Michelle Grosz
Joined the Board of Directors in 2020
I am a widowed American Indian elder, enrolled in the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibway; the first and only college graduate in my family with a Master’s in Higher Ed Adm from the U of M. I did not know about my real father and my heritage until I was an adult. I have worked in management for a large manufacturer, a university, and a private foundation. I love to work. My old hobbies of dance and exploring required my husband. I have one adult son, who is a sr. systems engineer. My youngest cat owns me and the house. I care deeply about animal and human welfare and how they intersect.
Six months after my husband died, following a long illness, I started looking for something where I could be of use. I found Feline Rescue and discovered that my skills and interest in nonprofit service were intact. I started looking for other possibilities and discovered Exodus Lending. I was beguiled by the mission. It is critical. I sent in my resume, found out more and became excited by its unique and much needed niche.
Who is one person who inspires you and why?
Charles Junior Risher! A WWII vet. Late in life active in Veterans for Peace. He was tossed in jail for trying to integrate apartments and swimming pools in So. Chicago in the early 50’s before diversity was on the table. He was fearless in wanting to help make the world a better place. He explored communism and was in Cuba during the missile crisis and in Prague under communist leadership. McCarthyism ran him out of jobs and businesses. He had a joie de vie that captured everyone around him coupled with deep spirituality. Though Charles became heavily physically incapacitated, I discovered a male Nigerian PCA crying in our living room. I asked him what was wrong. He said he had never felt such love.