Mikela is a Partner Nevin, Benjamin, McKay & Bartlett in Boise, Idaho.

Prior to that she served as the Senior Human Resource Analyst at the Judicial Council of California, the policymaking body of the California courts, the largest court system in the nation. She previously worked as a Research Analyst in the hotel division of Unite Here, a large hospitality union representing workers in the United States and Canada.

Mikela is a 2001 Mitchell Scholar. She received a Master's Degree in Irish Studies from Queens University, Belfast. Before applying for a Mitchell Scholarship, Mikela had read a number of Irish plays which dealt with the issues of labor rights and political conflict. Irish studies gave her the flexibility to explore these issues from both a cultural and socio-political standpoint. Her thesis research focused on the poetry of Medbh McGuckian and her 2001 work Drawing Ballerinas. Mikela also reviewed plays for Irish Theater Magazine.

Mikela obtained her undergraduate degree from Boise State University.