Michelle Hudgins

Michelle Hudgins is an accredited communications strategist with over 30 years of marketing, branding, and PR experience. She began her career working in broadcast news before transitioning her professional practice to advertising and PR. Hudgins comes to the Pew Research Center from Neighbor Works America (formerly Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation), an affordable housing intermediary. She has also led teams for the internationally recognized American Red Cross and The National Education Association. As a senior strategist at NEA, she consulted with and trained senior leaders and affiliate staff, served as a national spokesperson, and coordinated the implementation of several national community outreach initiatives, media campaigns, and brand programs.

Michelle holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media Arts from her beloved Hampton University, a Master of Science in Communications with an emphasis on Advertising and Strategy from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a Master of Arts in Film from American University. The Public Relations Society of America also recognizes her as an Accredited Public Relations (APR) practitioner. 

A passionate storyteller and champion of education, Michelle serves on the national board for Little Free Library, a non-profit focused on expanding literacy and book access globally. She is also Middle Atlantic Region President for the National Hampton Alumni Association, Inc, responsible for annually distributing more than $350,000 in scholarships. When she is not traveling or catching a film, Michelle often shares her expertise with churches and community groups moderating discussions and working with them on media mastery, branding, message development, and other skills necessary to impact systemic change in their work.