Let’s shift ideas into action…
Develop skills…
May 1-2, 2025, Winnipeg, Canada
Graphic Facilitation Workshop
2026 date coming soon.
Design your own
What clients are saying…
A Strategic Mindset
Michelle brings skill, a strategic mindset and leadership to the projects she works on. Improving program evaluation and aligning to country strategy, designing stakeholder engagement, and facilitating for improved collaboration between development agencies are some of the highlights from our work together in Kyrgyzstan. I highly recommend Michelle if you are looking to add value to your team.
Dr. Dorjee Kinlay
FAO Country Representative, Kyrgyz Republic (2012-2018)
Building Networks
Michelle was responsible for building a network of research institutions in South Asia under an ADB supported project, and building their capacity to have influence with their work and ideas in urban sustainability. This included skill development in strategic communications, engagement and relationship building. This happened at the municipal as well as regional scale via networking, training and other forums to connect, learn and share together. Michelle supported the teams from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as a mentor, capacity builder, and trainer to keep people connected and to learn from each other on their efforts and contributions to evidence-based policy making and in support of ADB’s agenda to promote innovation. Michelle is very skilled in her field.
Vivian Castro-Wooldridge
Senior Urban Development Specialist, Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Successful Engagement Program
Understanding and learning from our community is key to effective planning for the City. Michelle helped us develop a successful engagement program to inform policy on the legalization of cannabis in our community, sustainability planning and land use change. She was successful in ensuring that a diversity of voices were heard through a credible, professional and creative process.
Pam Mierau
Director of Development Services, City of Nelson
An Unbelievable Percentage
I worked with Michelle on a community engagement project. She took the lead, built a steering committee of diverse groups, co-ordinated the entire project while handling tricky relationships with skill and professionalism. The final written feedback questionnaire, designed by Michelle and stickhandled through the steering committee received a 60% response from the community, an unbelievable percentage. I credit Michelle and her work as the major reason that the response was so good. I recommend Michelle for any project to which she commits. I hope to have the pleasure to work with her again.
Richard Johnson
President, Arrow Lakes Environment Stewardship Society
Co-strategist, Evaluator and Researcher
Michelle has worked with me as a co-strategist, evaluator and researcher on several major projects with international agencies, including an evaluation of a major rural development network (IFAD), a capacity needs assessment for network growth (IFRTD), research into local level knowledge sharing (UNDP) and developing guidelines for Knowledge Partnerships with ADB.
Michelle brings a diverse range of skills and expertise to the field of knowledge management, networks and partnerships, including the ability to work with rural stakeholders, across cultures and languages; and is superb at effective workshop design and delivery to get to desired outcomes efficiently. She is able to research and synthesize large amounts of information into organized documents for decision makers, quickly and reliably. She is straightforward, transparent and accountable in the provision of her consulting services, a quick study in grasping the needs of the client and able to deliver a quality product on time.
Heather Creech
Former Director of Global Connectivity, International Institute for Sustainable Development
Impressive Facilitation Techniques
With her knowledge, enthusiasm, and impressive facilitation techniques, Michelle literally revolutionized our recent scientific conference on glaciology. By setting aside time for discussion and reflection, and avoiding the powerpoint marathons that plague so many other conferences, our symposium was about more than just knowledge dissemination. It was about knowledge synthesis, and building a scientific community. Despite our initial reluctance, the Open Spaces session that Michelle organized was a huge success and I am a convert – these should be a regular feature at high-level scientific conferences to get people talking!
I have had nothing but positive comments from the conference attendees, some of whom said it was the best conference they ever attended. And I have nothing but a glowing recommendation for Michelle Laurie, who guided us skillfully through the entire conference planning, hosting, and facilitation process.
Joseph Shea
Glacier Hydrologist, ICIMOD
Learning along the way…
Reflective practice is a part of our DNA.
To be an entrepreneur
When your meeting is a flop…
