Michele Manatt is a consultant and commentator on U.S. foreign policy, women’s advancement and the U.S. political system. Her recent work includes a multi-year project on Latino Integration and the U.S. workforce for the Americas Society/Council of the Americas.

She is the Chair and founding member of the Council on Women’s Leadership at the Meridian International Center. Meridian is one of the premier institutions promoting international understanding through professional exchange and culture and is a major partner of the U.S. State Department.

Ms. Manatt served over seven years in the Clinton/Gore administration (1993-2001). She was the Director of Legislative Affairs at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (an office popularly known as the “Drug Czar”) from 1999-2001. Prior to that she served as Senior Policy Advisor to three Assistant Secretaries of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs from 1993-99, during which time she advised top State Department officials and numerous U.S. ambassadors. Prior to that she worked as a professional staff member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, serving under the leadership of then-Chairman Dante Fascell (D-Florida) and later under Lee H. Hamilton (D-Indiana) from 1991-93.