A family need
In 2010, Michelle began developing the type of structured, strengths-first support she had been unable to find for her daughter.
Lived experience
Direct practice
Systems-level change
Founder · Educator · Systems Builder
Michelle Raz, M.Ed., BCC, CSS
Building the systems she once went looking for.
Michelle Raz is a Board Certified Coach, curriculum developer, workforce innovator, and neurodiversity advocate. Since 2010, she has built practical pathways connecting academic success, therapeutic progress, employment, and Adaptive Independence™.
Founder, Raz Coaching Services · Director of Career Pathways, Neurodiversity Foundation
Where the work began
What do you do when the right support does not exist?
Michelle began this work when she could not find the right support for her own daughter with ADHD and executive-function challenges. What appeared to be an academic problem was actually a much larger gap between knowing what to do and being able to do it consistently in everyday life.
“The problem was never a lack of potential. The missing piece was
practical support that made potential usable.”
Direct practice
The work expanded through years of coaching students, young adults, professionals, and families navigating academic, life, and career demands.
Curriculum and systems
Repeated patterns from practice became structured curriculum, practitioner resources, professional training, and the Raz Adaptive Executive Function System™.
Systems-level work
The mission now extends into workforce development, public-system participation, research initiatives, and cross-sector collaboration.
A body of work
Built across the transitions that shape independence.
Michelle’s work has developed across direct practice, education, workforce systems, professional training, and collaborative innovation—always focused on making support more practical and usable.
Direct services and coaching
Structured executive-function coaching for students, young adults, professionals, and families navigating education, life transitions, and career demands.
Coaching Academics · Thrive Beyond TherapyCurriculum and implementation systems
Strengths-first curriculum, practitioner guidance, controlled resources, and structured models designed to translate executive function into everyday performance.
Raz Adaptive Executive Function System™Workforce development
Career-readiness, job-retention, leadership, and employer-focused programs addressing the adaptive skills required to sustain and advance in employment.
Certificate · Retention · Leadership pathwaysProfessional education
Training and development for coaches, educators, managers, workforce professionals, and organizations supporting neurodivergent performance.
Train-the-trainer · Coach developmentSystems innovation and collaboration
Cross-sector initiatives connecting health, education, workforce, caregiving, public systems, and community participation.
Neurodiversity Foundation · Stanford summit work
Credentials and leadership
Credentials matter. So does what has been built with them.
Michelle’s leadership draws from formal education, professional certification, direct practice, entrepreneurship, curriculum development, and years of implementation across academic and workforce settings.
Educator · Coach · Founder · Curriculum developer · Advocate
M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, Adams State University; bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Board Certified Coach (BCC) and CSS, with expertise in executive function, career development, and strengths-first support.
Founder of Raz Coaching Services, Coaching Academics, and the broader Raz ecosystem; author of Happiness + Passion + Purpose, exploring the relationship between action, experience, purpose, and meaningful work.
Director of Career Pathways for the Neurodiversity Foundation, contributing workforce, curriculum, and implementation expertise.
Forbes Coaches Council member, recognized LinkedIn voice in career development, and founding member of The Octopus Movement—a global community advancing the contributions of nonlinear thinkers.
SBA-certified Woman-Owned Small Business and California-certified Small Business.
Speaking, workshops & media
Ideas designed to move from conversation into practice.
Michelle presents keynotes, workshops, professional training, and community conversations for organizations seeking practical approaches to neurodivergent education, workforce participation, executive function, and connected support.
“Life Does Not Happen in Silos”—advancing a connected model of support across life domains.
Featured founder story and thought-leadership contributions through the Forbes Coaches Council.
Conversations addressing executive function, parenting, education, workforce development, coaching, and neurodiversity.
Interactive workshops for workforce, college, school, professional, nonprofit, and community audiences.
