Michelle has spoken at events from New York City to Dubai since 2009 and facilitated workshops of all sizes for brands like Patagonia and Gatorade. Her goal as a speaker is to light up rooms.

She focuses on themes like the future of work, adventurous careers, and human creativity through the lens of emotional intelligence and creativity. She believes we must rethink how we view emotional intelligence and how to use it as a tool for creative breakthroughs and leadership.

Michelle’s signature style blends actionable insights and contagious energy and humor. She doesn’t think of speaking as a platform to share words. She approaches it from an experience design lens because people remember how you make them feel.

Favorite Topics & Talks

• Emotions are not soft
  A case for emotions as a valuable data point for your creative career and company’s bottom line

• Creative Leadership: Strategic Thinking + Gut Feeling

  What will be required of creative leaders in the age of AI

• Adopting AI with EI (Emotional Intelligence)
  A discussion on adoption with trust, adapting with resilience, and potential team rituals

• 3 Dream Jobs + A Move to Amsterdam
  A story-driven talk on my adventurous career and how I did it (great for communities, universities, mentorship programs)

Audiences & COLLABORATORS

• Marketing & Design: Adnight, Dutch Design Week, Spotlight Conference

• Brands: Patagonia, Gatorade, Danone

• Creative, Tech, Entrepreneurs: Step Conference, ‘TrepCamp

• Students: Columbia University, University of Florida