Michele Gonzalez - November 2020

By Diana Balakirov

If you’ve found yourself enjoying MPI THCC’s lineup of fall events, most notably the new and improved happy hours and TEC20 Virtual, you’re not alone. And you no longer have to wonder about the driving force behind it all. Meet our newest volunteer of the month -- Michele Gonzalez -- who, shortly after joining the current Board of Directors as a director of programs and delivering highly praised educational programming to MPI members, has not only gained a new title but truly made a name for herself among her peers.

Michele launched her career in broadcast-journalism production. Five years later, driven by what she likes to describe as a “persistent desire to eat,” Michele made a professional switch into advertising, followed by meeting planning. The latter seemed to stick (for over 18 years, in fact), and Michele soon realized that she loved the process of planning events as a vehicle for helping people solve puzzles and bring about a positive experience -- usually the end product of a well-produced event. Her previous experiences include her work as a director of events for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, a program manager for the Radio-Television News Directors Association & Foundation in Washington, DC. and a senior event coordinator for Austin Convention Center, where she has been for almost seven years.

A proud Puerto Rican who embraces many of life’s celebrations and constantly finds strength to stay positive during the most challenging of times, Michele loves being festive and dressing up for any and all occasions -- especially Halloween, her favorite holiday. And when she’s not making and selling jewelry at a farmers’ market in Round Rock, Michele is using her renowned trivia skills to give her competition a run for its money.