Michele Gravelle is a difficult conversation consultant who has worked around the globe  with professionals in organizations such as NASA, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Coca-Cola and Capital One. Before starting her own Communication Consulting firm, Michele was a Principal at Triad Consulting Group and the Director of Corporate Education at Vantage Partners, both firms are affiliated with the Harvard Negotiation Project.

For 30 years, Michele has helped professionals manage their most challenging conversations and build their skills to prepare and conduct important conversations with more ease and less stress. She has facilitated executive education programs at the Harvard Negotiation Institute and Boston University’s Corp Education Group and worked with incarcerated women at the Central California Women’s Facility. She holds a master’s degree in Psychology. 

Two years ago, Michele’s life took a significant turn when her 94-year-old father made the decision not to have his pacemaker replaced. Hospice was called in to help and Michele was with her father when he died of congestive heart failure at home.

Following her father’s death, Michele’s 94-year-old mother, who was also dealing with multiple health issues, moved from Atlanta to New England to live with Michele. Simultaneous to all this, Michele was also supporting her sister who was in Phoenix taking care of their brother who was dying of colon cancer. Michele also has an adult son who is paralyzed and physically navigates his life in a power wheelchair. Michele’s multiple caregiving roles have stretched both her mental and emotional skill sets. 

Today, Michele finds herself a reluctant caregiver. Not because she doesn’t want the best for her family, but because when she envisioned life in her mid-60’s she hadn’t imagined that navigating a complicated medical system and the caregiving skills of daily life would be part of the picture.