Michele served as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Director of Policy Planning at the Department of the Treasury from 2006 through January 20, 2009.   She was a senior member of the Treasury team addressing the financial crisis.  Prior to Treasury, Michele served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Communications at the White House.  Before joining the White House, Michele was Senior Vice President for Regulatory Policy at Fannie Mae, and she served at the Treasury Department as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs in 2001-2002.   Earlier in her career, Michele was Communications Director for House Majority Leader Dick Armey, and spent six years advising the Congressional leadership on communications strategy for the House agenda.  She began her free-market advocacy work at Citizens for a Sound Economy, where she worked from 1991-94.  She earned a B.S. in Foreign Service at Georgetown University and an M.A. in economics at American University.   She and her family live in Arlington, Virginia.