Obamas women

Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State

Inner Circle:

Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor — Valerie Jarrett (co-chair of the Obama transition team) is an accomplished political counselor and businesswoman (real estate). The NYT said of her "She is an expert in urban affairs, particularly housing and transportation, in an administration expected to lavish more money and attention on cities than its predecessors.
And she has something no other adviser in the Obama White House ever will: ties to the president-elect and future first lady that go deeper than a political alliance. Ms. Jarrett is only a few years older than the Obamas, but her relationship with them can seem almost maternal. “I can count on someone like Valerie to take my hand and say, You need to think about these three things,” Mrs. Obama said. “Like a mom, a big sister, I trust her implicitly.” Check out the whole article here.

Economic Team:
Christina D. Romer, Director of the Council of Economic Advisors – Dr. Romer is Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, where she has taught and researched since 1988. You can read her bio and resume on the Berkeley site and be sure to read her Encyclopedia Britannica entry on The Great Depression, an expertise of hers. Let us hope the concept remains historical.










Melody C. Barnes, Director of the Domestic Policy Council — Melody Barnes is co-director of the Agency Review Working Group for the Obama-Biden Transition Team, and served as the Senior Domestic Policy Advisor for the Obama campaign. A colleague of transition chair John Podesta’s at The Center for American Progress, she was a long-time aide to Senator Ted Kennedy. Her portfolio will include health reform.






Heather A. Higginbottom, Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council Heather Higginbottom served as Policy Director for Obama for America, overseeing all aspects of policy development. From 1999 to 2007, Higginbottom served as Senator John Kerry’s Legislative Director.







Communications:

Ellen Moran, Director of Communications — Moran is executive director of EMILY’s List, which raises funds for pro-choice women candidates. NYT says that she used to work as: Coordinator of the A.F.L.-C.I.O.’s “corporate accountability campaign” against Wal-Mart.

And In the White House:
Michelle Obama, First Lady — Two reporters have major stories on the Michelle factor. Allison Samuels has the cover story on Newsweek, “What Michelle Obama Means to Us”– about how she’ll change the world’s image of African-American women-and the way we see ourselves. And Rachel L. Swarns, The New York Times Washington correspondent , writes about Michelle as only the second First Lady with a career (the first and only was Hillary) — and what that means. There is a plethora of articles about Ms Obama .. I found a website called http://michelleobamawatch.com/. Thoughtful article in the Washingtonpost, titled “First Lady: A Job Worth a Paycheck”written by Lauren Stiller Rikleen.

Desiree Rogers, Social Secretary —Michelle has picked Chicago businesswoman Desiree Rogers as her Social Secretary. Rogers, like the First Lady, has a Harvard MBA. Very informative article at the Black Socialite