Valerie Jarrett

Infobox Person
name = Valerie Jarrett


image_size =
caption =
birth_name = Valerie Bowman
birth_date = November 14, 1956
birth_place = Shiraz, Iran
death_date =
death_place =
residence = Chicago, Illinois
citizenship = United States
other_names =
known_for = Senior advisor to Barack Obama
education = Stanford University (B.A.) University of Michigan (J.D.)
alma_mater =
employer =
occupation = Lawyer, businesswoman, civic leader
home_town =
title = CEO, The Habitat Company
party = Democratic
boards = Chicago Stock Exchange Univ of Chicago Med Cntr University of Chicago
children = Daughter
parents = Dr. James Bowman and Barbara Bowman
relations = Robert Taylor, grandfather
website =

Valerie Bowman Jarrett (born 1956) is a Chicago lawyer, businesswoman, and civic leader. She is a senior advisor to 2008 Democratic U.S. Presidential candidate Barack Obama.cite web |accessdate=2008-08-23
url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-072708-jarrett,0,1640738.story
author=Terry, Don
title=Insider has Obama's ear: What's she telling him?
work=Chicago Tribune
date=July 27, 2008]

Personal

Valerie Bowman was born on November 14, 1956 in Shiraz, Iran, where her father, Dr. James Bowman, ran a hospital for poor children.cite web|accessdate=2008-08-24
url=http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=b128bf98-efd6-4326-97b6-cda519d8c889&p=2
title=The Woman to See: Meet Valerie Jarrett, Barack Obama's fixer
work=The New Republic
author=Cottle, Michelle
date=August 27, 2008 ] Her father, a pathologist and geneticist, is Professor Emeritus in Pathology and Medicine, University of Chicago.cite web
accessdate=2008-08-24
url=http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=200&category=MedicalMakers
title=Dr. James Bowman Biography |date=2002
work=The History Makers] Her mother, Barbara Bowman, is an early childhood education expert and co-founder of the Erikson Institute for child development. cite web|accessdate=2008-08-24
url=http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=199
title=Barbara Bowman Biography |date=2002
work=The History Makers] Her maternal grandfather, Robert Taylor was the head of the Chicago Housing Authority in the 1940s.cite web|accessdate=2008-08-23
url=http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=1388&category=CivicMakers&occupation=Lawyer%2C%20Business%20%26%20Civic%20Leader&name=Valerie%20Bowman%20Jarrett
work=The History Makers
title= Biography: Valerie Bowman Jarrett — Lawyer, Business & Civic Leader
date=2006] cite web|accessdate=2008-08-23
url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/136349
title=Campaign 2008: The Family Friend: Valerie Jarrett
date=May 19, 2008
work=Newsweek] At age 5, the family moved to London for one year, then returned to Chicago in 1963.

She received a B.A. in Psychology from Stanford University in 1978, and a JD from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981.

She was married to William Robert Jarrett from 1983 to 1988. They had one child - a daughter - who is currently a Harvard Law student.

Chicago politics

Jarrett got her start in Chicago politics in 1987 working for mayor Harold Washington as Deputy Corporation Counsel for Finance and Development.cite press release
title= Valerie Jarrett to lead expanded Board of University of Chicago Medical Center
date=June 13, 2006
publisher=University of Chicago News Office]

Jarrett continued to work in the mayor's office in the 1990s. She was Deputy Chief of Staff for Mayor Richard Daley, during which time (1991) she hired Michelle Robinson, then engaged to Barack Obama, away from a private law firm. Jarrett served as Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development from 1992 through 1995; and was Chair of the Chicago Transit Board from 1995 to 2003.cite press release
title= Valerie Jarrett to lead expanded Board of University of Chicago Medical Center
date=June 13, 2006
publisher=University of Chicago News Office]

Business career

She is currently the CEO of The Habitat Company, a real estate development and management company, which she joined in 1995. She was a Member of the Board of Chicago Stock Exchange (2000-2007, as Chairman, 2004-2007).

She is also the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago Medical Center,cite press release
title= Valerie Jarrett to lead expanded Board of University of Chicago Medical Center
date=June 13, 2006
publisher=University of Chicago News Office] Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago and a Trustee of Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.cite web|accessdate=2008-08-23
url=http://www.forbes.com/finance/mktguideapps/personinfo/FromPersonIdPersonTearsheet.jhtml?passedPersonId=937361ttl
title=Valerie Jarrett Profile
year=2008
publisher=Forbes.com]

Advisor to Barack Obama

Jarrett is one of Senator Obama's longest serving advisors and "closest campaign aide [s] ndashan insider widely tipped for a top position in an Obama administration. "cite web|accessdate=
url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121055336572783989.html?mod=special_page_campaign2008_topbox
author=Belkin, Douglas
title=For Obama, Advice Straight Up: Valerie Jarrett Is Essential Member of Inner Set
work=Wall Street Journal
date= May 12, 2008] cite news|accessdate=
url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/magazine/10politics-t.html?em=&pagewanted=all
author=Bai, Matt
title=Is Obama the End of Black Politics?
work=New York Times Magazine
date=August 10, 2008] cquote
Unlike Burt Lance, who arrived from Georgia with President [Jimmy Carter| [Jimmy] Carter] and became his budget director, or Karen Hughes, who was President [George W. Bush| [George W.] Bush] 's communications manager, Ms. Jarrett isn't a confidante with a particular portfolio. What she does share with these counterparts is a fierce sense of loyalty and a refusal to publicly say anything that may reflect poorly on the candidate — or steal his thunder.— Belkin

References

External links

* [http://www.nndb.com/people/437/000129050/ Valerie Jarrett] – entry on NNDB

Persondata
NAME = Jarrett, Valerie B.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Jarrett, Valerie Bowman; Bowman, Valerie
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Chicago lawyer, businesswoman, civic leader; seniro senior advisor to U.S. Senator Barack Obama
DATE OF BIRTH = November 14, 1956
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF BIRTH = Shiraz, Iran
PLACE OF DEATH =