Consulting Leadership Coaching Clients
Michelle Cantor Inspiration In Action Testimonials
Michelle Cantor Crains Detroit Business 2023 Notable Leader in Diversity Equity Inclusion

Michelle Cantor

Founder

As a driver of thought leadership and strategic direction in organizational and talent development, she has worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies and non-profit organizations.

Michelle Cantor is a Certified Diversity Executive® and a Certified Coach. She often refers to herself as a “Coachultant” because she skillfully leverages the unique techniques of both consulting and coaching in her approach. 

As a driver of thought leadership and strategic direction in organizational and talent development, she has worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies and non-profit organizations. 

Michelle has a demonstrated track record of designing and implementing successful Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs that integrate strategic planning, coaching, and organizational culture development.

As a women’s leadership coach, she has the joy of helping high-achieving women create a vision and clear path to accomplishing professional goals that enable their whole selves to thrive.

Michelle has been recognized by Crain’s Detroit Business as a Notable Leader in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

 
 

Michelle Cantor is the founder of Conscious Leadership, an interactive educational experience that gets to the heart of understanding the power of unconscious biases and how we can both individually and collectively create a more inclusive and productive work environment. 

Michelle initiated her human performance consulting career at Accenture and rose through the ranks from a performance consultant to Operations Lead for Accenture’s North America Behavioral Interview Center. She honed her expertise in strategic planning as a Program Lead for Accenture’s Global Smart Grid Consulting Practice, a 500-million-dollar business. Next, she became the Program Lead of the organization’s North America Strategy Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) Practice. 

Cantor earned BA and MBA degrees from the University of Michigan and Indiana University, respectively. Additionally, she is fluent in Spanish and an alum of Leadership Oakland’s Cornerstone program. 

Michelle serves as the Board of Directors Chairperson for Living Arts, an organization dedicated to igniting creativity in the lives of Detroit youth through the arts. Additionally, she is an Inforum (a Michigan women’s leadership and networking organization) facilitator, coach, and chair of one of their networking groups. 

Michelle Cantor - Volar Consulting - Diversity Equity Inclusion Consultant - Women's Leadership Coaching
 

The Inspiration Behind Volar

VOLAR means “to fly” in Spanish. My mission is to enable individuals and organizations to SOAR!

As a young adult, while living in Madrid and immersing myself in Spain’s customs and language, I developed a profound appreciation for diverse cultures and perspectives. The Spanish language and lifestyle have played a pivotal role in shaping the person that I am. Thus, naming my company “Volar” captures the intersection of my personal and professional passion—enabling all of us to thrive in a diverse, equitable, and inclusive world. 

Come join me on the journey.

Michelle Cantor, Founder of Volar, with her camera in Madrid, Spain

Michelle Cantor and her camera in Madrid, Spain

 

Michelle In Action

 
 
Volar - Women's Executive Coaching and DEI Consulting - Michelle Cantor - Bloomfield Michigan
 

People are saying

 
Client Testimonials

“Since [Michelle’s] approach has leadership being an active and critical part of the entire process, our leadership team is already embedding a more inclusive and equitable mindset into everything we do.”

Linda Lutz
CFO, Detroit Symphony Orchestra

“Michelle’s facilitation empowered our staff by allowing this diverse group of people to work together to identify bottlenecks, agree on solutions, and implement the changes. Staff are now communicating more often and more effectively with improved accountability.”

Paul Blatt
CEO, Gesher Human Services

“Michelle was an incredible coach, guiding me to understand how to leverage my strengths to meet my goals, and lean on other resources that complimented my strengths.”

Susanna B.
Coaching client

“Her innate demeanor as a coach and mentor is palpable upon introduction. Michelle’s deep understanding of complex systems and people’s motivations are her ‘secret sauce.’”

Alissa Novoselick
Executive Director, Living Arts

“Michelle’s knowledge of the work, including meeting facilitation, strategic planning, and the all-around DEI space, has added tremendous value to our team. Additionally, she has demonstrated the right presence to lead amongst organization and sector leaders in our region.”

Dustin McClellan
Founder & CEO, Pontiac Community Foundation

“Michelle Cantor has provided her coaching and consulting expertise to facilitate webinars for our organization. No matter the topic, she facilitates an impactful discussion that enables participants to feel comfortable, be honest, and shift their perspectives. We have received exceptional feedback.”

Amber Martin
Director of Member Relations, The Society for Diversity

“As a two-person company, it didn’t seem obvious that I needed help with diversity, equity and inclusion.  But when I reached out to Michelle with a personnel issue, she helped me identify the greater issue: I needed diversity of thought.”

Pamela Victor
President & Founder, Happier Valley Comedy

“I would highly recommend Ms. Cantor whether you are just starting to explore the implementation of a DEI program, or if you are looking for further advancement of a system already in place.”

Kyle Kamidoi
DEI Committee Chair, Garan, Lucow, Miller P.C.

“As a result of Michelle’s work, we were able to improve our diversity and inclusion metrics by the targeted amount and create great positive buzz throughout the Strategy Practice.”

Deborah Brecher
Strategy Managing Director, Accenture NA