Michelle Artibee

Director of Workforce Wellbeing at Cornell University 

What is your volunteer position at the agency?

I am currently serving as President of the Board of Directors.  

How long have you been involved with the Advocacy Center? 

In 2016, I led a comprehensive domestic violence at the workplace initiative and invited the Advocacy Center to our working group to advise us appropriately. Heather Campbell and Kristi Taylor from the Advocacy Center both participated and were instrumental in our efforts. I joined the Board of Directors in January of 2020. 

How have you been able to support individuals and our broader community in your role?

Since 2017, Cornell has annually recognized Domestic Violence Awareness Month and always partners with the Advocacy Center in doing so. It has been quite a powerful campaign with many survivors coming forward to tell their stories and/or seek services and support. While the campaign is an important part of our effort, it is truly a year-round priority. I am proud to serve as a board member in support of the agency, recognizing that the decisions made at the board level have a tremendous impact on community members and staff. My fellow board members share this passion and commitment as well. 

What would you like survivors in our community to know about our agency?

You will be treated with respect, thoughtfulness, and become informed and helped. If something doesn’t feel quite right or you are unsure, please call anyway. 

What is the most rewarding part of volunteering with the Advocacy Center?

Giving back to an agency that has helped countless individuals through the years when they most needed it. I would like to add that right now, I am especially proud and grateful for the staff of the Advocacy Center. Throughout the pandemic, they have risen to the challenge consistently by adapting services and thinking creatively while dealing with their own work/life and pandemic concerns. The committed and knowledgeable staff are the heart of the agency in serving others and I cannot thank them enough. 

Five for Fun!

If you could have any superpower, which would you choose?

Supersonic hearing. I’m hearing impaired, so that would be pretty cool! 

If you could meet five people, living or dead, who would you want to meet?

Maya Angelou, Kristin Bell, Susan B. Anthony, Jennifer Weiner, Jane Goodall (wise, smart, intelligent, curious, funny women)

If you could be a character from a book or movie, who would you be?

Dolores Price (She’s Come Undone) 

What would you name your autobiography?

Stories of An Iced Coffee Queen 

Your COVID motto or personal mantra?

“Do the best you can, in the moment you’re in, with the resources you have. That is enough.”