Michael Strautmanis oversees community affairs and strategic partnerships for the Obama Foundation. Mike has worked for the Obamas in various capacities for the last fifteen years–from President Obama’s Senate office to the White House, where he served as Chief of Staff to Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett in the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs. After President Obama’s first term, he joined the Walt Disney Company in Burbank, California, where he led an enterprise-wide initiative to consolidate, focus, and deepen the impact of Disney’s corporate social responsibility programs. Mike holds a B.A. from the College of Communications at the University of Illinois and a J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law.
Q: Tell us a little about your role at the Obama Foundation and how you got there.
As Chief Engagement Officer at the Obama Foundation, I work with an incredible team that’s making sure there is meaningful dialogue between our neighbors, community partners, and the Foundation. Chicago means a lot to me and is also near and dear to President and Mrs. Obama. This is the place she grew up, where he got his start in community organizing, and where together, they raised their family.
For me, this is an incredible job, in large part because it’s so personal. I met Mrs. Obama when I was a 22-year old bike messenger, and the Obamas have given me so much since. I’ve had the privilege of being in this kind of engagement role for the Obamas for years—during President Obama’s Senate office, the White House, and
now at the Obama Foundation—and it’s not something I take for granted.
I’m also a child of the South Side. I was born on 77th and Eberhart and I have really seen the community change over the years. It’s important to me that everyone who lives in these communities has all the opportunities they
deserve—all the resources, the amenities that anyone else would want for their families. And to be a part of bringing such an impactful project to life…I couldn’t imagine doing anything more important than that right now.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit more about the work the Obama Foundation is doing in Chicago?
What we’re doing in Chicago is big. The Obamas are bringing the Obama Presidential Center to the South Side of Chicago, and we believe that it will have a catalytic impact. They want to give back to the community that gave them so much, invest in the talent and the ideas and the lives of their neighbors on the South Side of Chicago, and create investment and opportunity that is really long overdue.
The Obama Foundation’s mission is to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world. We believe that
so many of these change makers live in and around where the Obama Presidential Center will be.
And so this place that we are building—it’s not just going to be for tourists from around the country and around the world—it’s for our neighbors. It’s for the community.
And so designing it with the community has been really important to us. It’s not just something that’s nice to do, it’s something that we have to do. So as I like to say, “this is not your father’s presidential library.”
Q: What’s the Obama Presidential Center going to be like?
At the heart of the Center will be a Museum that tells the story of the Obamas in the context of American history, African-American history, and the Civil Rights
Movement. We want this to be a place where people can come and actively participate in the Obamas’ remarkable
story, and be inspired by what they see. We want them to sit in a replica of the Oval Office, view important artifacts from the Obama Administration, and see how it all fits into the larger arc of history—whether it’s the progressive movements or The Great Migration. Hopefully, they’ll enjoy some spectacular views of Jackson Park and the lake and downtown while they’re at it.
We’ll also have a restaurant and a branch of the Chicago Public Library, where neighbors are able to come read and learn and just be with one another. Additionally, there
will be places for young people to have fun—including a playground, recording center, plaza, and athletic center. The Obama Center in itself will be transformative, and we’re also building it in a transformative way as well. The builders for the Center are Lakeside Alliance, a joint venture that consists of four prominent Chicago-area African American firms and one large national firm. That joint venture is unique because they are not subcontractors or minority partners, they are full partners and have a full and equal seat at the table. That’s important because so many times African American firms are subcontractors and therefore don’t have the opportunity to become the lead on large construction projects like this. And they’ve made a commitment to us that they will be transformative when it comes to diversity and inclusion. In particular, Lakeside Alliance has made a commitment to have fifty percent diversity when it comes to subcontracts on our project—this is a significant commitment.
Q: What’s Lakeside Alliance doing to get the local community
involved?
Lakeside Alliance recently opened a resource center on 71st and South Shore. Right now, they are talking to businesses who are interested in being a part of this project and thinking about how to create opportunities for black-owned, minority-owned, and other diverse-owned businesses to participate in building the Obama Presidential Center.
They’re also working to connect people with general
opportunities in the construction industry in an effort to be a good neighbor, as well as breaking down barriers to employment for single parents, returning citizens, or those without formal education—we’re really proud of that.
For updates and opportunities please go to our website at
Obama.org or to the Lakeside Alliance Resource Center at
1750 E. 71st St in South Shore.
