Michelle Nunn is the CEO of Points of Light and co-founder of HandsOn Network. Points of Light inspires, equips and mobilizes people to take action that changes the world. Michelle began her service journey when she helped found HandsOn Atlanta in 1989. What began as a grassroots startup of 12 individuals hoping to get more people involved in volunteer service has grown into the largest volunteer network in the country, working each day to connect 21st century volunteers with their power to create change in their communities.
At Points of Light, Michelle leads the organization in engaging millions of volunteers each year to use their time, talent, voice and money to solve the pressing issues of our time. Through Points of Light and its three divisions: Programs, Civic Incubator and Action Networks, which include HandsOn Network, the largest network of 250 local volunteer centers across the country and around the world; generationOn, the youth service movement that ignites the power of kids to make their mark on the world; AmeriCorps Alums, the national service alumni network that activates the next generation of service leaders; and Points of Light Corporate Institute, our enterprise that enables companies to engage their employees and customers in service, individuals, families, and corporate and community groups find meaningful opportunities to give back and create impact.
Michelle has been a leader in the service and nonprofit sector for two decades. She has served on the President’s Council on Service and Civic Engagement and as a co-convener of the Service Nation Coalition and Re-Imagining Service. She has received a variety of awards, including the Fast Company Social Capitalist Award and honorary degrees from Oglethorpe University and Wesleyan College. The NonProfit Times has named Michelle to its annual “Power and Influence Top 50” list of change agents from the nonprofit sector for six consecutive years.
She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Virginia with a major in history and a minor in religion. She has studied at Oxford University and in India. She was a Kellogg National Fellow and has a master’s degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Michelle lives in Atlanta with her husband, Ron Martin, and their two children, Vinson and Elizabeth.