Michaela, along with her younger brother Greg (both pictured), co-founded The Valentine Project in 2010 to help ease the isolation seriouslyill children and their siblings feel on  Valentine’s Day and year-round. As a survivor of a childhood brain tumor, she knows firsthand the effect a serious diagnosis has on the entire family, as well as the power of small acts of kindness, love, and support during those times. Currently, she serves as Social Media Director for The Valentine Project and is passionate about making the world a kinder, more loving place. 

Michaela earned her bachelor’s degree from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, her master’s is from Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment, and she is currently pursuing her doctorate in ecology at the University of Toledo with Dr. Daryl Moorhead. There her research involves the development of outreach projects to teach high school students about mathematical modeling, as well as building her own mathematical models of plant litter decomposition.

Since childhood, her goal has been to become a college professor, teaching students how to take better care of the earth and their fellow humans. When she’s not at school or work, she likes to run marathons and ultramarathons, spend every possible moment outdoors, and pamper her retired seeing eye dog, Breezy the boxer. She loves animals and people of all shapes and sizes, and believes that in order to change the world, kindness starts at home.