&lt;div style=&quot;clear:both;&quot;&gt;
	When Michelle was growing up, she wanted to be a writer, a Supreme Court Justice, or a Professional Chocolate Chip Cookie Taster. A few years later, she was on her way to realize these dreams at Amherst College, where she studied Spanish and the History of War. Following graduation, she researched International Crime in the Executive Branch with a two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. One late night, while browsing archives and eating her 3rd chocolate chip cookie of the night, she realized her passion lay with food. A few weeks later, she was traveling in the Middle East and Asia with her sister and taking cooking lessons from anyone who would teach her. After 6 months abroad, she returned to the States and worked as a line cook in central Floridas only organic, locally sourced restaurant. A few burns and shortened thumbs later, she tried a number of odd jobs from teaching English to Spanish speaking immigrants, to organizing for the 2012 Obama campaign, to working as a program evaluator and sometime surf instructor at the Valpo Surf Project in Valparaiso, Chile. After moving to the Bay Area, Michelle was fortunate to start as an intern at La Cocina before becoming Operations Assistant, then Events and Marketing Coordinator, and now Communications and Development Associate. Michelle is responsible for handling sponsorship at the SF Street Food Festival, managing press relations, and finding people as passionate about food entrepreneurs as the folks at La Cocina. Shes thrilled to have found a job she loves and the surplus of pupusas around the office. Favorite foods sushi, choripan, her moms arroz con pollo, and of course, chocolate chip cookies.&lt;/div&gt;
