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Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett to speak at Wellesley College commencement

Print | Comments () Posted by Your Town April 12, 2013 05:21 PM

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By Katherine Landergan, Town Correspondent

Wellesley College has named Valerie B. Jarrett, senior advisor to President Obama, as its 2013 commencement speaker.

The college said in a statement Thursday that Jarrett, who also serves as chairwoman of the White House Council on Women and Girls, will address the class of 2013 at the commencement exercises on May 31.

“Jarrett is widely considered to be one of the most influential women in America,” the college said in the statement, calling her an “outspoken advocate for women.”

According to the statement, at an event promoting women in politics in February, Jarrett said that “my parents raised me to believe that if I worked hard and I focused on my goals, there were no limits to what I could accomplish. My responsibility as the chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls is to help ensure that all women and girls have that same opportunity.”

Prior to her job as a senior advisor, Jarrett worked as a chief executive officer of The Habitat Company, a property management company. She also served as co-chair of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team, and was a senior advisor to Obama's presidential campaign.

Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@globe.com. For campus news updates, follow her on Twitter @klandergan.

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