Vice President
Michelle M. Torgerson is Draper Consulting Group’s Vice President and brings 12 years of broad experience from her work with foundations, community based and national nonprofits, and the public sector.
Prior to joining Draper Consulting Group, Ms. Torgerson served as Outreach and Strategic Development Manager for Raising A Reader, an award-winning early literacy supporting organization of Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Ms. Torgerson assisted in developing a comprehensive strategic growth plan for serving more children, meeting earned income development goals, and increasing the program’s national profile. She created and piloted a comprehensive refunding program of $500,000 to 24 grantees. Ms. Torgerson provided ongoing coordination and technical support to the national network of more than 100 affiliate partners, contributing to their capacity building and long-term sustainability and directed Raising A Reader’s visibility objectives including presentations at national and regional conferences.
While a earning her Master of Public Administration as a National Urban Fellow, Ms. Torgerson served full time at Los Angeles World Airports in the Community Relations division. In this role she supported the Community Benefits Agreement of the Master Plan by creating and piloting three education outreach and mentoring initiatives serving K-12 students and a developed a nine month long public awareness campaign directed at diverse constituencies surrounding Los Angeles International Airport.
Ms. Torgerson served for more than three years at Admission Possible, an award-winning nonprofit located in St. Paul, Minnesota whose mission is to help low income high school students gain admission to college. As Marketing and Development Manager, she was a member of the leadership team during Admission Possible’s critical start-up phase and played a key role in fundraising, branding, organizational development, and management. In her tenure with the organization, Ms. Torgerson assisted in raising $3 million from diverse funding sources, directed external relations, and managed key collaborations with community partners. A direct supervisor to a robust staff, she recruited and managed diverse cohorts of AmeriCorps/VISTA members, college work-study students, and interns, developed organizational policies, and conducted culturally competent staff trainings and supported service learning and professional development.
Ms. Torgerson currently serves on the Board of Directors of College Access Plan, a community-based nonprofit organization dedicated to college access for all students, regardless of socio-economic status, geography, or background. She serves on the Alliance for Nonprofit Management Terry McAdam Book Award Review Committee and serves as an external proposal reviewer for philanthropic foundations on a regular basis. Ms. Torgerson is a National Urban Fellows Los Angeles City Leader, and is also a member of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers, and the Alliance for Nonprofit Management.
She received a Master of Public Administration from Baruch College in New York City and a Bachelor of Science from Arizona State University in Tempe.
