Michelle morales, president
Michelle Morales is the President of the Woods Fund Chicago. Prior to Woods Fund, Michelle led the Illinois chapter of the Mikva Challenge, a premier youth development civics organization that creates space for youth civic participation and leadership. Michelle’s background has been in the field of alternative education, focusing on and advocating for educational justice, first as a teacher at the Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Alternative High School in Chicago’s Humboldt Park community and then as Associate Director at the Alternative Schools Network. In addition, she was a community organizer for 16 years in Chicago’s Puerto Rican community, advocating for community development, education justice, economic justice, the independence of Puerto Rico, and against the rapid gentrification of the neighborhood. She also co-coordinated an international campaign to release 14 Puerto Rican political prisoners held in U.S. prisons.
Michelle received a BA in Latin American/Latino Studies from DePaul University, a Master's in Special Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Master's in Educational Leadership from Northeastern Illinois University.
Michelle has used her varied career opportunities, her experiences as a first-generation U.S. born Puerto Rican woman and her platform to raise awareness and consciousness about: the power of youth voice, the continued marginalization of youth of color, utilizing community input in decision making, colonialism in Puerto Rico, and the diasporic experiences of colonized peoples living in the United States. She is also a vocal advocate concerning racially equitable workplaces and strongly encourages organizations to not only apply a racial equity and justice lens externally, but internally as well.
Michelle is honored to lead Woods Fund Chicago; a foundation committed to funding grassroots community organizing and public policy advocacy.