Michele has had a very varied and successful career in further education since the early 1980s, when she was a lecturer in Business Studies, following 11 years in the private sector. She held senior posts in Birmingham and Manchester for a number of years and was appointed Principal and Chief Executive at Hopwood Hall College, Rochdale, in 1999, and Chief Executive of Bradford College in 2004, retiring in July 2014. Following her retirement Michele became an education strategic advisor, leading change in further education colleges that required intervention and support. In December 2015, Michele was appointed as Interim Principal of Bournville College, Birmingham. This culminated in the implementation of the Local Area Review of Birmingham and Solihull’s recommendation that the college merge with South and City College. Having created a federation between the two colleges, Michele became the Strategic Advisor to the Corporation of Bournville College prior to the merger, which took place in September 2017. In 2016 to 2017, Michele was the Interim Principal of Kensington and Chelsea College, which was going through the process of merger. Michele is currently a non-executive director providing expert governance support and guidance to organisations in the education and skills sector and is on the Board of the AoEA.