After a 25 year career at Verizon and its predecessor companies, Michelle retired as SVP and General Counsel to focus on her entrepreneur pursuits, executive coaching and hosting professional development and health & wellness retreats.
As an accomplished and innovative deal maker, Michelle has led legal organizations as large as 100 attorneys and staff persons in support of an $18 billion global business unit. Later in her career, she was responsible for primary legal oversight and support of the chief administration office, which included sourcing, global real estate, vendor management, sustainability, aviation & fleet management. She also had responsibility for a variety of information technology, cyber security, intellectual property and financial services areas.
Throughout her career, Michelle has been keenly focused on issues of equity and inclusion and is a founder and former Co-Chair of the MCI/ Verizon Legal Diversity & Inclusion Council. In this role, she created or led many initiatives aimed at increasing the representation of diverse populations within Big Law, such as the Engage Excellence law firm diversity and retention program, the legal supplier diversity spend reporting initiative, DEI lunch & learns, and a myriad of training programs for both staff, attorneys and client groups.
Michelle is also the founder of The Women’s Excellence Network (WEN) a professional business development and relationship-building organization focused on creating sustained opportunities and support for fulfilling and prosperous careers for women in the legal industry. She and her husband are also entrepreneurs in the development and management of their Barbados resort and conference venue where Michelle hosts an array of coaching, and professional & business development retreats.
Michelle is the former Governance and Nomination Committee Chair and current Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for SUNY Purchase College Foundation and is a member of the Audit Committee of the Purchase College Housing Corporation.. An active supporter of the National Bar Association, Ms. Ifill is a Co-Chair of its annual General Counsel Invitational, as well as on the Advisory Board of the NBA 2025 General Counsel Initiative. Michelle is a member of the Executive Leadership Council, an organization representing the most senior African American executives in Fortune 500 companies and is also a founding member of Chief, a national association focused on connecting and supporting women business leaders.
Michelle received a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University and her law degree from Harvard Law School. She enjoys international travel, theatre, dancing and helping us all in our journey to be a better version of ourselves.
