Michelle published her first freelance piece, a real estate story about a neighborhood that put itself up for sale, in The New York Times in 2005. Recently, after more than a decade at daily papers, she decided to make a go of freelancing as a career. Already, her work has appeared in a variety of regional and national publications, including Parents magazine, Parenting, Reader’s Digest, Mothering.com, Planning magazine and, of course, The New York Times.

From 1999 to 2006, Michelle worked as a reporter at The Charlotte Observer, covering education, city hall and growth. She was eventually promoted to assistant metro editor, where she supervised reporters, edited stories and helped oversee the local news section. In 2007, she launched the paper’s successful moms website, www.momscharlotte.com.