Before becoming one of the most powerful African-American women in the history of the White House, Valerie Jarrett had a successful career as a corporate attorney. From 2009 to 2017, Jarrett served as Senior Advisor to United States President Barack Obama, which made her the longest-serving Senior Advisor to a president in history.
Jarrett was born in Iran in 1956 to expatriate parents. Her father was a pathologist and geneticist and her mother was a childhood development expert. Due to her father’s career, she spent much of her childhood traveling abroad before settling with her family in Chicago in 1963.
Jarrett earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Stanford University in 1978 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981. She started her career in Chicago politics in 1987 working for Mayor Harold Washington. After his death, Jarrett remained with the mayor’s office and became the Deputy Chief of Staff for Mayor Richard Daley. During this time, she hired and became close friends with Michelle Robinson, who was engaged to Barack Obama.
Jarrett was the Chief Executive Officer of the real estate development and management firm Habitat Company, a member of the board of the Chicago Stock Exchange, and Vice Chairwoman of the University of Chicago Medical Center before joining the Obama administration. She was also Vice Chairwoman of the board of trustees of the University of Chicago and a Trustee of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
Jarrett has long advocated for women’s equality in the workplace as well as diversity and inclusion. She chaired the White House Council on Women and Girls and the White House Office of Olympic, Paralympic, and Youth Sport. She is known for advancing progressive measures, such as including free birth control in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. She also authored the book Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward, which made the New York Times bestseller list. She has been Interim President of the Obama Foundation, a Chicago-based non-profit organization, since March 2021.