Michelle is a rare leader. Smart, passionate and savvy. She knows how to bring people together around her, inspiring them to be their best with her openness and gentle strength. We met when she undertook the Centre for Sustainability Leadership Fellowship in 2015. I saw her grow her already considerable talents throughout that year and I have no doubt she’ll continue to achieve great things. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Michelle.
Matt Wicking, former Lead Facilitator at Centre for Sustainability Leadership
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Michelle and I worked together for several years on the Global Landscapes Forum’s youth programs. Michelle is an outstanding program coordinator. She masters every step of a project, from the writing of insightful concept notes, to the building up and management of large teams, the planning of activities, their implementation, evaluation and reporting. A project led by Michelle is a high-quality one and one that won’t fail. With no exaggeration, Michelle is a professional gem.
Marina Cherbonnier, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
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Michelle did the work of ten people at this conference. It was truly amazing to behold. She has my highest possible recommendation to work with. She ran a training workshop for about 20 scientists to teach them how to write blogs, and mentored them in live-blogging from a major climate science conference (Our Common Future Under Climate Change). The resulting conference blog was professional, engaging, and timely, and she really helped teach scientists how to communicate better in ways they can bring back to their work at home. She is a fantastic writer, editor, and communicator, and a true delight to work with.
Kimberley Nicholas, Associate Professor of Sustainability Science, Lund University, Sweden
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It is wonderful to work with Michelle, who is an expert writer. She is able to get at the core of the issue at hand and draw out interviewees, and her text is lively and engaging. She does the research necessary for policy and trade-specific pieces, using the latest data as necessary. As an editor, one always appreciates receiving clean, style-adherent articles – which Michelle always submits. Definitely recommended!
Deanna Ramsay, Managing Editor, Trade4Dev news
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Michelle co-facilitated a Strategic Planning Day for our organisation. Michelle is a great facilitator and was able to easily read the group and steer us out of rabbit holes to keep us on track with our objectives and timeline for the day. She ensured all voices were heard and that, amidst the hard work, we had a lot of fun in a relaxed environment. She also helped us to navigate the tension that exists between operational and strategic-focussed conversation and outlooks bought to the table by different team/board members and ensured that the space felt safe for everyone to voice their opinions. We were really impressed by how much we managed to achieved in a short time-frame. I would happily recommend Michelle as a facilitator or strategic coach to any organisation.
Olivia Myeza, former CEO, Birth for Humankind
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Michelle is a really fantastic science communicator. She is a fantastic writer, editor and trainer and brilliant to work with – she brings ideas, energy and intellect.
Owen Gaffney, Global sustainability writer and analyst, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)
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Michelle did an outstanding job as social media coordinator to the Science Advice to governments meeting – she bootstrapped the project from scratch, working alone, building engagement ahead of the meeting through curation of content on the website, running the twitter feed, setting up a successful twitter chat and then really having an impact on the energy of the meeting itself with tireless live-tweeting and well-timed wrap-ups via storify. I really enjoyed working with her – she is a self-starter with masses of drive and energy, very professional work ethic and not afraid to take risks and get others on board for the ride.
Denise Young, former Head of Communications, International Council for Science (ICSU)
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Michelle is one of those rare, super-high performers who makes you feel lucky as a team leader. During her time at the Center for International Forestry Research, she built its blog into a virtual news service on forestry operating in 4 languages and with global reach. She spearheaded a movement to mainstream youth involvement at the annual Global Landscape Forum and the Forests Asia Summit. I could not recommend her enough.
Daniel Cooney, Communication Deputy Director, UN Environment (UNEP)
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I worked with Michelle on several projects. I love her passion, drive and energy, which – by itself – already inspires people. Add to that an excellent scientific and structured mind, and a good knowledge of communications tools and the communications market, and you have the formula of an excellent communicator, trainer and mentor. It is always a pleasure to work with Michelle!
Peter Casier, Senior Project Manager, World Food Programme (WFP)