Valerie Jarrett, Political Rock Star and Rock-Stable Mom. A Conversation With Laura Jarrett

Valerie Jarrett  needs very little introduction. She's been a political force since the 1980s, when she worked first for Chicago Mayor Harold Washington, then for his successor, Richard Daley.

In 1991, she hired a young woman named Michelle Robinson —and thus was born a long friendship and working relationship with the Obamas. Jarrett was a senior White House advisor and is now president of the Obama Foundation.

She was a single mother who, in spite of an insanely busy work life, always made certain that her daughter, Laura, knew she came first.

Laura Jarrett has also had a very impressive career. She's the anchor of "Early Start" on CNN, and previously worked as a political correspondent covering the Justice Department. And before that, like her mother, she was an attorney in Chicago.

Laura is also a mother of a two-year-old, which gives her mother Valerie a new role of grandmother—one that she's embraced wholeheartedly. 

Artwork by Paula Mangin (@PaulaBallah)

Music composed and performed by Andrea Perry

Producer: Claire Trageser

Social Media: Claire Trageser

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