Michelle is a Los Angeles native whose distinctive writing and filmmaking voice she attributes to her bi-racial––Mexican and American West––heritage.As a Directing Fellow of The American Film Institute, where Michelle earned her Master of Science in Directing, she was the Mary Pickford and Remy Martin Foundations' Grants recipient. Michelle was interviewed in American Film Magazine, Seattle Times, and by the New York Times who described her award-winning short film, Pinfeathers, as having a “Salammbô-like decadence ...” ​ Pinfeathers was awarded a silver plaque at the Chicago International Film Festival. The American Film Institute ​describes Michelle as a "...gifted, original talent and ... true storyteller."She is the writer of When Rent is Due, a play that premiered at New City Theatre in Seattle. She authored All the Leaving, a novel that has been translated into Spanish and published in Mexico. Michelle also holds a Bachelor of Science in digital filmmaking from the Los Angeles Film School and is currently at work on a documentary series about Neurodiversity.