Outstanding Community Service
Michelle was born to Winston and Muline Mickle in Berbice County, Guyana, seven months after the country gained independence from Britain. She attended Queen’s College from 1977 to 1984. After immigrating with her family in 1984 to Brooklyn, NewYork, Michelle enrolled in New York City Technical College.
At the end of her first year there, she transferred to the City College of New York (CCNY) and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 1990. While at CCNY, she was a member of Tau Beta Pi, the oldest engineering honor society in the United States, and was elected vice president of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers student chapter.
While at CCNY, she also worked as a summer intern at E. I. DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware, and as a part-time engineering assistant at Allied Signal in Morristown, New Jersey.
In 1990, Michelle began her full-time career in chemical engineering with BP America, Inc., at its Warrensville Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. While at BP, she worked as a development engineer in the Chemicals Development department and a process engineer in the Process Studies department. Realizing the need to further her education, Michelle enrolled in the Master’s in Chemical Engineering program at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland in 1991.
Michelle was recruited by Union Carbide Corporation in South Charleston, West Virginia, in 1993 and continued her career in chemical engineering in the company’s Polymer Processing Engineering department. While working at Union Carbide, she completed her Master’s in engineering management at Marshall University Graduate College in 1996. Around this time, she also began volunteering evenings and weekends at Ferguson Memorial Baptist Church. Through volunteering at the church, Michelle found her true passion in community service.
In 1998, Michelle took a giant leap of faith and left the engineering field to work for the Kanawha Institute for Social Research & Action, Inc. (KISRA), a faith-motivated, nonprofit organization established by the church. At the time, KISRA had the documentation required to operate as a 501(c)3, tax-exempt organization, but the organization was dormant, with no programs in operation. While Michelle had no formal experience or education in community development, Pastor Emanuel Heyliger recognized her natural capacity for the profession through her volunteer work. He hired her to develop KISRA’s programs and paid her salary from the church’s budget for over two years. In her third year with KISRA, Michelle began funding her salary through grants.
Michelle used her systems thinking, problem-solving ability, and other engineering skills to transform KISRA into one of the most impactful and enterprising community-based organizations in West Virginia. She developed each of KISRA’s initiatives in the areas of (1) health (behavioral health and affordable healthcare), (2) employment (workforce readiness, responsible parenting, second chance mentoring, and job creation), (3) asset development (financial fitness, credit and housing counseling, and business loans) and (4) learning (early childhood education, after-school enrichment and youth development). As an entrepreneurial-focused nonprofit, KISRA’s programs included social enterprises such as urban farms, housing development, transitional rental housing, child care, and catering.
Under Michelle’s leadership, KISRA’s initiatives strengthened families, including adults and children as young as six weeks old. The organization employed more than 70 people and received funding from multiple local, state, and federal sources, as well as from its own social enterprises. The KISRA team served and empowered over 2,500
West Virginians annually.
In February 2016, Michelle transitioned to The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation (TGKVF), where she serves as President and CEO. With approximately $325 million in assets, TGKVF is the largest community foundation in Central Appalachia and ranks 82nd among community foundations in the United States. TGKVF funds initiatives in education, health, community economic development, basic needs, and arts culture, granting more than $13.0 million annually to initiatives that benefit low-wealth individuals.
Michelle’s experience leading KISRA and TGKVF has made her a sought-after speaker at local and national conferences. She presents topics related to nonprofit development and management, program design utilizing logic models, program evaluation, sustainability, best practices in responsible fatherhood, social enterprises, family economic security, grant writing, grant management, diversity, equity, and inclusion. She is also a subject matter expert with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance.
A lifelong learner, Michelle earned a doctorate in community economic development from Southern New Hampshire University in 2010. Her dissertation was entitled “The Contributions Of Pre Incarceration Experiences and Prison-Based Programs to Post-Release Employment Acquisition, Retention and Recidivism.” She is also a certified economic development financial professional and certified housing development financial professional with the National Development Council. She completed additional university-level studies in impact investing at the University of Oxford, Saïd Business School, as well as in nonprofit management and leadership at Harvard University, John Kennedy School of Government. In 2021, Michelle became a professional coach.
Through the years, Michelle’s work has been recognized locally and nationally. She has received several awards including the Women of Achievement Award from the YWCA Charleston (2020); Living the Dream Award from the WV Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission (2016); Woman on a Mission Award from Union Mission (2016); Civil Rights Day Award from the State of West Virginia, Office of the Governor (2015); Dr. Martin Luther King, Humanitarian Award from the Saint Albans Ministerial Association (2015); Fatherhood Champion of Change recognition from President Barack Obama at the White House (2012); National Association of University Women, Charleston Branch, Leadership Award (2012); Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Theta Psi Chapter, Citizen of the Year (2012); Charleston Police Department, Award for Community Service (2011); U.S. Small Business Administration, Minority Business Champion (2009); and West Virginia State University, President’s Award for Community Service (2009).
Michelle lives a life of community service and actively engages with several organizations in West Virginia, the Appalachian region, and nationwide. The Mayor of Charleston appointed her to the Charleston Regatta Commission. She serves as Vice President of the Community Foundations National Standards Board and is a member of the Invest Appalachia Board. She is a Women for Economic and Leadership Development (WELD) board member, leading their development efforts, and is a founding member of African American Philanthropy in Action (a giving circle). Michelle is the immediate past co-chair of the Appalachia Funders Network Steering Committee and a former Philanthropy West Virginia board member. She is the president of the Charleston-Institute Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the immediate past president of the Charleston-Institute (WV) Chapter of the Links, Incorporated, also serving on the Central Area Fund Development Committee for the Links. She is the immediate past president of the Charleston Rotary Club, the largest Rotary Club in West Virginia. Additionally, she has served as the Minister of Administration of Ferguson Memorial Baptist Church since 1997. Over the years, Michelle also served on the boards of the WV Community Development Hub, Kanawha County Library, WV Center on Budget and Policy, WV Non-Profit Association, and Our Children Our Future.
Michelle feels blessed to have the opportunity to give back to Guyana. Her volunteer efforts benefiting this South American country have included planning, executing, and evaluating a student conference at her high school that reached 250 annually; conducting a comprehensive needs assessment of her high school; facilitating West Virginia State University’s recruiting and scholarship efforts in Guyana; co-hosting a visual literacy project team at her high school which resulted in the publishing of a book; and donating school supplies to her elementary school. Most recently, she co-hosted a career exploration event at her high school’s 180 th reunion.
In her spare time, Michelle enjoys attending musical and theatrical productions, candle-making, and soul line dancing. She also prioritizes spending quality time with her extended family. You can find her podcast, Fostering Solutions, wherever you get your podcasts. Michelle published her first book, Maximizing Impact: Success Strategies for Dynamic Nonprofits, in February 2023. She is working on a companion journal for this book, which should be published soon.