Michel Lee Garrett

Assistant Director, Executive Communications
University Public Relations

CONTACT: mmg5241@psu.edu

As assistant director of executive communications, Michel serves as the speechwriter for Penn State’s President and plays a key role in conveying the voice of the President through the written word while working to position her, and the University overall, as a global leader in higher education. Michel works closely with University leadership and the Office of Strategic Communications to prepare the President for public events and other speaking engagements, advises senior leadership on communicating effectively across the University’s many audiences, manages relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, and crafts strategic messaging that advances Presidential priorities and the University’s reputation.

A graduate of the Penn State Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, Michel previously worked as an investigative reporter, the communications director of a U.S. Senate campaign, a marketing specialist for Penn State Law and the School of International Affairs, and as the editor of Penn State Today within the Office of Strategic Communications. She also studied creative writing while a student at Penn State and has since become a multi-published author of poetry as well as crime, noir, speculative, and horror fiction.