Michelle Lynn Coombs is a geologist at the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO).

[13][14] She is the second woman in AVO history to serve as the Alaskan SIC, as Terry Keith held the position from 1994–99.

[24] In 2019, Coombs and a group of collaborators were awarded a NSF grant to model eruptions of Alaskan volcanoes.

[25] As well as currently being a fellow to the Geological Society of America (GSA), she stood on the Student Awards Committee for the American Geophysical Union (AGU) from 2011–2015.

[24] She has also served as a Steering Committee member for the Community Network for Volcanic Eruption Response (CONVERSE).