Hi, I'm Michaela, the founder of well+aligned, a K–12 literacy training and consulting firm based in Arizona. I specialize in helping Title I schools strengthen their academic systems, teacher training, and coaching processes: most often around early literacy, MTSS, and multilingual learners. I firmly believe literacy is a civil right for every student, and that belief shapes everything I build.

I also work nationally as a a literacy specialist and professional learning facilitator for LETRS, training educators across the country in the Science of Reading. But my favorite work happens closer to the ground: with 18 years as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, trainer, and academic director, I bring a lot of lenses to my work, which is exactly why my sessions feel less like a lecture and more like a working conversation with someone who's actually done the job. I design professional learning that's authentic, purposeful, and genuinely fun. Adults learn better when they're engaged, not just informed, and I build every training with that in mind.

I'm also a certified social-emotional learning facilitator and trauma-informed yoga instructor, and that combination shows up in how I coach. I care as much about how educators feel walking out of a session as what they learned in it. Sustainable change happens when people feel capable and supported, not just handed another new initiative.

Outside of schools and training sites, you'll find me in Phoenix most likely drinking too much coffee, hitting up a spin class, and doing some stargazing.