Many folks who work at Dorchester House Multi-Service Center probably don't realize that they are sharing their staff kitchen with a national celebrity. And this is probably a good thing given that Michelle Nadow can't afford to have her demanding schedule disrupted by the Paparazzi. Over the years, however, some may have found themselves with a lingering sense of having met Michelle before; and with a sudden and strange craving for pancakes.

This is because when Michelle was 11 years old, freckled and pig-tailed, she starred in a national television commercial for Golden Griddle pancake syrup. The commercial aired right after "Little House on the Prairie" and ran five days a week for over a year. However, as is so commonly the case for high profile celebrities, she was lured away from the lime lights by the glitz and glamour of working in community health.

Michelle Nadow is the Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at Dorchester House. In her role, Michelle works closely with the Center's partner organizations, including DotWell, co-founded by Dorchester House and Codman Square Health Center in 1998 to provide centralized management, information technology and health policy advocacy support to the two health centers. Over the last 13 years, DotWell has grown in size and scope and now oversees cross-site coordination and management of non-clinical programs such as civic health, youth development and wellness opportunities- just to name a few.    

"I grew up in the Berkshires in a small town in Great Barrington," says Michelle. "After going from kindergarten through high school with the same 120 kids, I wanted to go to a big school and meet different people." Rutgers University offered the experience she sought as well as a strong Political Science department, which she attributes to piquing her interest in public policy.

After interning for a State Representative during one school semester, Michelle asked him to provide her with a letter of recommendation. Rather than provide the recommendation, he asked Michelle to come and work for him. After eight years, she left the State Legislature to become a program coordinator for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, where she remained for three years before bringing her seasoned and diverse talents to Dorchester House.

Her current responsibilities include developing and implementing a public policy agenda for the health centers and DotWell, supervising a staff of seven social service case managers at Dorchester House, and managing the school-based health center at the Harbor Middle School. In addition, Michelle is involved in a range of projects which focus on the overall health and well-being of community residents.

The first, "Thrive at Five," promotes school readiness for families of children ages 0-5. Placing strong emphasis on community-based plan to support family involvement, the initiative works with parents to determine what they most need in order to ensure that their children are ready to learn by the time they reach kindergarten. This can include help with registering for school, organizing play groups, or connecting to income supports. "And by 'ready,' we don't just mean knowing how to write their name but that they are socially and emotionally prepared to be in school," explains Michelle.

The second, a pilot program, is focused on fiscal health. "Most of our case management services requests come down to not having enough money for diapers, childcare, or you name-it," says Michelle. "Finance is an area that many people -- staff included -- don't want to think about. Patients are far more willing to divulge their health behavior than talk about why they have bad credit." In an effort to change this, the health center is working with DotWell's civic health team to support case managers in working with patients to assess how he or she might improve his or her fiscal health.

The third program addresses the need for a Centering Pregnancy group at Dorchester House, whereby expectant mothers receive their prenatal care through a group visit model that combines medical care, health education and relationship building. After a private visit with their doctor, patients join a group session discussing a specific topic. "But really, it's more about giving them an opportunity to build a support group with one another," says Michelle, who is hoping to model the program after the successful pregnancy-centering program already established at Codman Square Health Center.

Michelle is quick to point out the relevance of having unconventional programs like these in a health center: "We work with families, many of which we have long standing relationships with; we are really an anchor in the community for so many people." Through these programs that acknowledge the relationship between issues like financial health and physical health, Michelle helps provide truly holistic care.

While each of these tasks alone seems daunting, Michelle seems to relish them all.

"She is tremendous," says Mary Irwin, the Center's Human Resources Director. "She has a natural ability to see the big picture and to immediately see what factors will influence it. She is extremely bright, impressively articulate and highly regarded by all, both internally and externally. On top of that, she is a delight to work with."

Given the weight of responsibility on Michelle's shoulders and the leadership with which she carries it, it is no wonder why Dorchester House CEO Joel Abrams suggested she apply for the Geiger Gibson Capstone Program in Health Policy and Leadership this past fall. Michelle, who admits that she was initially skeptical of whether she would gain anything from the training, found it to be a very valuable experience. "While I was there, I realized I still had a lot to learn," she said, adding, "Regardless of where you are, I don't think that ever stops."

In addition to the strong informational content, the program offered the opportunity to network with others, including staff members from congressional offices, the National Association of Community Health Centers and George Washington University. "The program served as a reminder that public policy work isn't seasonal, but a yearlong effort. Professional development opportunities such as these are great for relationship-building and the technical know-how. Understanding the legislative and budget process both at the federal and state level is critical because that is where policy is made and we want health center people to be in a position to influence that policy," offers Michelle.

Michelle would suggest the Capstone program as an excellent way to round off one's health center education, praising the supportive nature of health centers surrounding staff development opportunities like these. "Health centers really want to invest in the new wave coming through and prepare new generations to be equipped to lead," she says appreciatively.

Securing Michelle for the healthcare field before she had time to launch a career on the big screen was fortunate for Dorchester House and the community health center network-at-large. It's not very often you find someone like Michelle who is able to make so many important and complicated responsibilities look as easy as pie, er, pancakes.