Michelle François

Michelle François is senior director of the Compassionate Education Systems (CES) initiative at the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL), which aims to improve the educational outcomes of young people experiencing homelessness, involved in the foster care system, and on juvenile probation. NCYL-CES works in local communities to ensure students experience compassion by the many adults entrusted to support them and are supported on their path to graduate from high school and the futures they want for themselves. François also directs the FosterEd California project on behalf of NCYL in support of this CES initiative. She was previously associate director of the Education Equals initiative and Child Welfare program at the Stuart Foundation and program officer at both The Carl and Roberta Deutsch Foundation and First 5 LA. François has more than 20 years experience working at the intersection of child welfare, education, higher education and community building. She holds a degree from Macalester College.

updated 2024