field builder, funding partner, ritual and retreat facilitator
Michelle A. Scheidt is a senior program officer at the Fetzer Institute in Kalamazoo, Michigan, working towards Fetzer’s mission of helping build the spiritual foundation for a loving world. Her portfolio includes projects related to emerging forms of spirituality, working with diverse spiritual leaders to build the nascent field of spiritual innovation. Michelle’s research interests include the spiritual infrastructure of the future, LGBTQIA+ spirituality, and how spiritual seekers who are not religiously affiliated connect with religious and ancestral traditions. She previously served as a nonprofit administrator managing community-based programming in Chicago with Metropolitan Family Services and the Claretian Missionaries. Her background includes group facilitation, program development, strategic planning, and nonprofit boards. She has worked as a pastoral minister and has experience with facilitating retreats, leadership of worship, and hospital chaplaincy. Michelle has a Doctorate in Ministry from Chicago Theological Seminary; MA in Pastoral Studies from Catholic Theological Union; and BA in English from Marian University. She is bilingual in Spanish and English and has worked in multicultural settings in the U.S. and Latin America.
