Obama Foundation: '8 years is only the beginning' "Eight years is only the beginning. Barack Obama's commitment to public service preceded his presidency, and will continue long after he and the first lady leave the White House. The foundation will carry forward the Obamas' efforts to inspire active citizenship, expand economic opportunity, and promote peace and justice throughout the world," said the email.
Barack Obama Foundation
The work has just begun.
The President's historic candidacy was never just about winning an office; it was about building a movement to tackle challenges that would define a generation. That work will live on in the Obama Foundation, which will inspire people of all backgrounds and beliefs to better their communities, their countries, and their world.
About Us
Our Leadership The Barack Obama Foundation is governed by a volunteer board of directors and chaired by civic leader Martin Nesbitt.
Martin Nesbitt, Board Chair
J. Kevin Poorman, Board Member
David Plouffe, Board Member
Maya Soetoro-Ng, Board Member
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20140411/NEWS02/140419933/obama-librarys-pritzker-ties-get-tighter
The Pritzker connection to development of the Obama Presidential Library just got even stronger.
Led by two close associates of Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, the foundation set up to plan and raise money for the library named an acting executive director, Robbin Cohen, a former top executive with Ms. Pritzker’s real estate interests.
Until recently, Ms. Cohen was a longtime executive and served as president of Pritzker Realty Group, a unit of PSP Capital Partners LLC, the Chicago investment firm founded and run by Ms. Pritzker until she went to the Commerce Department last year. In recent years, the foundation’s new appointee founded and ran Cohen Investment Group, an apartment building developer in Chicago.
The Barack Obama Foundation’s three-person board includes J. Kevin Poorman, president and CEO of PSP Capital Partners, and Martin Nesbitt, one of the president’s closest friends, who was a vice president of Pritzker Realty Group and former CEO of Parking Spot, an airport parking firm he started with financial backing from Ms. Pritzker.
Chicago is vying to be the home of the presidential library, which will probably cost upward of $500 million to build. New York and Honolulu also are expected to be contenders when cities respond in June to the foundation’s request for qualifications.
Ms. Pritzker chaired national fundraising for President Barack Obama’s first campaign for the White House, and Mr. Nesbitt served as treasurer of both campaigns.
Former White House Social Secretary Julianna Smoot, a longtime political fundraiser for both Obama campaigns, Sen. Dick Durbin and other Democratic senators, is the foundation’s third founding board member.
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