September Employee Spotlight – Michelle Ewert

Michelle is a Certified Professional Guardian (CPG) who is a valuable member of our guardianship team. She is a great problem-solver, warmly generous, and loves to make others happy and feel included. We would like for you to get to know more about Michelle as we spotlight her for the month of September and there is no better way to accomplish that than to hear from her in her own words:

“I came to work for Bridge in September 2015.  I was at a pivotal spot with my personal guardianship business, as four of the five clients that I served had passed away.  I thought that I might like a part-time job with a guardianship agency.  I was (and still am) driving the school bus for the Issaquah School District, and I knew how much I enjoyed it, and I didn’t want to give it up.  And I also knew that I didn’t want to give up my guardianship work as that is the work that feeds my soul.  One day I read an email from a colleague stating that there was a guardianship agency in Bellevue that was looking for a part-time CPG. And when I read their mission, I thought, “Perfect match!” And it was.

I was born in Bellevue and my family lived here until I was 8 years old.  My father took a job in Denver, Colorado, and we left Washington.  I still had grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins that lived here so I would return often over the years.

After leaving Washington as a child, I lived in several different states, but it was when I lived in Colorado that I attended Metropolitan State College and earned a Bachelor of Science degree.  I was proud of this accomplishment as I was the first one in my family to obtain a college degree, and I paid for it myself by working 3 different jobs! 

One of my favorite hobbies while I lived in Denver was snowboarding.  There was a group of 10 of us that used to hit the slopes as often as we could.  We would even go up after work to ride at the resort that had night skiing. It was good times. 

In 2002 I decided to move back to the Pacific Northwest and have had zero regrets.  A year and a half after I returned, I met my husband. Arnold, on a blind date set up by my parents and their friends.      

We have been married for 17 years. One of our favorite hobbies to do together is travel.  We have done lots of traveling around the PNW and the surrounding states.  We have also taken a few overseas trips to Europe and India. We even got to spend an afternoon in Tangier, Morocco.  We have future plans to travel to more European countries that we haven’t visited yet.

Another passion of mine is my cats.  I have always had cats in my life.  I currently have three. They are the source of much joy in my life, and I can’t imagine life without them!

One of my favorite quotes is one that I heard while having dinner with friends.  Our friend had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.  He wanted us to come and share food and fellowship with him and his family, knowing that it could be the last time that we saw each other. Which sadly, it was.  As he prayed over our meal, he closed by saying, “Let us be ever mindful of the needs of others”.  That is how I have tried to live my life since hearing those words.  Guardianship work is the embodiment of this quote.  As a guardian you are always on, always thinking of the clients, and always wanting what is best for them. I look forward to the years to come as we continue to serve the amazing people that we now have, as well as, new clients who will become part of our Bridge family.”

Michelle is willing to help her colleagues with the “unexpected tasks” and the immediate needs of our clients.  She will go out of her way to assist us all because Michelle takes joy in serving others.

Because of Michelle’s previous experience in guardianship work, she brings our team new and creative ideas and ways of approaching tasks.  We are all learning the new guardianship law together; Michelle is the best historian of how past rules affected our client services and is eager to improve our skill set in moving forward with the new law.  She can be detailed but is also our “big picture” person. Michelle always wants our Guardianship program to focus on decision-making and advocacy.  She wants the best services for our clients.  She communicates well with all our clients’ providers & wants client needs to be met.  Michelle will take on anyone to get this done! Susan Dougherty-Guild, Guardianship Director

Categorised in: Bridge Story