Michelle Médalis praised by colleagues as master organizer, enthusiastic event planner, astute manager of financial and human resources matters, and good friend. Médal handles a wide range of responsibilities, allowing faculty, staff, and students on our Denver campus and at International College Beijing (ICB) to work and learn efficiently, and she has done this for nearly 15 years. In addition to the work that Michelle does, she leads with a positive attitude and brings her energy and smile to every person she encounters in her day.
Today, she provides support to the innovative Prison Education Program, which provides college courses to the incarcerated. This is a challenging task because of the population that is served, and the bureaucracy that must be navigated. Michelle manages the budget, hires faculty, tracks student progress, and mails individualized packages of materials to students at various correctional facilities to support their learning.
Engaged in leadership on and off campus, Michelle has received the highly respected Thomas Jefferson Award, which recognizes CU staff whose achievements reflect superior performance in their normal work or scholarship and notable participation in humanitarian activities. She has served on the CU Denver Staff Council, whose Service Excellence Award (2013) is among her honors. Currently, she serves as Chair of the CLAS Staff Council, where she cultivates a sense of belonging and is an advocate for staff issues such as job satisfaction and pay equity. She is dedicated to the mission of recognizing staff for their critical work and commitment to CU and our students.
Michelle’s commitment to community shines her volunteer work in the Zonta Foothills Club of Boulder, which advocates for the empowerment of young women around the world. She served as president for two years, and is currently treasurer and scholarships chair. Aligned with her passion for providing opportunities for CU Denver students, she heads a committee that will award $30,000 in scholarships this year to women in climate justice, business, STEM, and leadership roles.
Demonstrating a passion for educational access, she worked at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) in Boulder for eight years before joining CU Denver.