Michener has served in three U.S. foreign affairs agencies in the past 10 years. He has spent considerable time overseas promoting post-conflict stability operations, economic development and human rights. Most recently, he served as the Senior Democracy and Governance Advisor and Lead Planning Officer for the U.S. State Department’s Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization. From 2005 to 2007, he served as the lead Iraq policy officer for the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, managing nearly $400 million in assistance programs promoting democracy and human rights in that country. He also has experience working with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Kosovo, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Michener received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Maryland. His hometown is New London, Iowa.