Michele Perez, Managing Director of the Winning on Equity program, leads the Sustainable Cities for All initiative that invests in transformational local solutions at the intersection of climate change and racial wealth equity. She also oversees the statewide California program and the emerging Puerto Rico portfolio. Michele previously served in the Biden-Harris Administration with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. As Assistant Deputy Secretary of the Office of Field Policy and Management, she oversaw delivery of HUD’s mission to create strong, sustainable, inclusive homes, and communities for all. Michele’s nearly 24-year federal career also includes leadership roles with the US International Development Finance Corporation, US Department of Veterans Affairs, and specifically, the Veterans Health Administration, the nation’s largest integrated healthcare system. She has also served as Chief Operating Officer of the Tahirih Justice Center, an organization that centers immigrant survivors of gender-based violence seeking asylum in the US. Michele holds a bachelor’s degree in human services from Cornell University and a master’s degree in management from the Catholic University of America. She speaks Spanish, French, and Kreyol, and grew up in a Haitian and El Salvadoran household of immigrants in Miami, Florida.

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