Michelle Graham-Smith

Senior Return to Work Coordinator, University of Kentucky Human Development Institute

Michelle Graham-Smith is from Louisville, Kentucky, and serves as the Senior Return to Work Coordinator at the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute. She earned both her Bachelor of Science in Social Work and her Master of Arts in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Kentucky. Her research will focus on telework employees and the impact of organizational restructuring following the COVID-19 pandemic. With a long-standing connection to the university, Michelle believes UK offers the best environment to support her professional development and provide the structure and flexibility needed to balance her education, work, and personal life in an online doctoral program. In her free time, she enjoys reading, listening to audiobooks, solving word-search puzzles, and developing her artistic skills. A self-described "nerd by association" thanks to her husband, Michelle knows more about Star Wars than she expected—despite never having watched all the episodes—and her office is filled with themed figures and Legos. She is currently redecorating her upstairs into a family space and is in the process of painting a Mario Brothers scene on the walls, including Princess Peach’s castle.