Michelle Rhone-Collins

Michelle Rhone-Collins is the executive director of LIFT-LA, a nonprofit organization that works to lift people out of poverty for good. With over 25 years working in the youth and community development fields, Rhone-Collins has continually taken a stand to promote equity and access for disenfranchised individuals and communities. Most recently, she was the executive director of the Children’s Nature Institute in Los Angeles. Under her leadership, the Children’s Nature Institute became a model for environmental advocacy and justice and holistic community development, as a lead partner in the Magnolia Place Community Initiative in South LA. Rhone-Collins began her career working with homeless and runaway teens as part of the University Settlement House in New York City’s Lower East Side.