Michele Vonnegut Costello (“Micki”) was born in Vallejo, Calif. and has spent a lifetime on the move. Growing up in an Air Force family and as an Army wife, she has lived in nine states and three European countries, some of them multiple times. She met her late husband, Lt. Gen. Jack Costello, USA(Ret.), when he was a cadet at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C.; they were married after his graduation, and had celebrated almost 43 years and over thirty moves together when he lost his battle with stage IV pancreatic cancer in 2010. She speaks German and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Performance from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Micki is a team player and has been a leading volunteer at every level. She served in numerous organizations and on varied boards in all the communities she called home as well as being actively involved in Family Readiness. After raising a son and a daughter, Micki returned to work in the Army Family Liaison Office in the Pentagon. She was there on September 11, 2001 and was responsible for initiating and standing up the emergency family assistance center at Ft. Myer, Vir. She is the Auxiliary Liaison for MOAA's Heritage Chapter.

As a military spouse with a widowed SBP-DIC offset mother and a son currently serving in the Army, Micki has seen the challenges facing military families firsthand. She has a keen interest in making sure that all components of our military and their families are appropriately compensated for their service. She is an artist living in downtown Fredericksburg, Va.