The "Frank Sinatra Has A Cold" Question

Liam Dillon from voiceofsandiego.org writes in with a good question: I'm the City Hall reporter here and am working on a profile of the mayor's chief of staff, a woman who's rarely heard of in public despite the importance of her position. I am expecting her not to participate in the profile and I'm wondering if a) anyone has tips for writing a profile where the subject doesn't participate or b) anyone can link to examples of good profiles where that's happened. Thanks very much for your help and time.