Michelle DeFossett

Michelle DeFossett is the president of Girls Who Invest (GWI). In this role, she works with the GWI team, board of directors, and industry partners to accelerate the organization's reach and impact. A nonprofit and finance leader with a proven track record of transforming organizations through scalable infrastructure, DeFossett joined Girls Who Invest in 2021 as chief operating officer before becoming president. She has served a central role in strengthening operations, elevating GWI’s industry presence, and expanding support for GWI alumni at every stage of their careers. Under her leadership, GWI has grown from seven to more than 30 staff members and now serves over 700 scholars annually, cultivating a nationwide alumni community of more than 4,000 individuals. 

Before joining GWI, DeFossett served as vice president of finance, human resources, and administration at Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, where she reimagined programming to be more holistic and expansive. Earlier in her career, she led finance operations at Habitat for Humanity NYC and Westchester and the Maple Street School, managing budgets of up to $30 million. She also draws on extensive experience from the financial services at Chase, JPMorgan Asset Management, and Pareto Capital Partners. 

DeFossett holds a BA in economics from Vassar College and an MBA from Columbia Business School, where she received the Robert F. Toigo Fellowship. A Bronx native, she now lives in Brooklyn with her family. She joined Brooklyn Org's board of directors in February 2022.