Her Story
About Michele
Michele Finley is a transformational nonprofit executive and entrepreneur with over 25 years of leadership experience in nonprofit management, youth development, and community engagement. She currently serves as Vice President of Finance at Alternatives For Girls, where she plays a key role in shaping financial strategy and supporting the organization’s mission to empower young women through resources, mentorship, and opportunity. Based in Detroit, Michigan, she is deeply committed to building strong, mission-driven organizations that create lasting community impact.
Throughout her extensive career in the nonprofit sector, Michele has developed deep expertise in financial leadership, operational strategy, and organizational sustainability. She has led and supported organizations through growth, stabilization, and transformation, with strengths in budgeting, forecasting, grant management, audit readiness, compliance, HR operations, and board reporting. Her leadership style is grounded in aligning financial systems with mission outcomes while ensuring accountability, transparency, and long-term sustainability in complex and evolving environments.
At the core of Michele’s professional philosophy are integrity, dependability, and service. She believes that strong leadership is built on trust, consistency, and a genuine commitment to the people and communities being served. A graduate of Tuskegee University, she is also a dedicated mentor and community advocate who has spent her career investing in the next generation of leaders. Michele continues to balance strategic financial leadership with a passion for empowerment, guiding organizations and individuals toward stability, growth, and meaningful, lasting change.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Michele
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I have ever received came early in my career from a mentor who told me, “You don’t have to prove anything.” As a minority woman in this industry, I had internalized the belief that I needed to constantly validate my place and demonstrate my worth. However, on my third day, my mentor reminded me, “Michelle, you are already great—you don’t have to prove anything.” That guidance reshaped the way I approach my work, allowing me to lead with confidence, focus on excellence, and trust the value I bring without feeling the need for constant validation.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The advice I would give to young women entering this industry is to remain open to learning, flexible enough to adapt, and wise enough to know the difference between the two. This field requires continuous growth, humility, and the ability to evolve with changing demands, systems, and expectations. When you approach your career with curiosity and a willingness to learn, while also staying grounded in sound judgment and self-awareness, you position yourself not only to succeed but to lead with confidence and purpose.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges in the field today include staffing shortages, which continue to strain nonprofit operations, along with the ongoing need to stay current with ever-changing financial regulations and compliance requirements. At the same time, organizations are navigating how to thoughtfully embrace emerging technologies, including AI, while maintaining strong financial oversight and accountability. Key opportunities include diversifying revenue beyond traditional grants by expanding fundraising, philanthropy, donor engagement, endowments, foundations, and exploring social enterprise models within the nonprofit sector to create more sustainable and resilient funding streams.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me in my work and personal life are integrity, faith, trust, and dependability. These principles guide how I lead, make decisions, and build relationships, ensuring that I remain consistent, accountable, and committed to doing what is right even when it is not easy.
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