Ms. Coussens owns Plan B Consulting, founded in 2005 and focused on business planning; market analysis; competitive intelligence; training for the American Management Association, Progressive Business Executive Education, and NeighborWorks(R) America; and teaching for the College of DuPage. She has published more than 100 monthly issues of her newsletter, Planning Possibilities, distributed worldwide to more than 4,000 contacts. She also holds an Illinois life/health insurance license and is a benefits consultant representing Aflac.

While consulting, Michelle became the Kendall College Dean of the School of Business. She built and managed all aspects of the School, including faculty and curriculum selection and assessment, as well as program development. She then went on to complete an engagement at Capsim Management Simulations, Inc., where, reporting to the president, she initiated marketing and sales strategies and processes.

While at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Michelle published applied research regarding financial literacy. Earlier, she spent 15 years working at CNA Financial. She has performed technical roles, run operations, and developed new products.In 2012, she was appointed to the prestigious Northwestern Council of 100 and was the founding chair of the Illinois Diversity Council Board of Directors. In 2013, she also became a founding advisory board member for Guidestar.org.

Ms. Coussens holds a Mathematics Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University and a Masters in Business Administration, with a concentration in Marketing, from DePaul University.