How Goldman Sachs legend Dina Powell became Trump's national security star

When Powell was four, her Coptic Christian parents moved the family to Dallas, Texas, where her father worked as a bus driver and both parents ran a convenience store, while their daughter attended a private all-girls school.

Powell got her first taste of politics while studying at the University of Texas at Austin, where she worked as an aide to a Texas state senator. She deferred law school to work for Republicans on Capitol Hill and, in 2003, joined President George W. Bush's administration, where she served in top jobs in the White House and the State Department.

In 2007, Powell transitioned into the private sector, running Goldman Sachs' philanthropic efforts, including the company's 10,000 Women initiative, which seeks to empower female small business owners in developing countries.

Shortly after the election, Ivanka Trump, the president's eldest daughter and adviser, asked Powell for advice on women's empowerment programming. Since then, Powell, an Arabic speaker, has become a White House economic adviser and top national security aide.

She is unique among President Donald Trump's advisers as a rare Bush administration veteran friendly with top Democrats, including some of former President Barack Obama's senior aides. Here's what we know about Powell: