Background

• Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was born in Chicago, Illinois on Jan. 17, 1964.
• Graduated from Whitney Young High School in Chicago in 1981.
• Major in sociology and minored in African-American studies at Princeton University.
• Graduated from Princeton cum laude with an Artium Baccalaureus in 1985.
• Graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988.
• Following law school, worked on marketing and intellectual property as an associate at the Chicago office of the law firm Sidley Austin. She met Barack Obama while working at this firm.

Professional Positions

• 1991 - 1993: Worked in the public sector in Chicago as an Assistant to the Mayor and Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development.
• 1993: Became executive director for the Chicago office of Public Allies, a nonprofit that encourages youth to work on social issues.
• 1996: Became associate dean of student services at the University of Chicago, where she developed the university's community service center.
• 2002: Began working for the University of Chicago Hospitals as executive director for community affairs.
• 2005: Appointed vice president of community and external affairs at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Accomplishments

Criticism

• She took heat from the conservative blogosphere and reported widely by the main media concerning her comment in a campaign event on Milwaukee, MN on 18 February 2008 about how it was "the first time in [her] adult life" that she was proud of her country. The following day, the wife of Sen. McCain, Cindy, chided Michelle for her "proud" statement and said that she was "proud of [her] country."

Additional Information

Biography Links

• BarackObama.com: Meet Michelle
• Wikipedia: Michelle Obama