The straphanger randomly pushed to her death by an alleged unhinged vagrant was a senior manager at the top consulting firm Deloitte — and volunteered as an advocate for the homeless.
Michelle Go — an MBA graduate of NYU’s prestigious Stern School of Business — lived on the Upper West Side and worked for Deloitte in strategy and operations and mergers and acquisitions, according to her LinkedIn Page.
But the “wonderful,’’ “kind’’ 40-year-old woman was also known for her volunteerism over the past decade with the New York Junior League, where she helped those struggling to get and stay on their feet, including the homeless.
“Michelle’s focus populations were seniors, recovering homeless, immigrants, and under resourced and academically struggling elementary and middle school kids and their parents,’’ a Junior League rep told The Post in an e-mail Sunday.
Go worked on one committee with “the goal of empowering adults and young adults on the path to independent success,’’ the league said.
“She helped them prepare to enter or re-enter the workforce by developing their professional skills of resume writing, interviewing, and networking, and by making sound decisions in matters of personal finance.”
Go was waiting on the southbound platform at the Times Square subway station Saturday morning when crazed homeless ex-con Simon Martial allegedly shoved her onto the train tracks and into the path of an oncoming R train, police said.
The victim was mourned by colleagues and neighbors Sunday as friendly, sweet and smart.
Tamas Erdos, who graduated from NYU’s Stern School of Business with Go in 2010, said he’s “shocked” by her sudden death.
He said Go was a “key member” of a group project they had worked on together while in school, where she exemplified leadership skills, de-escalating conflicts between group members.
“She was really reliable, dependable and fun. She was a super person to have on the team,” Erdos told The Post on Sunday.
Erdos described her as “a natural leader among a bunch of men… She was one of the guys also but mediated some conflicts.”
“She was so vibrant and full of energy and she was really interested in finance,” he said.
“Michelle interviewed me at Deloitte and gave me a chance to go to the next round. Shortly after I started my job we reconnected — she was so kind and intelligent,” a Deloitte colleague, Steffany Franco, wrote on Facebook. “Life is so unpredictable and fragile, taking the time to reflect and process this tragedy is incredibly hard.”
One of Go’s neighbors called her “wonderful.
“She was really smart,” the resident added.
Go previously worked at Barclays Capital and Citi. She had a Bachelor’s degree from University of California, Los Angeles.
The Junior League, a nonprofit focused on the well-being on women, children, and families, said in a statement that it was “ greatly saddened to learn of the death of Michelle Go under such senseless and tragic circumstances.
“We call upon the city’s leadership to urgently address the lack of mental-health and other supports for underserved communities,” the organization said.
The victim’s family is currently flying from California to identify her body, law-enforcement sources said.
Go was remembered for her kindness by the doorman at the Upper West Side building where she had lived for the past year and a half.
“She’s was a nice lady,” the doorman who didn’t give his name said. “It’s tragic.”
Another man who works at her building and declined to give his name said he’s now afraid to take the subway.
“I’m always taking the subway, I’m always going there, so I’m scared now. It’s very sad,” he said. “She was always coming and saying, ‘How are you?’ and saying, ‘Hi.’ “
On NextDoor, someone said Go was an active member of the local “buy nothing” group, a bartering and gifting online community that encourages recycling. The posting said group members were “devastated” over her death.
Go was Chinese-American, but police say there is no indication that her death was a hate crime and believe she was chosen at random. Suspect Martial, 61, admitted to the killing and claimed he was “God” when reporters questioned him during his perp walk.
Additional reporting by Joe Marino
