Valerie Jarrett, a former senior advisor to President Barack Obama, has been elected to Ariel Investments' Board of Directors.
Jarrett, the longest serving senior advisor to Obama, also served as assistant to the president for public engagement and intergovernmental affairs in the Obama administration from January 2009 to January 2017.
Prior to that, she served as a co-chair of the Obama–Biden Transition Project.
Other roles include overseeing the Offices of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs and chairing the White House Council on Women and Girls.
With a background in both the public and private sectors, Jarrett has also served as CEO of The Habitat Co. in Chicago, chairwoman of the Chicago Transit Board, commissioner of planning and development, and deputy chief of staff and deputy corporation counsel for Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago.
