Michelle

About Michelle

Michelle Ma joined PNNL in September 2016 and is responsible for inspiring and overseeing a team of professionals that steward the Lab’s public voice, brand identity, and core channels.She started her career in the travel industry, working both on the tourism side and in travel industry publishing. Some of her early (and most fun) roles were at the Long Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Contiki Holidays, and Guest Informant Visitor Publications. Michelle later spent more than a decade in higher education communications management as Director of Marketing and PR at a large California community college, as Chief Communications Officer at Whitman College, and as Chief Communications Officer at The Evergreen State College.Michelle\'s background as a working manager and highly collaborative team member has contributed to her varied skillset; she is an acclaimed writer, editor, graphic designer, art director, and social media strategist with numerous individual and team awards from the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR) and the Community College Public Relations Organization (CCPRO).Originally from North Long Beach, Calif, Michelle relocated to Walla Walla, Washington, in 2014 and embraces all of the peaceful elements of small town life. You’ll often catch her driving her restored 1970 Volkswagen bus, mowing her pasture, or tending to her backyard vineyard.

Experience

1. Director of Corporate Communications

   Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

   Nov 2025 — Present

   After 9 years leading the Research Communications group at PNNL, I moved over to lead Corporate Communications in November 2025. In this role, my talented team and I own, operate, and amplify the Lab’s public voice, brand identity, and core channels. I have three teams of communicators dedicated to this charge: Enterprise Communications, Digital Communications, and Creative Communications. In this new (to me) role, I get to work daily with skilled photographers, videographers, designers, illustrators, animators, social media and web pros, internal comms geniuses, and news/media mavens. I look forward to what we will build this year, together.

Education

• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

  Management Skills Development Program- Certificate of Completion, Organizational Leadership

  2016 — 2018

• University of Southern Indiana

  B.A., Communications

  1995 — 1999

• California State University, Long Beach

  M.P.A., Public Administration/Public Affairs

  2002 — 2004

• Battelle Memorial Institute

  Laboratory Operations Supervisor Academy