Michele Padilla

Prior to joining Padilla & Padilla, PLLC, Michele worked as a talent development consultant for two decades. Michele has helmed scores of complex consulting projects for Fortune 500 companies across the country and was a lead instructional designer and facilitator for the United States Army with frequent visits to The Pentagon and Ft. Leavenworth Army Base where she interfaced with both generals and civilians. She has been engaged in a multitude of large learning and development projects for companies such as Comcast, The Home Depot, Office Depot, Vanguard, Pfizer, Arrow Electronics, and Western Union to name a few organizations. Most recently, Michele directed the development of new leadership competencies and the design and development of experiential learning courses for all leadership levels across the Farm Credit System with more than 17,000 employees and assets of $7B. Michele is also a skilled facilitator having conducted scores of training courses ranging from technical courses, communication courses, sales and customer service, as well as leadership courses. Michele has demonstrated expertise in generations in the workplace and leadership in a hybrid work environment. Michele has been a speaker at several national conferences in recent years.

“In my strategic role as Chief of Staff and Operations, I support Padilla and Padilla’s continued success as a leading law firm in both civil and criminal cases in Denver. I’ve worked with a wide variety of Fortune clients and industries which has enabled me to anticipate business needs, be a forward thinker, an influencer, and work collaboratively across an organization, and drive an engaged company culture that achieves results for our clients.”

Education & Certifications

• University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, Certificate Hi Impact Leadership, 2022
• University of Colorado, Master of Arts Degree, Instructional Design and Adult Learning Theory, 2005 
• Radford University, Bachelor of Arts degree, History, 1999
• Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialog, Certified Trainer
• Crucial Conversations for Accountability, Certified Trainer
• Friday Night at the ER Learning Simulation, Certified Trainer

Recognition & Accomplishments

• Compeer Financial – February 2023: Generation Gaps in Communication‍
• Mid America Cooperative Council – November 2022: Generation Gaps in Communication‍
• National Council of Farmers Cooperative – October 2022: Leading Teams in a Hybrid Environment‍
• Credit Union National Association (HR & OD conference) – April 2022: Generation Gaps in Communication‍
• National Cooperative Business Association – September 2020: Actions Speak Louder Than Intentions (DEI & allyship)‍
• Western Union Accelerator Award recipient for custom design and execution of an enterprise- wide learning summit, Training Trax.