Michelle Jaconi, a 12-year veteran of NBC’s Meet the Press, joined CNN Worldwide as executive producer of State of the Union with John King, the network’s bold new Sunday block of programming that blends newsmaker interviews, political analysis, national and world affairs, cultural segments, media analysis and commentary. Jaconi began working for Meet the Press, the longest-running television program in the world, in 1997, starting as an intern and working her way up to producer and political analyst. Over the past decade, she served as researcher, production associate and political and policy analyst for both Meet the Press and NBC’s Political and Polling Unit. She produced interviews with U.S. presidents and military leaders, foreign heads of state, numerous religious figures, as well as every candidate for president in the last two election cycles. Jaconi served as a booker for NBC News Special Events with Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams, serving in that capacity for election nights and numerous award-winning broadcasts including the funeral of Ronald Reagan and the coverage of the Iraq war. She also helped produce NBC’s “Meet the Press Senate Debate Series,” which was a repeat winner of the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism. She has won two Emmys for Outstanding Interview for Meet the Press, Hurricane Katrina, 2006 and Outstanding Live Coverage of a Breaking News Story, Election Night 2008. Jaconi earned a degree in international politics from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and later earned her master’s degree with honors distinction. While earning her master’s, she wrote for PoliticsNow.com, a Web site that was co-owned by the Washington Post, ABC News and the National Journal Group.