Michele Guell

With a variety of interests, Michele Guell stays active in her community. Deeply committed to promoting animal rights, she contributes her time to Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, the only combined zoo and aquarium in the Pacific Northwest. The Zoo features 29 acres and provides more than 600,000 visitors every year with a breathtaking view of the Olympic Mountains as well as the opportunity to observe the many different animals. Michele Guell also volunteers for the Zoo’s Zoobilee, a fundraiser that raises money for new animal enclosures. She has also volunteered for the San Diego Oceans Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the area’s marine environment. Michele Guell has also adopted or fostered many animals throughout her life, including rabbits, raccoons, chipmunks, squirrels, and guinea pigs. In addition to her love of animals, she also enjoys designing jewelry. She crafts crystal music boxes from recycled boxes and jewelry and hand-make scarves, with proceeds from sales going to the Humane Society. Guell’s other hobbies include writing, reading, attending theatrical productions, sailing, and gardening. She has grown food for the local food bank for several years. She also contributes her time as a reading and writing tutor for children and adults with special needs. Previously, Michele Guell worked as a Special Education teacher. She possesses Master's degrees in Education from Alabama A&M; University and the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, and a Certificate of Clinical Competency in Speech and Language Pathology. She studied linguistics at the University of Hawaii, in the course of which she learned to speak Tagalog. Although she currently lives in Washington with her husband, Michele Guell enjoys visiting her son in Tennessee.