Michelle Aiello ("eye-EL-oh") earned her BA in Secondary English Education from DePaul University. Born and raised in Chicago, she moved to Kentucky in 2011. She has more than a decade of experience as a copywriter, editor, and journalist, and has worked in a wide variety of industries.

Michelle began her career at UK in 2018 as Content Manager for the Gatton College of Business and Economics. Before that, she was the editor of skirt! magazine (published by the Lexington Herald-Leader,) a copywriter for Lexmark, and a monthly contributor to TOPS in Lex. In addition to her role at the College of Design, she is currently a contributing writer for Smiley Pete Publishing (Chevy Chaser, Southsider, Business Lexington.)

Michelle is the founder of the Kentucky Fried Zine Fest, an expo for small, independent publishers and creators held at The University of Kentucky School of Art and Visual Studies. She has been reading and making zines since 1994.

Michelle has a lifelong passion for creative expression and enjoys shopping for vintage treasures, interior design, visual art, fashion styling, film, and music. She lives on the north side of Lexington with her husband, daughter, dog, and cat.