While All The Attention In The World Was Focused On The Inauguration, Michelle Obama Silently Did This... The Obamas have been busy moving out of the White House this week and, as a result, Michelle Obama has been refreshingly silent. However, this silence has not been entirely comforting According to The Washington Post, Michelle and her team are working hard to lay the groundwork for a busier schedule than most former First Ladies. Michelle has said she wants to remain in the public eye with her advocacy work and plans to start working with a small staff in Washington. The staff will reportedly be led by Melissa Winter, Michelles chief of staff throughout her husbands presidency. Mel has been by my side from Day One, Michelle said in an email. There is truly no one I trust more completely to make order out of chaos and take an idea from inception to execution. For the past decade, she has been one of my most trusted advisors and dearest friends. Winter claims Michelle has many options with what she decides to do next. Right now it is an empty plate, Winter commented. I really think the most important things is to give her time to breathe and get acclimated to being a private citizen again, knowing that she doesnt have to tell people where shes going to go, and we dont have to put out an advisory if shes going to go walk around a museum. Winter then added, we have space, [and] an idea of the size of the staff that Michelle will need in the future. She did claim they dont feel the same sense of urgency as the president to be up and running as soon as she and Barack leave the White House. 