Michèle Morris has had the privilege of working with the DEAEF Youth Dance Program since the inception of its predecessor, the D.A.R.E. Dance Program in 2000. As the Training Director, Regional Manager, and consultant on DEAEF special projects, interaction with the program’s youth, communities, and instructors continues to be a personal and professional highlight.

With a career spanning the public, private, and non-profit sectors, Michele provides a unique balance of practicality, creativity, and perspective to her work life. She is passionate about strategic leadership and human-centered design and currently serves as the Associate Director of the Design Lab at the UC San Diego and Principal at HardPoint Solutions (HPS), a consulting practice she founded in 2007. Prior to HPS, Michèle served more than a decade in the United States Secret Service. She also recently honed her business and communication acumen as a Sloan Fellow at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and simultaneous Graduate Fellow at the Stanford University Law School’s Center for International Conflict and Negotiation.

Michèle loves to move! As an accomplished dancer and choreographer she has performed and taught with several professional companies around the globe, spanning modern, jazz, ballroom, tap, hip hop, and musical theater. Michele’s love for the performing arts, athleticism, and holistic health has also fueled her almost 25-year career as a fitness instructor, personal trainer, and certified yoga and Pilates instructor.

Michèle is based in San Diego, CA and is the proud mother of a beautiful daughter, by far her greatest teacher and inspiration.