Michele Trout received her Bachelor of Arts in 1988 from Pepperdine University and later received her Interior and Environmental Design Certificate at UCLA. While at UCLA Michele started working for hospitality design firms. She worked for Wilson&Associates, James Northcutt Associates, and finally at Barry Design Associates for six years, leaving as a senior designer. She joined Hannah Gordon Design in 2002, which has now become Bonesteel Trout Hall Interiors.