Michele Young, an acclaimed attorney, mother of five and breast cancer survivor has dedicated her life to the mission of achieving the maximum amount of good in a minimum amount of time.  Whether in the courtroom, legislature or community Michele always fights for social justice, equality and idealism.  She speaks for those who have been marginalized, overlooked or unfairly treated and imagines what a life could be but for the obstacles that shaped a life and does all she can to dismantle those barriers.  She reaches across aisles, brings together dream teams, uses data-driven approaches and deploys her considerable energy, passion and resourcefulness to help individuals and institutions come closer to their potential. She is known for making things happen, and she does so with remarkable speed and efficacy.

Her passion comes from her life. The grandchild of Jewish immigrants, the child of idealistic public-school teachers, she saw first-hand the promise of America as the beacon of liberty for her family. She saw the barriers that stood in the way of her, her twin sister and so many she loves from having the life of their dreams. All through her life, she sought to lift herself and lift others, so all came closer to the dream of America that inspires her to this day of a land where all, regardless of race, creed, sex, or origin, can reach their dreams. Michele worked odd jobs to support herself and through Georgetown Law Center in her twenties, took a Greyhound to interview with a legendary Federal civil rights judge in Cincinnati where she unexpectedly found her home and where fate led her to meet Greg Young. Their 32-year marriage became the foundation for raising five children in her adopted city with a beloved husband who has never missed a Bengals game in his lifetime. 

In 2018, Michele was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and told to go through her bucket list. After the diagnosis, Michele’s list now included beating cancer and changing the laws to provide all women the right to affordable and effective screening technology.

Michele assembled an all-star team to accomplish this goal including her doctors at UC Health Dr. Elyse Lower, Dr. Annie Brown, and Dr. Mary Mahoney and two dear friends, former Representatives Jean Schmidt and Sedrick Denson. 

As part of this dream team, Michele helped author, advocate, and shepherd what became Ohio House Bill 371 which was signed into law on July 24, 2022. Carrying pink carnations and roses, she knocked on the doors of state legislators until she knew there were the votes for passage.  The law ensures women in Ohio have the right to 1. an annual mammogram, 2. coverage of supplemental screenings, 3. a clear notification of breast density and 4. advanced screening decisions are left up to the radiologists and not insurance.

Michele continues work with this dream team to ensure early detection is not just a right, but a reality for all women in Ohio.  The team recently brought in experts who pioneered how to reach communities during the COVID and Opioid crisis along with additional stakeholders. Together they found new challenges to early screening like co-payments, lack of advanced screening technology in some communities and understanding the need for and right to advanced screening. Representatives Jean Schmidt and Sedrick Denson will introduce new legislation this February to close these gaps and make Ohio the model for not only the nation but also the world.  After this becomes law, Michele plans to transform the way we reach out to women so every woman in Ohio knows her rights to and how to receive early detection, inspired by the work of new team member Tiffany Mattingly and the Health Collaborative to leave no Ohioan behind in the Heroin and Covid Crisis.

Additionally, she is working to bring the same right of early detection to all women in the United States, a challenge that is now being won not in the limelight but with the leaders of HB371 who have transformed the guidelines of the American College of Radiology and now hopefully, the United States Preventative Task Force.

Michele is on a mission to end breast cancer.  Calling breast cancer an epidemic that has been normalized and ignored, Today Show NBC Health and National News correspondent Kristen Dahlgren and Michele Young are bringing together the top scientific minds and institutions across the country, grassroots breast cancer advocates, government agencies and breast cancer survivors to focus on accelerating effective breast cancer vaccines for all.  The Pink Eraser Project’s goal is to end breast cancer within ten years and as early as five.

Michele’s track record shows she can get it done.

In 2017 Michele is part of the legal team that brought justice to the family of Gabriel Taye, an 8-year-old child who committed suicide after being bullied. The landmark 3-million-dollar settlement has changed the way bullying is handled. In just two years time, Cincinnati Public Schools has a new, data-driven approach that predicts bullying much like forecasters can predict storms allowing schools to get ahead of it. 

She is now working with Patricia Collins and the Bootsy Collins Foundation to spearhead a transformative shift in community dynamics and culture.  Their collective efforts are dedicated to uplifting the lives of children and fostering the essential cultural changes needed to establish a community where violence and bullying is no longer tolerated, and children not only thrive but also have the opportunity to be their authentic and best selves. Patti and Michele have traveled as far away as Compton or to local schools and parks to inspire children and joined forces locally with Cincinnati Public Schools and the Hamilton County Public Library.

Michele also brought together students and young graduates to robustly support the Interfaith Worker Center’s successful coalition effort to bring healthy food to the Cincinnati Public Schools and to gather the civic and law enforcement leaders to support the Hamilton County Coroner’s effort to build the first crime lab in 50 years.

Michele was part of the successful pro-bono effort to free Tyra Patterson after 23 years in prison for a crime she did not commit. Michele is honored to remain a dear friend to Tyra. Co-counsel on the historic Sherry Chen case that brought justice to an Ohioan wrongfully accused and fired, the complaint Michele co-authored attracted the attention of U.S. Senator Roger Wicker’s team and a cite in the final report on the “the rogue police force” of the U.S. Department of Commerce that targeted Chinese Americans for years and now disbanded as a result.

Michele developed public-safety initiatives, including a “Don’t Text and Drive” campaign with her husband’s law firm, Gregory S. Young Co., LPA, that reached millions for years.

In 2016, Michele was the endorsed Democratic candidate and the first mother to run for Ohio’s first Congressional district. Although having never ran before, Michele swept the Democratic precincts in the primary and then ran an energetic campaign that came close to winning Hamilton County. Her race won support from icons including Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Gloria Steinem. 

In addition, Michele worked with Patricia Collins and the Bootsy Collins Foundation to lift up the lives of local children, Operation Backpack, the Armed Forces Ticket Association to give out art and sport tickets to our veterans, and Cincinnati leaders to support Asian American inclusion.

USA TODAY named Michele Young as the Ohio Woman of the Year Honoree for 2024. Hamilton County named May 19, 2022 Michele Young Day. Michele is a 2020 Cincinnati Enquirer Woman of the Year and 2020 Cincinnati Bar Association’s Julia A. Stauberg Honoree “in Recognition of an Outstanding Female Counselor for her Exemplary Service and Accomplishments.” Other awards include the Cancer Family Care Unsung Hero Award, the Outstanding Achievement Award by Cincinnati Women’s Political Caucus and the Leadership in Empowerment Award at the Cincinnati AAPI Heritage Celebration.

Before Michele suffered her own health setback, she studied how the law responds to changes in medicine and society and wrote on the subject, including as a legal co-author of a medical malpractice guide at a time of change, published by the American Bar Association. She sees a path for change now for the science there and now the law and policies can follow.