Michelle Q. Slavik

Michelle Queano Slavik is a trained surf therapy provider with a background in building infrastructure and integrated systems to deliver much needed medicine to underserved communities across the globe.

As cofounder of the Waves of Grief™, and head of the new nonprofit, OceanFlow Collective, Michelle’s professional and personal experiences have aligned with her passion for healing, rekindling a sacred relationship to nature, and creating space supportive of loss and trauma among individuals seeking inclusive, authentic and caring communities in/with/by/for blue spaces, like the ocean and it’s virtual shore.

As Director of Clinical Operations Excellence at Global Blood Therapeutics (now Pfizer), her passion continues to drive awareness into cultures breaking down stigma surrounding mental health. Michelle led the defense of clinical data that gained approval for a sickle cell disease medicine, which subsequently won a 2021 Prix Galien award from The Galien Foundation for its “extraordinary scientific innovation in improving the human condition.”

Michelle has supported Waves of Grief™ programming for US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, the surf therapy community at ISTO (International Surf Therapy Organization), and along with Hydrotheory and TwoCan Retreats, has expanded the Waves of Grief™ community to Southern California and beyond…including Costa Rica!

When Michelle takes her surfboard into the water, she does it for herself and her two boys in honor of her late husband.  

“Growing safe spaces for this language of grief and loss to flow and supporting others to be seen and heard is the honor I can pay back to those we love.”

Michelle has facilitated at past Waves of Grief™ Retreats and will also facilitate at the Waves of Joy Costa Rica Family Jungle Adventure in 2025.