I lead through building authentic, meaningful, and grounded relationships. I lead with a loving heart and spirit. I lead with a belief in community; I am you and you are me.
From a young age, Michelle Molitor was able to discern the injustices that occurred around her. She realized that being a woman of color caused people to treat her differently. It did not help that the color of her skin was darker than those around her. Growing up as the third eldest of six, Michelle learned from a young age the nuances of human interaction. Her childhood development set her up to understand responsibility, relationships, and the integrity of being a person of her word. As a child, she had a million questions about why some people were treated differently than other people. Her inquiries about the world around her persisted beyond childhood.
Michelle began her career in education as an elementary and middle school teacher. Michelle realized that conversations about race that needed to happen were not occurring within her school community. In fact, racial issues were being clouded over and prevented straightforward conversations about the real impacts of racial injustice.
Founding and opening a school was only the beginning of Michelle’s work around racial equity and social justice. Every day as an educator, Michelle witnessed the results of her work. She had opened doors for dialogue and compassion to bloom and build a better society.
Michelle held the roles of Director of Year Round Programs, Assistant Principal, and Principal over the ten years she spent at that charter school. As her calling toward social justice grew, Michelle stepped back from her career as a principal to start FREE, the Fellowship for Race and Equity in Education. FREE aims to strategize dismantling racial oppression and teach others how they can move forward racial equity in their own lives. After a period of experimentation, FREE rebranded and relaunched as The Equity Lab and has grown exponentially since.
Starting a nonprofit was not an easy feat. Michelle is the first to admit that she made just about all the mistakes in the book. However, the importance of the work continued to motivate Michelle. Working through obstacles, Michelle learned through her mistakes which provided learning opportunities for The Equity Lab to grow and become more efficient and impactful.
Leading with the topic of race, The Equity Lab has conversations people find uncomfortable. The Equity Lab offers fellowships which offer individuals one-on-one support, and long-term engagements which are long-term partnerships with organizations as they work to advance racial equity and social justice.
Michelle describes The Equity Lab’s work as that of relationships paired with restoration and love.
While the challenge of racial and social justice is enormous and daunting as a whole, it can be broken down into simple, manageable parts. In its simplest form, Michelle’s work is about love, relationships, and seeing that humanity in others. Building systems of accountability and sustainability allow for real change to happen on a large scale over time.
Michelle currently spends her time teaching, helping organizations practice day-to-day work to integrate racial equity, and, of course, communicating to build relationships in her role as Executive Director of The Equity Lab. Through trust in oneself and working to foster others’ belief in themselves, The Equity Lab, in the hands of Michelle, has moved the needle in the fight for racial justice. Today, it is powerful for Michelle to witness how the changes made within organizations have made a difference. However, the best is yet to come. The Equity Lab gives organizations strong foundations, but years into the future Michelle knows she will see how the seeds planted in others have been able to grow. She knows that our country is at a pivotal moment in racial equity work.
As a leader, Michelle has learned nothing can be accomplished well without relationships. Michelle knows how to be a leader, but to her that means nothing without humility and authenticity.
According to Michelle, humility around the gifts people bring allows for us to create an environment of equality and social justice. The Equity Lab acts as a change agent in the way it sees others as catalysts for change and unlocks the agency each person holds. It is the beauty of utilizing relationships to empower others to create change that Michelle loves most.
Captured April 2021
Image courtesy of Michelle Molitor.