As senior technical advisor in IREX's New Business Development Unit, Michelle Lampher provides strategic guidance to IREX's Leadership Practice, and leads the pursuit of funding from U.S. government and other sources for its portfolio of leadership development programming.

As a government and nonprofit leader, consultant, and coach, Michelle has more than 30 years’ experience designing, facilitating, and managing global education, cross-cultural exchange, and leadership development programs for youth, educators, and emerging government and civil society leaders.

At the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Michelle directed program administration and outreach for the International Visitor Leadership Program. Alumni this prestigious program included more than 500 chiefs of state and heads of government, thousands of cabinet-level ministers, and many other distinguished government and civil society leaders from around the world. As division chief, she administered an annual grants portfolio of more than $80 million, managed public-private partnerships with leading international education and development organizations, and directed training and capacity building programs for a global network of U.S. embassy personnel, Bureau staff, and more than 100 NGO partners. In 2009, she received the U.S. Department of State’s Superior Honor Award for distinguished service.

Michelle has also held leadership positions with PAX-Program of Academic Exchange and Youth For Understanding International Exchange and, through her own consulting practice, created and successfully implemented leadership development programs for new and emerging NGO leaders in Afghanistan, El Salvador, Georgia, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Romania, Suriname, Tunisia, and the U.S.

Since her own high school exchange and university study abroad experiences, Michelle has been a lifelong advocate of global education and cross-cultural exchange. She completed her bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations at the University of California, Los Angeles; graduate studies at the Thunderbird School of Global Management; and advanced leadership training at the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute.