Michelle Dessler is an intelligence agent working at the Counter Terrorist United based in Los Angeles -- and a close friend and collaborator of colleague Jack Bauer. Her romantic interests, however, are reserved for coworker Tony Almeida. She holds a degree in computer science from the University of California, Davis. Her early career work includes stints at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Like many others who cross paths with Jack, she is drawn into the ethical gray area where means counter to official orders justify the end -- a way of thinking that gains trust from Jack while raising the critical eyebrows of her beau, Tony.