Profile: Michelle Cooper brings a wealth of experience as an educator, leader, consultant and facilitator to her work with clients. A Registered Nurse, she has worked in and with health care organizations for more than 20 years in clinical, education, consulting and management positions. Her experience crosses the spectrum of health care settings including acute care teaching and community hospitals, community health and support organizations, long-term care facilities and the professional regulatory body. She has taught at York University and is currently a Clinical Lecturer in the School of Nursing at McMaster University. In her more than 15 year of progressive management experience, Michelle demonstrated a commitment to values based, caring leadership. In 1998, she decided to apply her knowledge, experience and leadership skills with a different kind of client. She formed her own company to focus on helping a broad range of organizations, associations, companies and communities to achieve effectiveness and health.

A commitment to lifelong learning and growth enriches Michelle’s clinical and management experience. After graduating with her diploma in nursing from Toronto General Hospital School of Nursing, she attained a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at McMaster University and a Master of Science in Community Health Nursing (Administration) at D’Youville College in Buffalo. Additional education includes a Certificate of Nursing Unit Administration from the Canadian Nurses Association and the Canadian Hospital Association, Open Space Facilitator Training and Genuine Contact training. Regular attendance at conferences, networking groups and workshops enables her to keep current with issues and opportunities in leadership, management and organizational development.

Michelle is a proud supporter of the nursing profession and community. She volunteers her time through numerous professional and volunteer boards and committees. While she works with many different kinds of organizations and associations, her passion is to restore health in the health care system. Her vision is that all health care organizations are healthy, balanced and life nurturing. Michelle believes that the capacity for effectiveness and health exist within individuals and groups. She sees her role as a consultant to help them to remove the barriers to accessing their potential. This is possible by helping organizations to develop ways of working that enable individuals, groups and the organization as a whole to connect in a meaningful way and to understand their individual and collective talents, needs, resources and goals. Michelle models this in the work she does with organizations and teaches and mentors individuals and groups to apply this operating system to their own work settings.

Michelle is known for her ability to create environments that foster commitment, creativity, enthusiasm, community building and goal achievement. She works collaboratively with her clients to clarify their goals and customize programs and services that fit their unique needs. Her goal is to reduce the dependence of organizations on consultants and the amount of consulting time by helping them build the skills and capacity within to implement and sustain change.