Page 5 of 9 from America's Top Businesswomen
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A life of lawyering and government work led Jamie Gorelick to become Vice Chair of Fannie Mae. She is one of the three in the Office of the Chairman that manages the government-backed powerhouse's $3 trillion in assets.
After graduating from Harvard Law School, Gorelick spent 18 years in the private law practice representing major U.S. companies. Her law career was interrupted, however, by government work, including stints with the departments of defense and energy in 1979 and 1980. In 1993, she took a job as the general counsel for the Department of Defense. The next year, she became the deputy attorney general.
When she was ready to leave that position, Gorelick says she had many offers in the private sector. But she found herself particularly drawn to Fannie Mae, and not just because "it's a very well run business." She found that the mission of the once government-owned corporation, which is the nation's largest source of home mortgages, appealed to her.
"The product was housing," Gorelick says, "and it was important to me that the product was one that I wanted to spend my days on. Housing is good for society--and making more housing finance available to a broader cross section of Americans is good for individuals and good for our country."
Her spare time is devoted to her two children, ages 7 and 12, and her husband of 26 years. Work and family, she says, make for a very full life.