Michelle Mettner

Chief Government and Legal Officer

Michelle Mettner is Chief Government and Legal Officer at Children's Wisconsin, the state's only health system dedicated 100% to kids and teens. In her role, Michelle directs Children's government relations and advocacy efforts for all Children's entities at the federal, state and local levels, and leads the Legal Services and Risk and Corporate Compliance departments.

A tireless advocate for the better health and wellness of children, Michelle works at all levels of government to promote policy that supports these goals. She has more than 25 years of experience in legislative and administrative processes, the regulatory and legal environment, health policy, coalition-building and strategic development – allowing her to focus on important issues that affect children, such as health care, pediatric research and social services. Michelle has expertise in healthcare regulations and Medicaid.

Michelle oversees the Applied Public Policy program at the Medical College of Wisconsin, teaching advocacy for second-year medical and dental residents. She serves on the Board of Directors for Sojourner Family Peace Center, an agency serving victims of domestic violence in Milwaukee, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center.

Michelle is a cum laude graduate of the Northwestern University School of Law. Prior to joining Children's in 2007, she was a government relations consultant to Children's, as well as other health care clients, and practiced in the litigation and labor and employment groups at Foley and Lardner. Michelle enjoys a variety of outside interests, most of which include time with her three daughters ages 16, 14 and 12.