Valerie's Expertise

Valerie is the Chief Executive Officer of the Barack Obama Foundation and a Senior Distinguished Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling book Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward. She serves as Board Chair of Civic Nation and Co-Chair of The United State of Women. She also serves on the boards of Lyft, Ralph Lauren, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Sweetgreen, the Innocence Project, the Economic Club of Chicago and the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Additionally, Valerie is a Senior Advisor to the Obama Foundation as well as ATTN:, a Los Angeles-based media firm. Valerie was the longest serving Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama and championed the creation of equality and opportunity for all Americans as she oversaw the Offices of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs and chaired the White House Council on Women and Girls. Valerie has a background in both the public and private sectors: she served as the Chief Executive Officer of The Habitat Company in Chicago, Commissioner of Planning and Development, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. Valerie serves as Board Chair of When We All Vote and Co-Chair of The United State of Women, and has served as the director of numerous corporate and not-for-profit boards including 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. She received her B.A. from Stanford University in 1978 and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981.