Meet Michelle Singer

“Diversity invites a dialogue; an opportunity for people, personalities, and politics to come together to create change.”

Michelle J. Singer, B.S.
Communications Coordinator
One Sky Center and the Center for American Indian Health Education & Research
Department of Psychiatry

Michelle, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was born in Salem, OR and grew up in the Willamette Valley and also on the Navajo Indian reservation in the southwest. She earned her B.S. in General Science/Pre-Med from the University of Oregon, and started a career advocating Native American issues. Michelle has worked for the Department of Interior – Bureau of Indian Affairs, two tribal colleges, and a non-profit organization for Indian Post-Secondary Education. She also served as a policy advisor on Indian Affairs for three US Senators. In 2005, Michelle joined the One Sky Center at OHSU, a national resource center dedicated to improving the prevention and treatment of substance abuse and mental health among native people. Her job entails providing communications, public relations and outreach support to the One Sky staff as it conducts outreach and collaboration projects with American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

At OHSU, Michelle continues to advocate for professional and academic diversity, cultural awareness, and the elimination of health disparities with respect to the American Indian and Alaska Native communities. She is also interested in addressing access to care issues that affect rural and tribal communities. She enjoys working in the One Sky Center because of its multi-faceted capacity working not only with the Native American community, but also with interests in the area of substance abuse, mental health, social services, public affairs, government affairs and academia.

Supporting diversity is important to Michelle because she believes that a diverse environment, “provides education, awareness, enlightenment, social interaction, and brings visibility to issues, better understanding, and a multitude of perspectives.” Through these provisions, diversity makes communities stronger and can help individuals achieve a well-rounded education and way of thinking. Michelle is encouraged by the work being undertaken by the OHSU leadership to enhance the climate of diversity and cultural sensitivity across the campus.