Valerie Jarrett: Shaping Legacies as CEO of The Obama Foundation and Inspiring Memoirist of ”Finding My Voice”

In today's episode I spoke with the Honorable Valerie Jarrett, CEO and board of directors member of the Barack Obama Foundation. We discuss her life, her leadership, and her 2019 memoire "Finding my Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward."

She is a Senior Distinguished Fellow at The University of Chicago Law School. She serves as Board Chairman of Civic Nation. Jarrett also serves on the boards of Walgreens Boot Alliance, Inc., Ralph Lauren Corporation, Sweetgreen, Inc., Ariel Investments, The University of Chicago, Sesame Street Workshop and The Economic Club of Chicago. Jarrett also serves on the Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women Advisory Board, the Bank of America Enterprise Executive Development Council, and the Microsoft Advisory Council. 

Ms. Jarrett was the Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama from 2009-2017, making her the longest serving senior advisor to a president in history. She oversaw the Offices of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs and Chaired the White House Council on Women and Girls. 

Ms. Jarrett has a background in both the public and private sectors. She served as the Chief Executive Officer of The Habitat Company in Chicago, the Commissioner of Planning and Development for the city of Chicago, Deputy Chief of Staff for Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and she practiced law for ten years in the private and public sector. She also previously served as the director of numerous corporate and not-for-profit boards including leadership roles as Chairman of the Board of the Chicago Stock Exchange, Chairman of the University of Chicago Medical Center Board of Trustees, Vice Chairman of the University of Chicago Board of Trustees, Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and Chair of Chicago Transit Board. 

Ms. Jarrett has also received numerous awards and honorary degrees, including TIME’s “100 Most Influential People” Award. Jarrett received her B.A. from Stanford University in 1978 and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981.