just another statistic. It’s personal for me.
I’ve been told I don’t “suffer fools” which I think is code for being impatient. Once I’m clear about vision and direction, its’ full steam ahead. Get on the bus or hop off! We don’t have time to waste.
This picture represents my first and last year in public school. My mother decided that holding my sister and I back for a pilot program for “special needs” kids was not going to be the educational path for us. After that year, she enrolled us in Catholic school. My older brothers attended public school for K-12 and both unfortunately did not graduate from college. Of these two roads my mother chose the path less traveled, and that has made all the difference. I know how important it is for parents to have a choice in education options for their kids.