A Q&A with CIP's Regional Director, Michael Noel, posted on Voyage LA: a community-focused platform that fosters collaboration and support for small businesses, independent artists and entrepreneurs, local institutions and those that make their city interesting.
Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Noel.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Michael. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
While in my last year of high school, I started working in a residential facility with individuals dual diagnosed with mental health and mental retardation. This opportunity was tough, but a great introduction to a world of supporting people who just needed someone to help them manage their day to day lives in getting the most of life by finding ways to contribute to the greater whole. I then, found myself moving into adult psychiatry at the local community hospital working on the locked unit with those who were experiencing severe psychosis, many of which received ECT treatments several times along with a Psychotropic medication therapy to bring them back to a sense of their current reality. After several years of working with adults and earning a BSS in Psychology from Pennsylvania State University, I began working in child/adolescent psychiatric care. Through my work in psychiatry and mental health, I discovered a significant need for training in the staff who worked in these settings with individuals with special needs. I became a certified instructor in safe physical and de-escalation techniques that served to provide tools and resources to those working in these fields. I discovered a passion for Education and Training of others.
After many years of working in mental health during the deinstitutionalization of individuals out of state institutions to the community, I managed a homeless shelter and support services for families. After earning a Master’s of Education Degree in Psycho-Educational Processes, I began my work in higher education providing support and expertise in a curriculum of technical programs and later Director, Regional Director and Dean of a group of colleges across southern California. Each one of my previous career endeavors leads me to where I am today and where I plan to retire if I am so fortunate to do so at CIP, College Internship Program. It’s truly a culmination of all my life’s work combined into a role within an organization that focuses on serving the needs of its consumers.