Michelle Thomas

Michelle is a dynamic nonprofit leader, educator, mental health advocate, and mentor with 20 years of experience creating engaging, inspiring and supportive environments for youth and adults to thrive. She wholeheartedly believes that positive, supportive, and healthy relationships are the foundation for the overall well-being of individuals and communities. She lives out this belief in her professional and personal life.  

Prior to joining America’s Promise Alliance, Michelle worked for The Mentoring Partnership of SWPA (TMP) as the Director of Training and Program Development.  Under Michelle’s leadership, TMP provided youth-serving organizations in Western PA and beyond with more than 3,500 hours of no-cost technical assistance to support their individual needs and the improved implementation of specific mentoring practices.   

Michelle also spearheaded the implementation of TMP’s Relationship-Centered Schools framework, which focuses on helping schools create and activate relationship-rich environments throughout every aspect of their students’ school day.  Additionally, Michelle drove the development of a number of innovative tools and services, including TMP’s “Mentor Chat” podcast, to ensure more equitable and expansive access to mentoring resources and best practices. 

Prior to serving as Director of Training and Program Development with TMP, Michelle was a Student Success Coach at the Community College of Allegheny County.  In this role, Michelle developed an Academic Coaching Model that improved student success and retention of students deemed most at risk for not graduating. 

Michelle earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Pittsburgh and her Master’s Degree in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  She is a native of Pittsburgh, PA, where she resides with her husband and two beautiful daughters.