The Presidential Transition Team is responsible for ensuring that the transfer of power
from the Bush administration to the Obama Administration is smooth and that the
continuity of leadership is preserved.

The Transition Team will review hundreds of agencies and programs in the federal
government and select new personnel such as Cabinet members, national security and
federal law enforcement officials, non-career appointments, and other heads of agencies
across the Executive Branch.


Co-Chairpersons



John Podesta

Podesta was the White House Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton from October 1998
until January 2001. He has remained close to the Clintons during the Bush years and
backed Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries.  He is a graduate of Georgetown
University Law Center, and of Knox College. After leaving the White House Podesta founded
the Center for American Progress (CAP), a center-left think tank and indispensable
resource for the progressive community.

Other positions Podesta has held include: 

• Counselor to Democratic Leader Senator Thomas A. Daschle (1995-1996)

• Counsel on the Majority Staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee (1979-1981)

• Co-founder of Podesta Associates, Inc. (1988), a Washington, D.C. government relations
and public affairs firm.

• Podesta is currently a Visiting Professor of Law on the faculty of the Georgetown
University Law Center, a position he also held from January 1995 to 1997.

Earlier this year Podesta authored a book titled 'The Power of Progress: How America's
Progressives Can (Once Again) Save Our Economy, Our Climate and Our Country",in which he
outlined the key priorities he felt a new Democratic president should pursue. In the
light of his appointment to the transition team, some observers have been studying the
book for clues about the direction of the Obama administration.



Valerie B. Jarrett

Valerie Jarrett is a close friend of Mr Obama and a member of Chicago's political elite.
She will not only be instrumental in the shaping of the Obama administration but is also
likely to be given a high-profile job following Obama's inauguration.

Jarrett is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Habitat Company, one of the
nation’s premier developers and managers of residential apartments and condominiums.
Habitat has developed more than 25,000 housing units and currently manages more than
30,000 units.

During the 80's she worked for Chicago Mayors Harold Washington and Richard Daley, as
Deputy Corporation Counsel for Finance and Development, Deputy Chief of Staff for Mayor
Daley and finally as Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development. During
this time she hired Mr Obama's then-fiancee Michelle Robinson to work for her. 

Ms. Jarrett currently serves as a Director of USG Corporation, Inc., Navigant Consulting,
Inc. and RREEF America II.

She is Chairman of the University of Chicago Medical Center Board of Trustees. She is
also Vice Chairman of The University of Chicago Board of Trustees, the Chicago 2016
Olympic Committee, and Metropolis 2020.

She is a Director of the Local Initiative Support Corporation, The Joyce Foundation, The
Metropolitan Planning Council and the Central Area Committee. She is a Trustee of the
Museum of Science and Industry.

From 1995-2003, Ms. Jarrett also served as Chairman of the Chicago Transit Board.

Ms. Jarrett served as Chairman of the Board of the Chicago Stock Exchange, Inc, from
April 2004 through April 2007, and Chairman of the Board of the Chicago Stock Exchange
Holdings, Inc., from February 2005 through April 2007. She also served as a Director of
the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago from January 2006 through April 2007.

Ms. Jarrett served as Finance Chair for the 2004 U.S. Senatorial Campaign for Barack
Obama, the first Treasurer of the Senator’s PAC, the Hopefund, and is currently Senior
Advisor to the Obama for America Presidential Campaign.

Ms. Jarrett received a J.D. degree from The University of Michigan Law School in 1981 and
an A.B. degree from Stanford University in 1978.



Peter M. Rouse

Rouse served as Chief of Staff in Obama's Senate office since December 2004 and was part
of a small group of advisors who
helped Obama through the process that led to his decision to run for president in 2008. 
He had served as Chief of Staff to members of the United States Congress for more than
thirty years including nineteen years to former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle
(D-SD), during which time he was known to many as "the 101st Senator".

Mr. Rouse received a BA from Colby College, a MA from the London School of Economics, and
a MPA from the Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.




Advisory Board Members

Carol Browner
    Principal, The Albright Group
    Former Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency

William Daley
    Vice Chairman, JPMorgan Chase & Co.    
    Former Secretary of Commerce

Christopher Edley, Jr.
    Dean, Boalt Hall School of Law
    Former Associate Director, Office of Management and Budget

Michael Froman
    Managing Director, Citigroup
    Former Chief of Staff, Department of the Treasury

Julius Genachowski
    Co-founder, LaunchBox Digital; Special Advisor, General Atlantic
    Former Federal Communications Commission Official

Donald Gips
    Group Vice President, Level 3 Communications
    Former Chief Domestic Policy Advisor to Vice President Gore

Mark Gitenstein
    Partner, Mayer Brown
    Former Chief Counsel, Senate Judiciary Committee

Edward Kaufman
    President, Public Strategies
    Former Chief of Staff, Senator Joseph Biden

Janet Napolitano
    Governor, State of Arizona

Federico Peña
    Managing Director, Vestar Capital Partners
    Former Secretary of Transportation and Secretary of Energy

Susan Rice
    Senior Foreign Policy Advisor, Obama for America
    Former Assistant Secretary of State

Sonal Shah
    Head of Global Development Initiatives, Google.org
    Former Treasury Department and National Security Council Official



Transition Senior Staff

Chris Lu – Executive Director

Dan Pfeiffer – Communications Director

Stephanie Cutter – Chief Spokesperson

Cassandra Butts – General Counsel

Jim Messina – Personnel Director

Patrick Gaspard – Associate Personnel Director

Christine Varney - Personnel Counsel

Melody Barnes – Co-Director of Agency Review

Lisa Brown – Co-Director of Agency Review

Phil Schiliro – Director of Congressional Relations

Michael Strautmanis – Director of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs

Katy Kale – Director of Operations

Brad Kiley – Director of Operations