Michelle Lipinski, Principal - Northshore Recovery High School/Northshore Education Consortium

Michelle is the Principal of the Northshore Recovery High School. She is licensed as a Science Teacher, Principal, Special Education Director, and Superintendent. She has been an educator for almost 30 years and has over 20 years of experience as a Principal/Director in alternative education settings. Michelle speaks around the country about the philosophy and mission of creating adolescent recovery supports in academic settings. She is a strong advocate for combining a supportive therapeutic milieu with rigorous academic standards. Michelle has played a leadership role in helping her staff develop authentic performance assessments and upholding high academic standards for students with significant risk factors. Due to her unique perspective on these issues, Michelle and her students have been featured on CNN, NBC, NECN, NPR, Anderson Cooper, MTV as well as other media outlets across the country. Michelle is the co-founder of the icanhelp program (http://icanhelp.today/), operated through her non-profit, Potential Connections, created in response to the number of students who are unable to connect with a trusted community partner and consequently never receive the essential services they need to live a productive and healthy life.