Michelle Richards

Michelle Richards, president, Women’s Business Enterprise Council – Great Lakes, accepts her award from Debbie Hurst, president, Women’s Business Council – Southwest.
Michelle Richards is the president of the Women’s Business Enterprise Council – Great Lakes. The Livonia, Michigan-based council was created in 1998, when the Center for Empowerment and Economic Development, or CEED, became a partner with the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. This collaboration has facilitated the relationships between corporations, governments and women-owned businesses and provided a solid foundation for the empowerment of WBEs that reaches beyond the Great Lakes region. Under Ms. Richards’ leadership, CEED became one of the first microloan programs in the country in 1984 and has since provided more than $5.5 million in microloans, trained more than 10,000 women entrepreneurs and certified 1,000 WBEs. The Michigan Women’s Marketplace, an online business community, has brought together some 7,000 members who share best practices and engage in WBE-to-WBE business opportunities. Ms. Richards has received high praise for her efforts and initiatives. She was named Women’s Business Advocate of the Year by the Michigan Small Business Administration and The Red Tape Buster by the National Association of Women’s Business Owners in Greater Detroit for her ability to cut through excessive bureaucracy in order to help WBEs successfully pursue business opportunities. Ms. Richards has also supported women beyond the United States, traveling with a professional delegation to Ghana, West Africa, where she provide assistance and instruction on women’s business development.