As a senior engagement lead at Kinaura Partners, Michelle brings deep expertise in strategy development, implementation support, and cross‑team coordination. Working with the Climate, Development, and Health team, she applies more than a decade of experience in climate, women’s empowerment, and agricultural development to guide complex initiatives and ensure learning and evidence inform decision‑making.
Michelle has worked extensively with philanthropic and nonprofit organizations to drive strategy, learning, and measurable impact. She supports partners including the Gates Foundation by facilitating executive presentations, advancing cross‑team learning, and shaping strategic direction in agricultural development.
Before joining Kinaura, Michelle served as the senior portfolio officer for agricultural development at the Gates Foundation, where she led strategy and planning, operational improvement, partnership development, internal communications, knowledge management, and monitoring and learning efforts. Earlier in her career, she was a strategy consultant at Accenture, delivering customer experience, digital strategy, analytics, and product design projects for electric and gas utilities, and contributed to climate policy and advocacy at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
Michelle holds a BA in environmental studies from Yale University and both MBA and MES degrees from the University of Michigan. She currently resides in San Luis Obispo, California.
Outside of work, Michelle enjoys spending time with her family, biking, yoga, and tennis.
