Building a better workforce system for all

Most recently, Michelle served as Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs in the first year and a half of the Biden Administration, where she directed the Department of Labor’s strategy for interacting with Congress and advancing legislative priorities, successfully led ten Senate confirmations, and managed all operations of the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs. Michelle’s’s prior experience includes serving as chief of staff to U.S. Deputy Labor Secretary Chris Lu, nearly six years as a senior legislative officer in the Office of Congressional Affairs at the Labor Department, and work with advance teams for the White House, the Presidential Inaugural Committee, Obama for America, and the Democratic National Committee.

Michelle holds a BA in Political Science from Miami University. She is a Northeast Ohio native and grew up in Painesville Township. She and her husband Dan Farmer are happy to be raising three daughters in Shaker Heights. She is a member of the boards of Family Connections and the Center for Community Solutions.

Laura is Leadership Cleveland alum (Class of 2019), Cleveland Bridge Builders (Class of 2008) and Lead Diversity (Class of 2007). She earned her BA in Psychology from Allegheny College and her MBA from Baldwin Wallace University. She serves on the board of the Healthy Lakewood Foundation and the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland.