“My work allows me to give back in a way that has a direct impact on my community and the people around me.”

Michelle Allen is passionate about the human side of human resources. As the Foundation’s senior human resources specialist focused on talent management and recruitment, her job is all about creating and fostering work environments where people thrive and are happy.

“I’m a firm believer that people are an organization’s biggest asset,” she says. “When employees thrive, organizations do too.”

Michelle brings more than a decade of experience in human resources—previously working for a large national corporation and for a business development service. She moved to Oregon in 2007 from Bakersfield, California in search of a smaller, more community-minded place to raise their family. They happily made their home in Douglas County.

When the Archie Creek Fire devastated their area in 2020, Michelle experienced the power of rural firsthand. “When the fires happened, everyone just banded together to do whatever they could to help,” she says. “I would never want to live anywhere else. After experiencing that tight-knit community, I don’t think there’s anything better out there.”