Michelle Chan

My mom once gave me five dollars at the book fair, and I thought I was rich. Five whole dollars feels like a fortune when you're seven and the world is made of book covers, sparkly bookmarks, and possibility. I grabbed the one I wanted, carried it to the register, handed over my five dollars, and watched the woman behind the counter shake her head. Not enough.

I put the book back, feeling like I'd missed something that everyone else already knew.

As I got older, I kept meeting brilliant, fully capable people carrying some version of that feeling, whether it was a mortgage they didn't fully understand, a retirement account they weren't sure they were doing right, or a future that felt less certain than it should have. That's when I realized this was the work I wanted to do.

I'm Michelle, and I'm the Client Operations Specialist at Brio, which means I'm probably the first voice you hear when you call and the first face you see when you walk in. I keep things moving between our clients and Schwab, making sure paperwork actually goes where it's supposed to and your questions get real answers. I also write our monthly social media posts, which is genuinely one of my favorite parts of the job because I love finding the exact right way to say something.

But the thing that really gets me is picking up the phone for someone who's stuck, walking through the problem with them, and hearing the shift in their voice when it clicks. That moment is why I show up every day, and it hasn't gotten old yet.

Outside of work, I write, paint, and love all things makeup. I dress like someone who takes Halloween extremely seriously (because I do). My perfect weekend is sleeping in, grabbing onigiris from Clover Bakery and matcha from Mochiya-ren, then parking myself at the Portola Valley Library or playing Super Mario Party with my partner until one of us gets way too competitive and the other one pretends they weren't also way too competitive. 

I know that life changes, money changes, and there's no one perfect path forward. There's just the next best one for you, and I'd love to help you find it. 

EDUCATION & ACCREDITATIONS  

B.A., Literature/Creative Writing, University of California, Santa Cruz