Michelle Pillen

Michelle Beaulieu Pillen, Ph.D., was born and raised in Hawaii, the oldest of 3 daughters. Playing soccer, hanging out with her sisters, and going to the beach were her favorite childhood pastimes. After graduating from high school, she attended the University of Hawaii. Michelle applied and was accepted into the clinical-community psychology program at DePaul University, and 3 months after her college graduation, she departed for the mainland where she spent the next 19 years of her life.

Attending graduate school in Chicago was the first time Michelle really pushed herself out of her comfort zone, without the daily support of family and the familiarity of surroundings. She took on difficult therapy cases, befriended fellow students from all walks of life, and conducted research with people who survived horrendous trauma. Each experience taught her about the strength of the human spirit, the importance of support, and the value of being different.

Michelle married a fellow graduate student and moved downstate to Bloomington, Illinois. When her life as a working mother tilted out of balance, she was fortunate to connect with Ann and create the Goal Sister process. Having Ann as a Goal Sister helped her to pinpoint specific areas of change, to chart her course of action, and to make those changes happen! Being a Goal Sister - and writing a book about the process - also helped Michelle to live more consciously.

Today, Michelle and her family live in her childhood home in Kailua, Hawaii, along with their two cats and dog. She continues to write and create art, only now it’s with the ocean and mountains as her backdrop.

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Goal Sisters