Michelle Vilchez is Chief Executive Officer of Innovate Public Schools. Before taking the helm at Innovate in 2021, she was executive director of the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center (PCRC) for more than a decade, where she brought together community members, faith-based groups, schools and local government to address society’s most complex issues. Michelle has built deep partnerships with schools and districts to implement restorative justice practices, has worked with youth in the juvenile justice system and co-founded the Fatherhood Collaborative in San Mateo county. She was named 2016 Woman of the Year by the California State Assembly and is creator and designer for the Silicon Valley Multicultural Awards Program, a multi-year fellowship to support nonprofit executive directors of color. In 2019, Michelle was selected for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation fellowship, which supports leaders across the U.S. to connect, grow and lead transformational change toward a more equitable society. Michelle was born and raised in Southern California in a family of farm-workers and faith leaders deeply rooted in service to others, and has called the Bay Area home for the past 20 years. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and Cross Cultural Education.