Audiences Michelle serves
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Workforce-development organizations and employers
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Colleges, universities, and postsecondary programs
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Schools, educators, and parent communities
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Coaches and helping professionals
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Nonprofits, public programs, and community forums
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Health, caregiving, and cross-system initiatives
Featured speaking and workshop topics
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Executive function and Adaptive Independence™
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Neurodivergent career readiness and job retention
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Preparing students for life beyond accommodations
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Carrying therapeutic insight into everyday action
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Connecting education, health, workforce, and daily life
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Training professionals to support real-world performance
SELECTED MEDIA
Ideas carried into the world.
A selection from more than 50 podcast appearances, interviews, articles, and public conversations exploring neurodiversity, executive function, education, mental wellness, and sustainable workforce success.
FORBES PROFILE
When She Couldn’t Find Services to Help Her Daughter, This Entrepreneur Began Offering Her Own
Michelle’s journey from parent advocate to entrepreneur and systems builder.
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FORBES COACHES COUNCIL
3 Steps to Shape the Future for Neurodiverse Leaders
Building environments where neurodivergent innovators can develop and lead.
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AUTISM RESOURCE PODCAST
Executive Function Coaching with Michelle Raz
A conversation about practical support, self-awareness, and meaningful independence.
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TARGETING ADHD
Academic Coaching with Michelle Raz
How executive-function skills influence success in school, careers, and life.
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WORKFORCE LINK PODCAST
Navigating Disability Accommodations in the Workplace
Supporting inclusion, communication, and sustainable performance at work.
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AUTHORITY MAGAZINE
Self-Care and Mental Wellness with Michelle Raz
Practical insight into resilience, wellness, and sustainable personal support.
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AMERICAN HERITAGE SCHOOL SPEAKER SERIES
Strategies for Emotional Regulation and ADHD
Practical strategies for helping young people with ADHD build
emotional regulation, resilience, and stronger daily functioning.
LEADERS & LEGACIES PODCAST
Transforming Challenges into Leadership Strengths
A conversation about transforming neurodivergent challenges into
strengths in leadership, entrepreneurship, and meaningful work.
SPEAKING · TRAINING · PARTNERSHIP
Bring Michelle into the conversation.
Invite Michelle to speak, lead a workshop, support professional development, or help design a stronger pathway for neurodivergent students, employees, families, and communities.
Common Questions
Speaking and partnership questions answered.
Learn about Michelle Raz’s background, speaking topics, workshops, professional training, and collaborative work.
Speak
Teach
Train
Collaborate
01 Who is Michelle Raz, and what is her area of expertise?
Michelle Raz, M.Ed., BCC, CSS, is the founder of Raz Coaching Services and Director of Career Pathways for the Neurodiversity Foundation. She is a Board Certified Coach, educator, curriculum developer, workforce innovator, and neurodiversity advocate. Since 2010, her work has connected executive function, education, employment, wellbeing, and Adaptive Independence™.
02 What topics does Michelle Raz speak about?
Michelle speaks about neurodiversity, executive function, academic independence, workforce readiness and retention, support beyond therapy, caregiver navigation, leadership, self-advocacy, and the need for better coordination across health, education, employment, and community systems. Her presentations combine lived experience, direct practice, curriculum development, and systems-level implementation.
03 What types of events and audiences does Michelle work with?
Michelle works with workforce-development organizations, employers, colleges, schools, education professionals, coaching communities, clinical and behavioral-health partners, nonprofit organizations, caregiver groups, and community forums. She is available for conferences, panels, podcasts, webinars, leadership conversations, professional events, and facilitated discussions. Michelle has also appeared in more than 50 podcast and media conversations.
04 Does Michelle provide workshops and professional training?
Yes. Michelle develops and facilitates workshops and professional training for coaches, educators, managers, workforce professionals, organizations, and multidisciplinary teams. Training may address executive-function support, neurodiversity-informed practice, student independence, employee retention, communication, self-advocacy, practical implementation systems, or train-the-trainer and coach-development pathways.
05 How can an organization invite Michelle to speak, facilitate, train, or collaborate?
Organizations can submit an inquiry through the Raz Coaching contact page. Helpful information includes the event or project date, audience, location, preferred format, expected number of participants, and desired outcomes. Michelle can then explore whether a keynote, workshop, panel, podcast, professional training, consultation, or longer-term partnership is the best fit.