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"It is a priority of my Administration to make sure that the doors of this White House are open to all of our citizens, and that our government is open and honest and that the American people are heard." – President Barack Obama
Valerie B. Jarrett is a Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama. She is also the Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls and she oversees the Offices of Intergovernmental Affairs; Public Engagement; and Olympic, Paralympic, and Youth Sport.
Prior to joining the Obama Administration, she was the Chief Executive Officer of The Habitat Company. She also served as Co-Chair of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team, and Senior Advisor to Obama's presidential campaign.
Prior to that, Ms. Jarrett has held positions in both the public and private sector, including the Chairman of the Chicago Transit Board, the Commissioner of Planning and Development for the City of Chicago, Deputy Chief of Staff for Mayor Richard M. Daley, and Deputy Corporation Council for Finance and Development. She also practiced law with two private law firms.
Michael Strautmanis is the Deputy Assistant to the President and Counselor for Strategic Engagement to the Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett. In this role, Michael is responsible for coordinating communication and engagement strategies. In addition, he will serve as a senior advisor to the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Formerly, Michael was the Chief of Staff to the Senior Advisor for the offices of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs.
David Agnew currently serves as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. In this role, David oversees the Obama Administration’s relationship with state, city, county, and tribal elected officials across the country. David previously served as Deputy Director of the office and was the President’s liaison to America’s mayors and county officials.
Prior to joining the White House, David was a businessman and community leader in Charleston, South Carolina. He has served as a top deputy to Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr., a Special Assistant in the Office of U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, and a management consultant at Price Waterhouse. David has been active in public affairs and urban policy throughout his career, and has served in leadership roles for numerous non-profit organizations, including the Trust for Public Land, the Charleston Parks Conservancy, and the College of Charleston Riley Center.
David received his Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He is a Harry S. Truman Scholar, a European Union Visiting Fellow, and a Liberty Fellow.
Elias Alcantara serves as Staff Assistant in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs as a liaison for local officials across the country. Previously, he served as a U.S. Fellow for the Organization of American States and resided in Santiago, Chile for two years. While in Chile he earned a Master of Arts in International Studies at the Universidad de Chile’s Institute of International Studies. Elias is a graduate of Lehman College of the City University of New York(CUNY) and is originally from the Bronx, New York.
Michael Block serves as an Associate Director in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. He operates as the liaison for Attorneys General and State Legislators. Michael previously worked on the Obama-Biden Transition Team and for the Small Business Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. Michael received a BA and JD from Washington University in St. Louis and is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Charles Galbraith serves as the Associate Director of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs as the liaison to Native Americans and tribal governments. Charles most recently served as a Deputy Associate Counsel for Presidential Personnel in the White House. He has also previously worked as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Arizona and as a Legislative Assistant to United States Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota. During the Obama Campaign for Change, Charles served as the Convener of the Native American Domestic Policy Committee organizing a nationwide group of tribal leaders and activists in developing policy proposals for the campaign. Charles is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, received his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago, and graduated from the Arizona State University College of Law. During law school, Charles served as the Vice-President of the Native American Law Students Association and clerked for the Native American Rights Fund in Washington, DC. Charles is originally from Phoenix, Arizona.
Irene Hsu serves as Special Assistant to the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. Prior to joining the White House, she worked in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Chief of Staff’s office. She previously served in AmeriCorps and worked for the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council before joining the 2008 Obama for America campaign. Irene received her B.A. from Stanford University and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Jewel James serves as Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs managing the Obama Administration’s relationships with state elected officials.
Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Jewel was the Director of the Federal-State Relations for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In this capacity, she advised Governor Deval Patrick on matters pending before the U.S. Congress and served as a liaison between the Patrick Administration, the Massachusetts Congressional delegation and the federal government. Previously, Jewel served as the Vice President and Director of Massachusetts Public Affairs for Citizens Bank. While at Citizens, she was responsible for promoting Citizens’ brand in Massachusetts - one of its largest markets - and developing and executing its executive positioning, charitable contribution, and external affairs strategy.
An active member of the community, Jewel is currently a volunteer with Greater D.C. Cares. Her past civic and community involvement includes membership on the Board of Directors for Project Bread, the largest anti-hunger organization in Massachusetts, and participation on the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s Women’s Advisory Board.
Jewel received her undergraduate degree from Howard University and her master’s degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She is originally from Decatur, GA and currently lives in Washington, D.C.
Jay Williams serves as Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs managing the Obama Administration’s relationships with local elected officials.
Jay previously served as Executive Director of the Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers at the U.S. Department of Labor. Under his leadership, the recovery office served as a coordinating body, helping communities gain access to existing federal, state and local economic development resources. Jay’s responsibilities included synchronizing a federal response to factors that have adversely impacted automotive communities and workers. He also provided recommendations on federal executive-policies and proposals affecting automotive/industrial regions, intended to address issues of special importance to those communities and workers.
Prior to accepting an appointment in the Obama Administration, Jay was serving his second term as Mayor of the City of Youngstown, OH. His historic mayoral election in 2005 was viewed by many political observers as a watershed moment in the changing political landscape of the community. Jay was the city’s first African-American Mayor, and elected at 34 years old, was also its youngest.
In 2009, Jay was recognized as one of Governing Magazine’s Public Officials of the Year. He was also the recipient of the 2007 John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award, bestowed annually by the JFK Library Foundation, in conjunction with the Harvard University Institute of Politics, in recognition of two exceptional young Americans under the age of 40 whose contributions in elective office, community service or advocacy demonstrate the impact and value of public service in the spirit of President John F. Kennedy.
Prior to being elected Mayor, Jay served as the Director of Community Development for the city, and before that he enjoyed a career in banking. Jay was born and reared in Youngstown. He is a graduate of Youngstown State University with a B.S.B.A., with a major in Finance.
