This past spring, the Law School’s Federal Criminal Justice Clinic (FCJC) hosted Valerie Jarrett, former senior advisor to President Barack Obama and current chief executive officer of the Obama Foundation, for a two-hour seminar and fireside chat with students.

The FCJC has hosted conversations with Jarrett annually since 2016, giving clinic students a rare opportunity to engage directly with a policymaker who helped shape presidential criminal justice reform efforts.

Unlike a traditional guest lecture, the class session with Jarrett is structured as an extended conversation, allowing students to ask candid questions about public service, criminal justice reform, leadership, and career paths. 

Jarrett’s class is moderated each year by the FCJC’s faculty, Alison Siegler, the Lillian E. Kraemer Clinical Professor in Public Interest Law, and Clinical Professor Judith Miller. 

“The way it is structured really allows students to have an intimate opportunity to be heard by Ms. Jarrett and to gain her wisdom,” said Siegler, the founding director of the FCJC. “She’s incredibly brilliant and so inspirational when she answers students’ questions.”

FCJC student Ronja Kleinholz, ’26, said of this year’s visit that it “felt more like a conversation between friends than a lecture. Ms. Jarrett was candid, humble, and remarkably good at both giving serious advice and making us laugh.”

Abby Diebold, ’27, another FCJC student, learned from Jarrett’s examples of how to drive meaningful change in the real world. “Hearing from someone who has worked at high levels of criminal justice reform helped elucidate [what Siegler calls] ‘transformative advocacy’ and what it can look like in practice,” she said.

Diebold also appreciated Jarrett’s emphasis on consensus-building. “The law, especially as we learn it in the classroom, can feel entirely divorced from reality. But hearing how Ms. Jarrett worked in practice to build coalitions to bring about the legal change we study provided a fascinating new perspective.”

Siegler said Jarrett’s Q&A with the students always fuels organic dialogue and insightful discussion. During the recent spring visit, students prepared questions on various topics that ranged from strategies for reforming the criminal system, policing, clemency, reentry and rehabilitation, and career advice. “Ms. Jarrett loves a vigorous back-and-forth with our students,” Miller added. “She pushes back on them, and she encourages them to push back on her as well.” 

“Visiting the Federal Criminal Justice Clinic is always a highlight of my year,” said Jarrett, who is on the University of Chicago’s Board of Trustees. “It is so inspiring to hear about the clinic’s work, including the inroads they have made in changing the federal bail system. I am grateful for all that Alison and Judith do to help shape the next generation of leaders.”

Jarrett’s visit this year came with an added treat for Siegler, Miller, and the students: she arranged for everyone to attend the soft opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Hyde Park, just blocks from the Law School. Jarrett has overseen the Center’s creation and helped envision it as a community hub that houses the first digital presidential library ever built. Jarrett has said that “part of the theme throughout the museum is stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.” Her own career path exemplifies this theme.

Kleinholz—who just graduated this year—said that, for her, the most meaningful part of the class was Jarrett’s career advice, and especially her emphasis on public service. “As students, I think we often worry about knowing exactly what’s next and where we can make the most impact. Ms. Jarrett is an inspiring example of someone who has made an impact in every position she’s ever held,” Kleinholz said.