Michelle Figlar is the vice president of Learning at The Heinz Endowments. Before joining the foundation in August 2016, Michelle served as deputy secretary of the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL). She also has been executive director of the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC) and has held various professional positions in the field of education.

Throughout her career in government, the nonprofit sector and the classroom, Michelle has been a strong advocate for young children, their families and the caring adults in their lives. She serves as co-chair of Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s Children’s Fund Working Group and Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Early Childhood Education, and as a board member for the Birmingham Foundation, United Way of Pennsylvania, Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania, and she currently co-chairs the United for Children initiative for the United Way of Southwestern PA.  She is also a member of the Pennsylvania Early Learning Council and serves on several national initiatives focused on early learning and family wellbeing.

Michelle is a native of Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood and lives in the city with her husband Greg Quinlan and their children Grady and Tilly.