Michaela O’Donnell
Mary and Dale Andringa Executive Director
Biography
Michaela is the Mary and Dale Andringa Executive Director Chair at the Max De Pree Center for Leadership. She is also an assistant professor of marketplace leadership and the lead professor for Fuller Seminary’s Doctor of Global Leadership, Redemptive Imagination in the Marketplace program.
Michaela’s role at the De Pree Center is to oversee the center’s vision, strategy, and dynamic team all toward the goal of resourcing leaders like you as you grow in your sense of purpose and seek the flourishing of the people and systems entrusted to your care.
She is the author of two books, Life in Flux: Navigational Skills to Guide and Ground You in an Ever-Changing World written with Lisa Pratt Slayton (Baker Books, 2024), and Make Work Matter: Your Guide to Meaningful Work in a Changing World (Baker Books, 2021).
Michaela is the primary visionary and lead professor in Fuller’s Doctor of Global Leadership, Redemptive Imagination in the Marketplace program—an innovative, practical doctoral program for people who, guided by the hope of Christ, are looking to enact change in their context. Though students must have a master’s degree to participate, this program is unique in a seminary context because students don’t need a theological degree. The current cohort is made up of business leaders, healthcare executives, venture capitalists, NGO professionals, entrepreneurs, and education administrators. Michaela’s teaching team for the DGL includes Gustavo Santos and Dr. Uli Chi.
Michaela is also the primary visionary and content creator behind De Pree Center’s Road Ahead program, a six-week spiritual formation cohort rooted in research and designed to help professionals in transition take a breath, discern next steps, and gain clarity about what God is calling them to do. The De Pree Center has run over 50 Road Ahead cohorts with over 300 participants.
In addition to her academic work, Michaela has over fifteen years of experience as a leader in the marketplace. Principally, as the Owner and Managing Director of Long Winter Media, a vibrant creative agency that helps brands make social impact through multi-media content. Long Winter Media’s roster of clients includes Google, YouTube, NBC Universal, the University of Southern California, Presbyterian Church (USA), and many more. Notably, the Oprah Winfrey Network picked up a short film Long Winter Media produced for an episode of Oprah’s show Super Soul Sundays with Glennon Doyle.
Michaela regularly writes and teaches on topics including vocation, change, innovation, creativity, faith/work, and gender dynamics in leadership. To listen to Michaela or read some of her most recent writing, click the button below.
