Nov. 24--Michael A. Strautmanis, a Chicago native and longtime aide to President Barack Obama, will head community outreach for the Barack Obama Foundation as it moves forward with plans to build a presidential library on the South Side, the foundation announced Monday.
The foundation also announced that it will open a new office on the South Side in January, on 53rd Street in Harper Court. The space, provided by the University of Chicago, will be the foundation's headquarters during construction of the Obama Presidential Center.
Strautmanis, 46, who has been vice president of corporate citizenship for Walt Disney Co. since 2013, will fill the newly created position of vice president of civic engagement for the foundation. The appointment comes at a crucial time, as community members are pushing for a commitment from the foundation that construction of the presidential library and museum will result in local jobs in the short term and economic growth in the long term.
Foundation Chairman Martin Nesbitt has said he does not support a written community benefits agreement, which some leaders insist is necessary to ensure that promises made to the community are kept. Nesbitt has said the entire Obama Presidential Center project is a "community benefit" and that it represents a long-term commitment by the president and first lady Michelle Obama.
Strautmanis, who grew up in Uptown and attended St. Ignatius College Prep, has a long history with the Obamas. He started as a paralegal at Sidley Austin, where Michelle Obama worked as a young lawyer. Years later he worked as the chief counsel on Obama's successful U.S. Senate campaign. He also has held several positions related to civic engagement at the White House and is a former chief of staff to senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.
"Civic engagement has been at the center of President Obama's career in public service, from his start as a community organizer on the South Side all the way to the White house," Strautmanis said in a statement. "I am honored to bring his unique and effective approach to civic and social change to the foundation's work with the vibrant community on the South Side, along with other communities across the city and beyond."
Strautmanis will take over the role in January, around the same time staff offices will open in the Harper Court tower. Ground-floor space for the foundation will open in the tower later in the year.
dglanton@tribpub.com
