Michelle Huang

About Michelle

(updated 6/2015) Michelle Huang is interested in the dimensions of the international textile and apparel trade and its affects on labor and development. During her Luce year, she worked with the  Arbitration Council Foundation , a  Phnom Penh , Cambodia-based NGO that supports the functions of the Arbitration Council, a quasi-judicial tribunal tasked with resolving collective labor disputes in Cambodia. There, Michelle worked to develop the pilot Workplace Dispute Prevention and Resolution Program, a training course for factory managers, union representatives and line workers aimed at developing labor law knowledge and cultivating negotiation and communication skills on the factory floor, preventing and resolving disputes within the factory itself without third-party assistance. In conjunction with the Sheinman Institute of Conflict Resolution at Cornell University, Michelle also conducted research on procedural and substantive fairness at the Council, a project that will ultimately culminate in a comparative study of labor arbitration systems across Asia. 
In May 2014, Michelle graduated with honors from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Labor Relations and a minor in Law in Society. While in college, Michelle had the opportunity to explore the many dimensions of labor and employment law, with internships at the New York City Commission on Human Rights (enforcing anti-discrimination law in employment, housing and public accommodation) and at Proskauer Rose LLP (management-side labor and employment law). On campus, Michelle competed in both collegiate American policy and British Parliamentary debate and wrote an honors thesis on local adaptations to globalization in the New York City Garment District. 
After completing her Luce year, Michelle will remain in Asia as a member of the inaugural class of Yenching Scholars at Peking University, where she will obtain a Masters in Chinese Studies with a concentration in Chinese Labor Law.