Michelle Helman Consulting is a woman-owned, full-service consultancy committed to co-creating peacebuilding, health, and justice. We design, facilitate, and evaluate transformative processes and outcomes that support teams to work together more effectively across difference to create solutions, achieve goals, and build community.
We are certified by the State of Oregon as a Women-Owned, Emerging, and Disadvantaged Small Business (WSB, ESB, DBE - No. 13100), NAICS Codes: 611430, 541690, 541611, NIGP: 96105.
We are certified by the State of Oregon as a Women-Owned, Emerging, and Disadvantaged Small Business (WSB, ESB, DBE - No. 13100), NAICS Codes: 611430, 541690, 541611, NIGP: 96105.
Meet the team!
Photo courtesy of photosbyKim
Michelle Helman, MA (she/her/ella) Principal Consultant and Founder brings 20+ years of global experience to her work as an advisor, facilitator, and evaluator. She is known for facilitating change, fostering leadership, and leading teams through collaborative change processes by integrating trauma-informed approaches in Participatory Action Research, Targeted Universalism, Popular Education, Intersectional Feminism, Decolonizing Methodologies, and experiential education praxis. In 2017, Michelle was awarded a Rotary Peace Fellowship and researched the intersection of peacebuilding & public health, monitored the 2016 Colombian Peace Agreement implementation, and designed a genocide-prevention program to facilitate dialogue between ex-FARC combatants and Colombian Nationals. Her work in Portland includes co-designing the Culture Change Roadmap, a free anti-racism resource for businesses and organizations.
Michelle is proud to be a first-generation immigrant with Slavic, Jewish heritage where both sides of her family survived the WWII holocaust and attempted genocide. This generational resilience in addition to lived experience and intersectional identity as a white, queer, cis-gender woman with invisible disability inspires her professional work, which she balances out by learning to bake sourdough bread, playing string instruments, and spending as much time outdoors as possible.
Michelle is proud to be a first-generation immigrant with Slavic, Jewish heritage where both sides of her family survived the WWII holocaust and attempted genocide. This generational resilience in addition to lived experience and intersectional identity as a white, queer, cis-gender woman with invisible disability inspires her professional work, which she balances out by learning to bake sourdough bread, playing string instruments, and spending as much time outdoors as possible.
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EDUCATION
MA Political Science: Peace & Conflict Studies University of Queensland, Australia (2019) BA Liberal Arts & Social Science: Anthropology University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA (2005)
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GLOBAL EXPERIENCE
USA: Portland, Chicago, Colorado, New York Latin America: Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru South Pacific: Australia, Fiji, New Zealand Middle East: Israel, Jordan LANGUAGES English – native fluency Spanish – bilingual fluency (reading, writing and speaking) |
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To learn more about our projects and what clients have to say about their experiences working with us, please visit the Portfolio page or contact us to schedule a free consultation.
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Key Personnel
We are honored to work with a talented team of professionals and regularly engage our network to collaborate with colleagues that offer their unique skillsets to meet the needs of each client and project.
Perla Padilla, Project Associate (she/her/ella) - As a peace and conflict practitioner, Perla designs and implements community participation and dialogue initiatives to promote awareness and understanding on topics such as forced immigration and racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural differences. Originally from Honduras, she is Bilingual in English and Spanish.
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Sandra Jackson, Project Advisor (she/her) - Sandra is the Principal of Resolution Conversations, providing mediation, facilitation, and training to support people to have open, honest and productive conversations. She serves as a thought-partner and co-facilitator on select projects.
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Doto Balele Mgasa, Governance and Public Policy Expert (she/her) - Doto is based in Tanzania and supports the team with data management and advising on sustainability, development, and more on select projects. She holds a MA in Governance and Public Policy, a MA in International Development Studies, and a BA Rural Development. Doto speaks Swahili, Sukuma, and English.
