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Designing
systems that enable teams
to do their 
best work

About

ABOUT

Program Management that
Delivers Excellence

With 20+ years leading complex international development programs across East Africa, I bring the strategic insight, operational expertise, and collaborative approach that organizations need to achieve ambitious goals while building stronger, more resilient teams.

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Explore How We Can Work Together

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Download CV

Strategic Leadership for Complex Challenges

 

I partner with mission-driven organizations to:

 

Reimagine New Ways of Working

 

  • Lead strategic planning processes that challenge conventional approaches and identify innovative pathways to impact

  • Facilitate organizational transformation by bridging the gap between global best practices and local realities

  • Design adaptive management systems that enable teams to learn, pivot, and scale what works

 

Develop & Implement Strategies For Outsized Results

 

  • Translate ambitious visions into actionable strategies

  • Establish partnerships across governments, civil society, and communities that align stakeholders around shared goals

  • Navigate complex political and operational environments to deliver measurable results

 

Build Supportive & Enabling Work Environments

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  • Cultivate organizational cultures where shared leadership, creativity, and innovation thrive

  • Develop teams through coaching and mentoring that unlocks individual and collective potential

  • Create safe spaces for honest dialogue, and joint problem-solving

Speaking

ADVISORY SERVICES TAILORED TO YOUR NEEDS

My Track Record

Proven Impact Across Sectors & Scale

Over two decades, I've led and advised programs serving millions of beneficiaries across education, health, social protection, gender equality, and livelihoods. My work has consistently:

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  • Strengthened systems for delivering health and social services to vulnerable populations

  • Established meaningful partnerships with governments and civil society that advance transformational change

  • Convened diverse stakeholders to align vision, strategy, and investment across complex portfolios

  • Built organizational capacity through thought leadership, knowledge management, and team development

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3

Countries

20+

Years Experience

5+

Sectors

Lives Impacted

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Strategic Planning &
Organizational Development

Facilitating strategic planning processes, organizational assessments, and change management initiatives that clarify priorities, strengthen governance, and support organizations to adapt, perform, and scale in complex environments.

Team Development &
Capacity Building

Program Design &
Technical Leadership

Leading the design of new programs, providing technical direction across complex portfolios, and serving as a senior advisor to ensure quality, coherence, stakeholder alignment, and disciplined execution.

Thought Leadership &
Knowledge Management

Strengthening teams through targeted coaching, mentoring, and practical capacity-building approaches that improve performance, accountability, leadership depth, and readiness for change.

Supporting organizations to synthesize learning, generate credible evidence, and translate experience into insight—informing strategy, influencing policy, and positioning programs as investment-ready and scalable.

Strategic
Communications

Start-up, Scale-Up &
Institutional Readiness

Developing clear, credible communication and engagement strategies that help leaders articulate priorities, align internal and external stakeholders, support business development and resource mobilization, and translate complex work into compelling narratives for boards, partners, and funders.

Supporting organizations at critical moments—start-up, portfolio expansion, or strategic transition—by establishing governance structures, operating systems, clarifying team roles, and delivery rhythms that enable confident execution, stakeholder confidence, and sustainable growth.

See Case Studies - where I share specific career milestones.

PUBLICATIONS

Michelle has developed numerous publications to help teams improve performance, assess their impact, and
advance thought leadership. 

Transformation-at-Scale - Uganda M_Ell_Page_01.avif
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