As part of our “Women on Wednesdays” series, please join the Women & Politics Institute for a virtual conversation with WPI Executive Director Betsy Fischer Martin and Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to President Barack Obama and author of the New York Times bestseller, Finding My Voice: When the Perfect Plan Crumbles, the Adventure Begins. As well as chronicling her unlikely path to the White House, Jarrett “shares her forthright, optimistic perspective on the importance of leadership and the responsibilities of citizenship in the twenty-first century, inspiring readers to lift their own voices.”

Valerie Jarrett is a Senior Distinguished Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School, and a senior advisor to the Obama Foundation and Attn. As the longest serving senior adviser to President Barack Obama, she oversaw the Offices of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs and chaired the White House Council on Women and Girls. Before joining the White House, she served as the chief executive officer of The Habitat Company in Chicago, chairman of the Chicago Transit Board, commissioner of Planning and Development, and deputy chief of staff for Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley. Jarrett has received numerous awards and honorary degrees, including Time’s “100 Most Influential People.” She received her B.A. from Stanford University in 1978 and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981. Her New York Times bestselling memoir, Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward, was published in 2019.

Betsy Fischer Martin is an Emmy-winning journalist and former TV news executive. Currently, she is the Executive Director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University and a faculty member in the School of Public Affairs, where she teaches courses on campaigns and elections. During her earlier career in television news, she spent 23 years at NBC News serving as the longtime Executive Producer of Meet the Press with Tim Russert and as the Managing Editor of NBC News Political Programming.

"Women on Wednesdays": Valerie Jarrett - "Finding My Voice,” in conversation with Betsy Fischer Martin