Nora Todd

Title: Legislative director, Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine)

Age: 28

Hometown: Atlanta

Last job: Senior legislative aide for Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.)

{mosads}First job: Dry cleaner’s assistant

Most unusual job: Assisted Rabbi Levi Shemtov and the American Friends of Lubavitch to coordinate the lighting of the National Hanukkah Menorah on the National Mall.

Most embarrassing moment: “On the Hill: Walking through the well while staffing my boss on the House floor and getting yelled at by the floor staff.” (Editor’s note: The well is the area on the House floor immediately in front of the Speaker’s rostrum where members give speeches.)

Management style: “Trusting.”

Number of cups of coffee you drink per day: “Zero. I drink tea.”

Religion: None

Favorite political TV show or movie: “Mad Men”

Most inspirational figure: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.)

Dream job (not including present one): U.S. attorney

College: Stanford University

Graduate School: Georgetown University, master’s degree in communications with a concentration in political rhetoric

Passion outside work: Running and photography

Claim to fame: Cancer survivor

Nora Todd survived Hodgkin’s lymphoma and has used the experience to become a better legislative expert.

Todd, the new legislative director for Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine), said her cancer survival has afforded her a unique perspective in working on healthcare reform and, more generally, has allowed her to focus on positive outcomes when faced with tough policy questions.

“It kind of made working on healthcare reform personally satisfying,” she said, adding that she knows what it’s like to go through a tough medical situation.

Cancer survival also “taught me to think optimistically and think creatively in difficult situations that might otherwise be hindrances,” she said. “ I hope that translates into a good management style and an ability to work with all kinds of different people.”

Todd is now focused largely on trade issues, as her boss co-founded the House Trade Working Group. Among her highest priorities are working on the emerging Trans-Pacific Partnership, blocking any pending free trade agreements from House passage and raising awareness about Chinese trade practices that may harm American workers and businesses.

{mosads}“This is going to be a ginormous year for trade,” she said.

On a personal level, Todd hopes to deepen her expertise in government and policy in her new position.

“I view government as a labyrinth,” she said. “The more you know, the better you understand it, and the better you can find your way through the labyrinth to get more accomplished.”