Michelle is the grandchild of migrant farmworkers who became successful business owners and community leaders in California’s Central Valley. Inspired by the spirit of service and entrepreneurialism demonstrated by her grandmother, Michelle founded Alliance for Community Empowerment (ACE) to help disenfranchised young people transform their lives and their communities through leadership development, education, and civic engagement. It began operations as the West Valley’s only program providing high school education, job training, leadership development, and supportive services for young people from high-risk environments. A short time later, ACE expanded its programming with support from the Mayor’s Office of Gang Reduction Youth Development, providing community intervention and case management services for gang-affected families in the city’s largest GRYD service area. ACE continues to expand its services to meet a wider range of community needs through collaboration, service, and community action. Since 2013, over 750 young people have come through its doors to find the resources and support they need to effect meaningful change in their own lives and in the life of their community.

Michelle serves on the Cares First Community Investment (CFCI) Advisory Council representing Los Angeles County Supervisorial District 3 by advising the county on alternatives to incarceration. She is an active member of California State Assembly member Jesse Gabriel’s Advisory Council.   Michelle is the former President of the City of Los Angeles Canoga Park Neighborhood Council and chairs its Homelessness Solutions Committee. Her service on the Council has opened new opportunities for citizen engagement and has helped to focus awareness of local needs both in the community and in city government. Michelle is the Chair and co-founder of the YouthBuild Collaborative of Southern California and serves on the Advisory Council for the California State University Northridge’s Neighborhood Partners in Action. Additionally, she has served as a board member of the Canoga Park/West Hills Chamber of Commerce. Michelle has spoken at conferences across the United States on topics related to Youth Development, Community Violence Intervention, and Staff Retention. She has also made a global impact by consulting Central American youth organizations and is continually devoting her time to bettering local, national, and international communities.

Through Michelle’s tireless dedication ACE has become a well-known and respected pillar of the community. This bond with the community has only become stronger through the pandemic of 2020, with ACE’s GRYD team becoming critical in supporting the myriad of issues arising from long periods of isolation. but 2020 has also brought bigger changes as ACe moved to a new home, all guided and directed by Michelle’s expert stewardship.