Michelle Zehnder Fischer is the County Attorney for Nicollet. She has served in the county office for over two decades, holding the title of County Attorney since 2011. Before becoming the top prosecutor, Michelle worked as an Assistant County Attorney and Chief Deputy County Attorney. Throughout her career as the Nicollet County Attorney, Michelle has been working to partner with others in the community to combat various important issues. For example, truancy and educational neglect. In light of the new challenges brought about by COVID-19, Michelle believes this issue is especially critical. Therefore, the County Attorney’s Office utilizes a truancy diversion program that works with the students and parents outside of the court system.

In addition to her work as the County Attorney, Michelle is active in different organizations. Currently, she serves on the board of directors for the Minnesota County Attorney’s Association (MCAA). In fact, she was elected as the president-elect of the MCAA at the end of 2021. Michelle is also a part of the Toward Zero Death steering committee, the Equal Access to Justice committee, and the Brown Watonwan County Treasurer Court steering committee. Then, analogous to her education focus, she serves as the chairperson of Stakeholders for Education Success.

About the Network

Our Civic Mentorship Network is a network comprised of rural civic leaders who serve as mentors for new women who are pursuing public service. This network provides a coordinated method for aspiring leaders to make the person-to-person connections that give access to resources that are valuable to enduring success. At 100 Rural Women, we find that success in recruiting more rural women to serve in public service leadership roles is essential to keeping our democracy strong.