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Michelle Poyourow is proof that one’s track record in high school doesn’t have to determine success later in life. For Poyourow, former advocacy manager for Portland’s Bicycle Transportation Alliance, one of life’s greatest lessons is the power of family encouragement and support.

Born in West Virginia, Poyourow grew up in Los Angeles, where her father and grandfather ran the family’s auto shop together. She played piano, trombone and percussion while attending LA’s Hamilton High School Academy of Music, but left school before graduating.

“I was extremely lazy in school and fell in with some bad kids on a couple of occasions, which is why I didn’t graduate,” said Poyourow. “My parents were still supportive of me and kind of nudged me to go to college, and I was fortunate that we had enough money to send me to college. I feel really lucky that even though I didn’t do too well in high school, I still managed to turn out OK.”

Poyourow spent a year at the University of Southern California before deciding to attend college in Oregon. She earned a degree in biology at Reed College in 2003, and landed a job in Toulouse, France.

When she returned to Oregon about nine months later, Poyourow had decided upon a different career path. She interned with David Bragdon at the Metro Council and Portland City Commissioner Erik Sten before working as an economist for the Public Power Council, a trade association for Northwest public utilities.

Poyourow originally joined the BTA as an events and outreach director, but later applied to become its advocacy manager because of her growing interest in policy.

“My mom is a transit advocate in LA, so I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” she said.

Another thing they have in common is the ability to look at events with a long-range perspective, Poyourow noted.

“It’s hard sometimes not to get caught up in the emotion of three-, six- or nine-month goals, but to look at the 10-year timeframe. It helps lower the blood pressure sometimes,” she said.

Who was a mentor who helped shape you into the person you are today? What did that person teach you?

“Professionally, I would say my predecessor, Jessica Roberts. She’s also a close friend, and I probably called her with questions once a day for the first six months I was at the BTA. Another mentor was David Bragdon, who I interned for at Metro.

“I would also say my grandfather was a mentor when I would younger. He was an airplane and auto mechanic who owned his own shop for 40 years. He taught me a lot about having a system and being careful and methodical about how you organize projects.”

Tell us something about yourself that most people might not know.

“I really, really love high school dance team championships. I like the costumes and music, and whenever they come to the Expo Center, I’m there.”