This unique program helps you build the community and skills to contribute to a more sustainable world through your work, while living a fulfilling and healthy life.
After many years of working to build a better world through sustainable food systems, it became clear to me that we need to understand more deeply what it actually means to create change in and between human beings. And to learn how this can be done in a way that is impactful, while also being sustainable, and joyful, for ourselves.
I am now certain that if we want to change the world around us, we need to better understand the world inside us. We must explore the link between transforming the systems around us and transforming the systems inside of us.
Our next cohort begins on the 26 January 2026.
Apply below to join us!
About Be the Change
The focus of the program is on your personal and professional development. Helping you build the skills, clarity and confidence you need to step into leading change in a way that is fulfilling and meaningful for you. It has been designed with care and commitment to help you:
Create a healthy integration between impactful work you love and living a fulfilling life
Clarify your sustainable career path and build the confidence to step into it
Feel heard, get your message across and build a presence that engages others
Connect to a supportive group of likeminded women from around the world
I believe learning should be joyful, engaging and immediately applicable to your life. That is why I have designed this group coaching program to be fun and supportive - with your life in focus.
In a small yet international learning community you will be guided through a process to build your skills and put them into practice without overwhelm. No more piecing together information from many different books, teachers and courses!
The program is tailored to supporting aspiring female leaders working in sustainability, regeneration or food systems. It offers an authentic, safe and inspiring environment to learn from and share with one another.
Program Content
The program is practical, pragmatic, grounded in science AND considers you as a complete human being with a mind, body, emotions, relationships, and a connection to something bigger than yourself. You will get new insights, inspiration and concrete tools and practices that you can immediately apply in your day to day work and life.
The online program is built around three key modules:
Module 1: Sustainable Change
This module will help you build the foundations needed to create balance in your life, manage time and overwhelm and nourish yourself. These habits will help you stay present, grounded, energized and healthy while you make your contribution in the world. You have space to start exploring how we internalise the systems around us that we hope to shift, and see how inner and outer transformation are connected.
Module 2: Communication and Community
We enable change through how we communicate and collaborate. This module builds your skills to communicate effectively, be that through how we use speech acts, storytelling, managing difficult conversations or communicating our vision in a way that supports connection. We will also explore how we communicate with ourselves, a crucial aspect that shapes how we show up in the world.
Module 3: Callings and Courage
In the final module we explore how you are called to make a contribution in the world and what may be holding you back from making the impact you would like to. What does leadership mean for you and how can you build your courage to step into it? You will leave having a better understanding of what a purposeful work really means for you and a plan to move forward.
Length and Stucture
Program Length and Structure
The program runs for 4 months. The next round will run from 26 January 2026 until 18 May 2026.
We limit the number of participants in the program so that we have a small and interactive group. This is not an anonymous online course, it is a group coaching program and there will be regular interaction with me as well as the other participants to keep you engaged and motivated. This will be through:
Weekly content, strategy inputs and exercises for you to do at a time that suits you. This is designed to be easily manageable alongside your life and work.
Fortnightly group calls where we further explore the material, answer any of your questions and deepen our learning from one another.
Fortnightly coaching calls where you can get more tailored 1:1 support
A workshop for each module to practice concrete skills together
Buddies for regular exchange and support with fellow participants.
“I really enjoyed the way the programme was set up. It was easy to access and go through the material but with the buddy-system and the calls it still felt very personal. I also loved the format in which the material was presented: informative, easy to understand, easy to adapt to personal lifestyles, colourful and joyful and also that a variety of media is used. I also really loved the additional material, I find the talks, podcasts and videos give a different perspective to the material. I was also really positively surprised by the impact the group had on the whole program - there was no way I was going to miss one of the group calls!”
The Community
The end of the program is just the beginning!
After you finish you can join our purpose built online community platform for ongoing inspiration, exchange and learning from one another.
We host a range of masterclasses, coaching circles, lunch and learn sessions, retreats and continuing trainings both online and in person.
You can learn more about our community here
Meet Your Program Leader
Hi, my name is
Michelle Grant and I am excited to learn with you!
I have worked in the fields of food and sustainability for nearly 20 years. My most recent roles include 7 years as the Founding Executive Director of the World Food System Center at ETH Zurich (where I continue part-time as Teaching Faculty) and currently as the Founder of The Great Full and Co-Founder of the FoodHaus Association and Fellowship for Action program. I am really passionate about unlocking the potential in each of us to contribute what we can to the big challenges we face in the world today.
Education plays a central role in this and over the course of my career I have had the joy of running education programs for more than 1’500 young professionals, changemakers, researchers and students from all around the world.
