Between 1986 and 2010, Selig held senior administrative positions at the Smithsonian Institution, in the Director's Office, National Museum of Natural History; Office of the Assistant Secretary for Science; Office of the Provost and the Office of the Secretary where she worked (2007–08) as the Special Assistant to Acting Secretary Cristián Samper and as senior writer/editor for Secretary G. Wayne Clough (2008–2010).