Michele Lawlis Shelton '01

Michele Lawlis Shelton received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Louisville in 2001. A University of Louisville scholarship recipient, Shelton was a student leader and a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Woodford Porter Scholars, and McConnell Scholars. Shelton received a Certificate in Black Church Studies from Louisville Seminary in 2015.

Shelton is CEO of Michele Shelton LLC, a diversity, equity and inclusion consulting firm based in Louisville, Ky. The firm specializes in race and gender relations, helping clientele make equity and inclusivity more than just a goal by confronting the "-isms" that threaten our humanity and the bottom line at work and beyond.

Shelton has served in the fight for justice and equality for more than 20 years. She is former executive director of the Office of Diversity & Equality for the Commonwealth of Kentucky Personnel Cabinet. Prior to Shelton's appointment to state government in 2008, she served as a civil rights enforcement officer with Louisville Metro Government and in other executive roles provided leadership to local partnerships with the U.S. Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Urban League, and National Minority Supplier Development Council.

Shelton served as speaker for the January 2021 University of Louisville Diversity Series Workshop, The State of Diversity and Racial Equity. She is chair of the Dean's Alumni Council for the University of Louisville College of Arts & Sciences and serves on numerous local, national, international boards, and committees advancing racial equity in healthcare, employment, education, and entrepreneurship.

Shelton is a member of several national associations, the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, and Leadership Louisville.

Shelton’s secret to success is rooted in her faith and commitment to “never forget where she came from." Her greatest achievement is being a prayerful, resilient, compassionate, and authentic woman as well as the love, laughter, and devotion she shares with her husband, Stanley, and son, Brendan.

Donors who wish to celebrate Michele Lawlis Shelton’s achievements as an honoree are encouraged to make a gift to the Arts & Sciences’ Woodford Porter Scholars.

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