Michelle serves as the Manager of Sponsor Relations at XPRIZE, where she partners with donors, sponsors, and prize teams to strengthen engagement, stewardship, and long-term relationships across active prizes. She works cross-functionally to coordinate sponsor communications, fulfill commitments, and ensure sponsors see the impact and value of their investment in XPRIZE’s mission.

Previously, Michelle served as the Program Manager for XPRIZE Rainforest, a five-year global competition accelerating innovation in biodiversity monitoring and forest conservation. She led program execution, supporting stakeholder engagement with donors, partners, and competing teams, and played a central role in the Semifinals, Finals, Award Ceremony, and Impact Phase. Her work helped advance the development of novel technologies to measure biodiversity at scale and supported the launch of the Mamirauá Declaration.

Before joining XPRIZE, Michelle worked at the Governor’s Climate and Forest Task Force, where she supported strategic partnerships, fundraising initiatives, international events, and donor stewardship. She previously served as Director of Projects at Strategy XXI, assisting Brazilian and U.S. organizations with fundraising, public relations strategies, and brand visibility, and has long supported the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce’s Person of the Year Awards Gala Dinner. She also worked at the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation at the United Nations and interned at the UNESCO Liaison Office in New York City while pursuing her Master’s in Arts and Public Policy at New York University.

Originally from Brazil, Michelle has lived in the United Arab Emirates and now lives in New York City with her husband and two kids.