Michelle Richard serves as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Senior Literacy Advisor. Since joining the Whitmer administration in 2019, Richard has designed and led statewide strategies to expand opportunities and improve outcomes for kids from cradle to career. She served as the founding director of the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, and as the state’s first director of the Office of Higher Education.
As the Governor’s senior education advisor, Richard championed the creation of PreK for All, the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, and free school meals. She also launched a statewide attainment strategy and Michigan Reconnect at the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.
Prior to joining the Whitmer administration, Richard was a vice president at Public Sector Consultants. She started her career as an elementary school teacher in New Orleans.
Richard earned a Bachelor of Arts from Saginaw Valley State University and a Master of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.