We are thrilled to announce that our keynote speaker for the 2025 GAIN conference will be...
A headshot of Michelle Strange
Michelle Strange is the Founder & Facilitator of Affirming Energy and serves as the inaugural Director of Restorative Practices at Bellevue College, advancing equity in higher education and business and community organizations. Specializing in developing train-the-trainer modules to coach staff, faculty, and student leaders on preventing and repairing harms within their organizations, classes, departments, and communities, Michelle consults teams seeking to strategically integrate restorative practices into their organizational structures by curating restorative spaces that foster healing, community building, and accountability.
As an Intergroup Dialogue facilitator and trainer, Michelle has established affinity group spaces for marginalized communities and cross-issue organizing spaces for groups to build solidarity across difference. Michelle began her career at UC San Diego’s LGBT Resource Center before leading education and training initiatives at American University’s Center for Diversity & Inclusion with a Bachelor’s in Theatre and a Master’s in Higher Education & Student Affairs. Michelle’s holistic, somatic, and embodied approach is quickly making her the most sought-after leader in advancing restorative practices in higher education in the Pacific Northwest. With attention to power dynamics and trauma-informed practices, Michelle builds solidarity through restorative practices that aim to build and restore trust while cultivating a sense of belonging.
For GAIN's keynote, Michelle will deliver an introduction to restorative practices interactive workshop, where participants will learn restorative principles and tools to build community and repair harms within their organizations and team dynamics. While discussing relevant scenarios, participants will share their experiences and explore proactive and responsive restorative practices. Participation in this training includes two infographic toolkits to guide participants through restorative responses to harm and restorative accountability processes.
Early Bird Rates
Early Bird Professional: $285
Early Bird Student: $110
Early Bird Professional Group: $257/person (10+ people)
Early Bird Student Group: $99/person (10+ people)
Register today for the 2025 Conference to get early bird pricing!
Our early bird registration deadline has been extended an extra two weeks, until 1/15/25! Act quickly, and don't miss out on an extra shot at joining us for this incredible keynote.
This year we are excited to offer group ticket purchasing options! If you have a group of 10 or more people, you can purchase the group option and recieve 10% off the cost per person.
