Colleen House is IRI's Director of International Political Liaison.  She is responsible for the domestic and international outreach of volunteer trainers and consultants who assist with the implementation of IRI programs.

House gained national attention with her Republican victory in an overwhelmingly Democratic district in a special election for the Michigan House of Representatives.  As the youngest woman elected to the legislature in the history of the state, and during her four terms in the Michigan House, she received recognition from national and state organizations for her dedication to public service.

In 1986, House again made history by becoming the first Republican woman to qualify for the Michigan gubernatorial ballot.  Her hard-fought campaign, though not victorious, so impressed the Republican nominee for governor, he selected her as his running mate. House's historic nomination as the first Michigan Republican woman candidate for lieutenant governor was by unanimous ballot of 2,000 Republican state convention delegates.

Her involvement in national politics began in 1980 when she directed the winning Michigan campaign for presidential candidate George H.W. Bush in which he received two-thirds of the state's national convention delegates.  In 1988, she was asked by Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole to chair his presidential effort in Michigan.  For the 1988 fall campaign, House played a key role for unification of Michigan Republicans as a state co-chairman of the Bush/Quayle general election victory.

In addition to her experience in state government, House has been appointed to positions within the federal government.  In 1989 she was asked by the White House to serve as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Commerce and she also was appointed a division chief of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

House is a native of Bay City, Michigan, and a graduate of Michigan State University with a bachelor’s degree in political science.  She is married to John Gizzi, White House Correspondent and Political Editor of Human Events.