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Melissa Winter was not supposed to end up in the White House. In fact, in the ‘80s she was an art history major with no aspirations to work in government at all. That was until her brother accidentally landed himself two Capitol Hill internships in one summer and Winter was pushed to join him, intended to take over one of the esteemed intern positions her mother had already paid living expenses for. From that summer on, Winter’s future looked completely different. She enjoyed public service work so much that she negotiated a new internship role the following summer, parlayed it into a paid opportunity, and when she graduated college, she moved from her native San Diego to D.C. the very next day.

However, it was after serving two offices early on in her career, with Congressman ​​Norman Mineta and Senator Joe Lieberman, that Winter found herself in the home of First Lady Michelle Obama, then the wife of a Chicago senator and presidential hopeful. The two clicked and Winter signed on to play an integral role on her team, working closely with her schedule and her family. It’s a responsibility Winter oversaw before, during, and after the Obama administration, and one she takes very seriously.