Michelle Wetzel is currently the General Counsel for Howard Brown Health Center (HBHC) in Chicago, Illinois. Michelle joined HBHC in
February 2012 to become the Health Center's first in-house counsel.
Michelle brings a wealth of legal and non-profit management experience to her position at HBHC. Prior to joining HBHC, Michelle was the Chief Executive Officer for the Alexian Brothers AIDS Ministry (Bonaventure House, The Harbor, Bettendorf Place) in Chicago. During her tenure there she doubled the organization's budget and more than doubled the agency's housing and supportive services.
Before her position as CEO, Michelle worked for ten years as a legal aid attorney at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago (LAF) in the HIV/AIDS Project and at Prairie State Legal Services. Michelle litigated all types of civil matters but specialized in preserving subsidized housing for people living with HIV/AIDS. While at LAF Michelle served as co-counsel on Cotton v. Bonaventure House - a case that changed the way federal funding for HIV/AIDS housing were monitored throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.
Prior to law school Michelle co-founded and served as the Executive Director of the AIDS Pastoral Care Network of West Michigan. She also managed a west Michigan resort. Prior to that, she worked as the Manager of Marketing and Administration for McKids - a children's specialty retail chain that was a joint venture between Sears Roebuck and Co. and McDonalds Corp.
Education
DePaul University College of Law, Juris Doctor, 1999
Aquinas College, Grand Rapids Michigan, Bachelor of Arts, 1994