Michelle Sutton
Chief of Staff
Michelle joined Catholic Leadership Institute in 2023. Prior to her current role as Chief of Staff, Michelle served as Donor Engagement Director on the Mission Advancement team. Michelle has over a decade of experience working in non-profits and ministry as a volunteer, board member, and fundraiser. She has a track record of success in a wide breadth of strategic and fundraising initiatives including major and planned gifts, building donor pipeline, strategic planning, communications, managing databases, event planning, capital campaigns, and directing high impact teams.
Before joining CLI, Michelle worked as Director of Development at the Duke Catholic Center. During her tenure, Michelle raised over $17M for the Center - tripling the size of the annual fund to over $1M and raising major gifts for the Center's endowment and other special projects. Michelle has served on the board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Triangle Chapter and the Catholic Campus Ministry's Association's Development Task Force. She has had the privilege of teaching development courses, webinars, and presenting at conferences and retreats.
Michelle is a graduate from Duke University. While her family is originally from Venezuela, she and her husband Jason live in Raleigh, NC with their three young children James, Henry, and Clara. They are active parishioners of St. Raphael Catholic Church.
