Valerie Jarrett; White House Adviser

Valerie Bowman Jarrett rose to international prominence as President Barack Obama’s longtime adviser and eventual White House senior counsel. But Jarrett has international service literally stitched into her DNA. Jarrett, who was born in Shiraz, Iran, is the daughter of a geneticist-pathologist father (Dr. James E. Bowman), who helped resuscitate that country’s health efforts. Jarrett returned stateside, eventually becoming general counsel to legendary Chicago Mayor Harold Washington soon after graduating from Stanford University and the University of Michigan Law School.

Jarrett transitioned to Mayor Richard Daley’s administration as deputy chief of staff in the 1990s. In 1991, Jarrett managed to coax an unknown Harvard law grad, Michelle Robinson, away from a private law firm while she was engaged to Barack Obama. Today, Jarrett is the Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Liaison. –terry shropshire