Through this work I have seen that many people do not have the support they should have to be able to have an impact through their work while also living a healthy and fulfilling life.
In this program I combine my personal and professional experience navigating these topics with my training as a leadership and development coach and yoga and meditation teacher to help you build your skills and connect with a network of likeminded women from around the world!
Testimonials
Here are what some of the past participants have to say about their experience in the Be The Change Program!
“This program has been nothing short of life changing. Not only have I felt a huge internal transformation (more confidence, more assurance, more calm), the people closest to me have noticed this transformation in me as well. I cannot stress how much joy and wisdom I have derived from the community Michelle created and the content she shared.”
“Getting to be a part of a community of authentic, purpose driven ladies striving for sustainability has been very exciting. I always looked forward to our calls and workshops and the content each week. As a Nutritionist passionate about food systems and sustainability I found a program that not only sharpened me professionally but also personally. I learned how to build stable foundations with habits and practices, how to tell a story for impact and how to have difficult conversations which all support my day to day work as founder of the social enterprise Tule Vyema.”
“Be the Change was one of the most inspiring programs I have ever attended. Michelle is a great facilitator who created space for all these wonderful women to open up and share freely. As someone who understands the power of bottom-up change, and that empathy and courage are woven into the fabric of leadership, I felt that she really unlocks the potential of women who want to be part of sustainable transformation. Throughout the program, you begin to plant the seeds for the ‘change’ you want to see and really start to embody it.”
“The BTC program opened a whole new world of tools and techniques for me, to integrate in my personal and professional life and to deal with current and future challenges. I’m very grateful to have been part of this journey with so many wonderful and like-minded people and would definitely participate again!”
Would you like to hear more?
Check out the podcast episode with participants from the program to hear about the journey in their words!
“Having concrete tasks and topics to think about every week, helped me get more clarity about who I am and what I want to do (and be) in life. This stepping back and looking at my life with distance has strengthened me a lot. I now feel empowered and ready to go on this journey to empower others.”
“This program was very intense in terms of self- development. I started it very career focused, thinking about learning and improving the skills that would aid me becoming a good leader. I finished it realizing that cultivating peace of mind is my most important skill, and ended up meeting a calmer and more confident version of myself. I believe this program really supports you in building a solid ground for long-lasting transformation from the inside out.”
“I can’t say enough how grateful I am to have been a part of the Be The Change Program. While I initially joined to learn how to improve my leadership skills, diving into the topics discussed in this course brought me this and so much more. During these four months I gained a deeper understanding of myself and how I can more thoughtfully use and nurture my unique skills and passions to be fully engaged in life, to lead from the inside out. To say it was a transformative experience would be an understatement, and I thank Michelle and all the other wonderful women I met for going along on this journey with me..”
“This program is an absolute must. I want to send everyone that I work with on it! I loved the content and the way it was presented. The experience was remarkably transformative, especially for an online one, and I think this is tribute to how well you facilitate the experience. I really enjoyed working through the content on my own during the week and grappling with it and then connecting with the other amazing participants to deepen the work. I just want to share the biggest, most heartfelt thank you!”
Cost + How to Apply
The program fee is as follows:
Early bird applicants (before 15th December 2025): 225 Swiss Francs (CHF) per month
Standard applicants (after 15th December 2025): 300 Swiss Francs (CHF) per month
Scholarship applicants (deadline 15th December 2025): We offer a limited number of half scholarships (150 CHF per month) and full scholarships. If the only way you can participate is with a scholarship we kindly ask you to indicate this in the scholarship request section of your application.
We offer payment in full or via a monthly payment plan for the 4 month program duration.
To apply for the course please complete the application form. You will need to have the following ready:
A link to your LinkedIn profile or another link that includes a short biography
A short personal story that helps us understand what brought you to this point, what motivates you to participate in the program, and what you hope to contribute to the cohort (max. 500 words). We kindly ask that you write this yourself rather than rely on AI (we can usually tell ;) as we would love to hear your personal, human perspective here.
Spaces in the program are limited to ensure an interactive and participatory program where you actually connect with other human beings!
Application deadlines:
The application deadline for early bird applicants and scholarship applicants is 15th December 2025. We will then review the applications received and inform you latest 21st December 25 if you have a place.
After the 15th December, if any places are still available we will fill them on a rolling basis until the cohort is full.
Please note: Here at TGF we take your data privacy seriously. For more information, see the privacy policy.
Be The Change in Summary:
Where: Online, with calls taking place on Monday evenings from 6pm - 7.30pm CET every second week. Every other week there are optional coaching calls also on Monday evenings from 6pm - 7.00pm CET.