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ON EQUITY & JUSTICE from Founder Michelle Helman:
It is my privilege to acknowledge and name the living descendants of many native Indigenous peoples including the Upper Chinook: Multnomah/Clackamas/Wasco, Chinook Nation, Clatstop-Nehalem Confederated Tribes, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, amongst others who were forcibly removed from their traditional homelands and still live here - so I can call Portland, Oregon home. I recognize the predominantly Black and African slavery, labor and exploitation on which the United States has and continues to develop economic prosperity by perpetuating oppressive, inequitable systems dominated by white supremacist culture through racism, capitalism, and ableist cis-heteronormative patriarchy. I commit to my continued learning to live as anti-racist by dismantling and decolonizing internalized attitudes and beliefs which may result in disproportionate harm to Black, Indigenous, People of Color, including LGBTQ2S+ and communities farthest from justice. Tu eres mi otro yo ~ You are my other me. - Luis Valdez
It is my privilege to acknowledge and name the living descendants of many native Indigenous peoples including the Upper Chinook: Multnomah/Clackamas/Wasco, Chinook Nation, Clatstop-Nehalem Confederated Tribes, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, amongst others who were forcibly removed from their traditional homelands and still live here - so I can call Portland, Oregon home. I recognize the predominantly Black and African slavery, labor and exploitation on which the United States has and continues to develop economic prosperity by perpetuating oppressive, inequitable systems dominated by white supremacist culture through racism, capitalism, and ableist cis-heteronormative patriarchy. I commit to my continued learning to live as anti-racist by dismantling and decolonizing internalized attitudes and beliefs which may result in disproportionate harm to Black, Indigenous, People of Color, including LGBTQ2S+ and communities farthest from justice. Tu eres mi otro yo ~ You are my other me. - Luis Valdez
Ready to learn more?
Contact us, or read about Michelle's background and experience below: |
Rotary Peace Fellows, Class XVI
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PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Spanish Interpretation clients include:
- Adjunct Faculty - Mediation & Conflict Resolution at Portland Community College (2019 - present)
- Development Assistant - University of Queensland International Development (2018 - 2019)
- Program Director & Senior Educator - Carpe Diem International Education & Global Works Travel (2012-2018)
- Advocacy Trainer & Parent Educator - Hacienda Community Development Corporation (2014)
- Program Manager - Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization, IRCO (2009-2012)
- Peace Corps Volunteer - United States Peace Corps, Perú (2006-2008)
- Program Coordinator - Colorado State University; Academic Advancement Center (2001-2003)
Spanish Interpretation clients include:
- IRCO's International Language Bank (2015-2017, 2019)
- Community Cycling Center: Holiday Bike Drive (2011-2014)
- Laya Yoga: Trauma-Informed Yoga Curriculum (2012)
- Engineers Without Borders, UC Santa Barbara (2008)
- USNS Comfort Medical Ship (2008)
- WAVES for Development (2008)
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COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS
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PRESENTATIONS & SPEAKING
- Portland Means Progress & Prosper Portland (2020) - Self-Care and Resiliency When Working Remotely
- Oregon Program Evaluation Network/OPEN (2021) - Facilitation Essentials for Evaluators
- OPEN (2020) -Continuous Quality Improvement Training
- Race Dialogues Facilitator (2020) - Rotary International Global Cyber Peace Conference 2020
- Everyday Peace: Rotary Peace Centre annual seminar (2019) - From Lemons to pajamas: How research and evaluation are helping build peace in Colombia and beyond
- DM&E for Peace and Search for Common Ground (2019) - Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning from the Inside Out
- Oregon Women’s Health Network Lecture Series (2016) - Raising Voices: Collaborating for Change in our Community
- Idealist.org (2016) - Experiences in International Development
- Portland Society (2016) - My Story ‘From Obstacle to Opportunity’
- Career Pathways to Doing Good in Oregon, Mac’s List and Hatch Innovation (2015) - Networking and Building Community in Portland
GRANTS & AWARDS
- Rotary Peace Fellowship - Rotary International & The Rotary Foundation (2018)
- Participation Award - International Public Policy Association (2018)
- Humanities and Social Science Globetrotters Grant - University of Queensland (2018)
- Employability Grant - University of Queensland (2018)
- Winter Research Scholarship - University of Queensland (2018)
- Outstanding Service Award - Colorado State University Service-Learning program (2003)
- Certificate of Appreciation - Colorado State University Mentoring for Leadership Program (2002)
