After graduating from the University of California San Diego, including studying one year abroad at the University of Barcelona, with a BA in Spanish Literature and History, Michelle wanted to do something to try to make a positive difference in the world but wasn’t sure how. After spending 2 years managing an after-school daycare program, she enrolled at California Western School of Law, and found her true passion in law school – indigent criminal defense. She began as a law clerk at Appellate Defenders in 1997 and continued as an Appellate Defenders staff attorney upon her graduation, a position she still holds. As an ADI staff attorney, she has represented hundreds of indigent criminal defendants in post-conviction proceedings over the past 27 years, and also currently serves as ADI’s panel manager. Michelle has served on the development board of the California Innocence Project since 2016.
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