Michelle Richards is a founding board member and executive director of the Great Lakes Women's Business Council (Great Lakes WBC). The nonprofit organization economically empowers women and minorities by offering a variety of activities that include development training, business-to-business networking, supplier certification, and one-on-one business counseling. Each year, the WBC offers a variety of forums, the Michigan Women's Marketplace (online women’s business center), and the annual Great Lakes Women's Business Conference. To date, more than 15,000 female business owners have trained through the Great Lakes WBC, contributing to Michigan's and Indiana’s economic growth.
Under Richards’ leadership, the WBC has provided more than $8 million in microloans to small business owners which created 1,800 jobs. Richards is globally recognized as an advocate for women's business development, attracting the attention of notable people like the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Muhammad of the Grameen Bank. She has earned numerous prestigious awards like the Michigan Small Business Administration Women's Business Advocate of the Year and the American Institute of Diversity and Commerce's Women's Business Enterprise Hall of Fame Award, and she has provided testimony to the House and Senate Small Business Committees on the needs of female business owners.