When: 26 January until 18 May 2026
Deadline: The deadline for early bird and scholarship applicants is 15th December 2025
Who: Women who want to make a contribution to a more sustainable world or food system through their work. The number of participants in each cohort is limited to keep the program personal and interactive.
Cost: 225 CHF (Swiss Francs) per month for 4 months (early bird applications before 15 Dec 2025) / 300 CHF (Swiss Francs) per month for 4 months (applications received after 15 Dec 2025). See section above for scholarship information.
Certification: You will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the program.
Questions: Just email michelle (at) thegreatfull.com and I will get back to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
+ How do I know if this course is for me?
Let me help you out – I think this course is for you if you are:
- A current or aspiring woman leader really passionate about sustainability and making the world a better place, be that through food, agriculture, nutrition, health or changing other social-political-economic systems.
- Looking for support to explore how you really want to make an impact through your career.
- Feeling a bit overwhelmed with what you want to do and the time you have available to do it.
- Wanting to build your personal and professional skills to help you step more confidently into your potential.
- Wanting to be connected with an international network of likeminded and motivated peers who can support you to navigate your career now and in the future and give constructive feedback on challenges you are facing.
- Interested to find a way to do work that you love and that has an impact while living a life that supports your own wellbeing.
- Ready to find your voice, trust yourself and build your confidence to have an impact the way you would like to.
- Wanting to find more energy, focus and motivation in your work.
If that sounds like you then we would love for you to join us!
+ Why is this program only open to women?
To be clear - the work we do in this program is relevant for everyone. And I work to share it with others who serve other target groups.
When I offered the first cohort I left it open to anyone, and only women applied. This gave us a chance to go through the process together in a very supportive environment where we could share common challenges and experiences openly. At the end, the first cohort overwhelmingly agreed that this should stay a program focussed on women participants as they felt the space we had together was unique, supportive and very needed in our current systems.
Then there is the reality of our current context which backs up this approach. Currently, less than 10% of nations and major companies worldwide are run by women. There are of course plenty of other places and spaces to express leadership, yet these are still places that have a lot of influence over how our world is run. Despite this statistic, research shows that women leaders perform better in a crisis. Qualities like empathy, humility, self-knowledge and vulnerability, traditionally considered feminine leadership traits, are critical in difficult times. We currently face multiple socio-ecological crises on our planet. I believe that bringing more women into leadership roles, and creating more space for everyone to express feminine values regardless of gender, are important steps to enable us to collectively tackle these challenges. And to go beyond that, to build a more just, generative and joyful world.
For these reasons, I want to play my part to help women understand and manage the multiple systemic and internalized barriers that stand between them and stepping into leadership roles. Most importantly, to realize and give value to the many leadership qualities they already possess but that are latent due to the lack of space and encouragement for them in our dominant systems. I have experienced this process first-hand and now want to create a safe space for women to come together and support one another to explore these issues as a part of the Be The Change Program and the associated community.
+ Are payment plans available?
Yes, a monthly payment plan is available.
+ Can I do this in parallel to working full time? How much time does it take each week?
Yes, the program is designed in a way that makes it easy to manage if you work full time. Generally the course requires 2 hours of time each week to complete the course material, plus the group calls every second week.
+ When will the fortnightly calls and workshops be held?
The calls are held on every second Monday evening 6-7.30pm CET/CEST. The workshops are held three times, each on a Saturday afternoon, dates and times TBC. Recordings are available for all sessions if you cannot join live. However, due to the participatory nature of the calls and program, we recommend to join live whenever you can.
+ I want to learn about the challenges related to food and sustainability - will that be covered in the course?
No. This course is tailored towards people working in the food systems and or sustainability spaces but focusses on building the personal development aspect of creating change in this field.
+ I am more advanced in my career and already have a senior leadership role. Is this course for me?
Although this course was originally designed for early and mid-career professionals, over the years we have also had participants who are more advanced in their career. If the program and the group learning format appeals to you, you are very welcome to join us. If you feel you need a more tailored or custom program, you may be better suited to 1:1 coaching. You can find out more about 1:1 leadership and career coaching at www.thegreatfull.com/coaching. Alternatively, you might like to check out our Lead the Change program at www.thegreatfull.com/leadthechange
+ I have a new business or start up – will I get support to set that up here?
You will not get direct business coaching, fundraising or start-up support in this course. However you will get support to build the personal and professional skills you need to be more effective in your leadership and to build up a healthy foundation from which you show up to do your work.
Join a wonderful community of women to explore leading sustainable change from the inside out!
