People in the news

Susan Sher

Former Chief of Staff to the First Lady (June 2009-January 2011)

(University of Chicago)

Why She Matters

In June 2009, the first lady replaced her top staffer with Sher, a member of her inner circle from Chicago. The two women know each other from their days working together in the Chicago mayor's office in the early 1990s.

Sher and Michelle Obama stayed close friends and co-workers over the years. Sher provided legal advice to the first lady and advised her on legal issues related to health care before being asked to step in as Michelle Obama's chief of staff in June 2009, as a replacement for the departing Jackie Norris. In November 2010, Sher announced she would depart after two year in the White House.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Associate counsel to the president (January 2009 to June 2009); Vice president for legal and government affairs at University of Chicago's Medical Center (May 1997 to January 2009); Corporation counsel for the city of Chicago (1993 to 1997); First assistant corporation counsel for the city of Chicago (1989 to 1993)
Hometown: New Jersey

Alma Mater: George Washington University, B.A., 1970; Loyola University of Chicago, J.D., 1974
Web site

Path to Power

Sher graduated from George Washington University in Washington D.C.in 1970 and Loyola University of Chicago School of Law in 1974. In between undergraduate and law school, she studied art history at the University of Chicago. But she left to pursue a law degree, and finished second in her class at Loyola. After law school, she went to the law firm Mayer Brown & Platt, where she specialized in labor law.

Sher was associate general counsel for the University of Chicago from 1985 to 1989 before moving to city hall. She worked in the office of Chicago Mayor Daley from 1989 to 1997. For the first four years, she was the first assistant corporation counsel for the city, and then she worked as the corporation counsel for four more years. She was the first woman to head the Department of Law for the city of Chicago.

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The Issues

Sher's work has been primarily as a lawyer, but she has an extensive background in health care and public policy. For more than a decade before she joined the White House, Sher worked as the vice president for legal and government affairs at the University of Chicago's Medical Center, which has nearly 10,000 employees. The medical center described her job there as being "responsible for all legal, government, regulatory and community affairs. She also worked on governance issues."Sher served as a registered lobbyist for the University of Chicago Hospital system during that time.

Michelle Obama was working at the university's community service center, which she had founded, when Sher hired her in 2001 to be executive director of community affairs for the University of Chicago Hospitals. Sher wanted Obama to create an Office of Community Affairs, but "we really didn't know what this office would be, so it was really her creation," Sher said. Sher asked Obama to further integrate the medical center with the surrounding communities. Under the Healthy Communities Access Program, Obama established a program that helped patients get primary care so they didn't come to the emergency room with non-urgent complaints.

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City of Chicago Litigation

In Mayor Daley's office, Sher supervised a staff of 250 lawyers presiding over a wide range of issues. "It's been an incredible learning experience," she said when she decided to leave for the medical center. "There's such a broad range of legal issues facing the city. One is bombarded with them every day, from the flood to major civil rights cases and economic development. When you arrive in the morning you never know exactly what you'll be dealing with."

One of those major issues was the flooding of Chicago's Loop in 1992. A construction company allegedly caused a flood while driving pilings into the Chicago River resulting in millions of dollars in damage. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that maritime rules covered the flood, which meant that the dredging company's liability was limited. It was a major defeat for the city.

While working for Daley, Sher presided over numerous negotiations with both unions and Republicans. Daley's office consistently fought over Meigs Field, an airport on the lake that Daley wanted to turn into a park. The mayor met stiff opposition from pilots groups and Gov. Jim Edgar (R), who said it would hurt the economy to close the commuter airport.

Shortly before Sher left the mayor's office, a Cook County judge stopped an attempt by Edgar to seize control of the airport, a Daley victory. But the situation was not resolved by the time Sher left the mayor's office.

Sher also got out of city hall just as a federal investigation was beginning to examine allegations of ghost payrolling in Chicago. Joseph Martinez, a former Chicago alderman, admitted to doing no work for the city for seven years despite being on the payroll of three city council committees. At the time, Martinez was working at the law firm of Alderman Edward Burke. Sher said that she contacted federal authorities as soon as she found out about the illegal checks. But Sher had already left city government by the time the probe kicked into high gear.

The Network

Sher is very close to Michelle Obama . Sher, Obama and Valerie Jarrett got to know each other while working in Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley's (D) office. All three later worked together at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Sher also sat on the board of the University of Chicago's Lab School with Martin Nesbitt , John W. Rogers and Jarrett, all of whom are good friends with President Barack Obama .

Campaign Contributions

Sher has given more than $24,000 to political candidates since 2000, and almost all of that money has gone to Illinois Democrats : Sens. Richard Durbin , Barack Obama and Carol Moseley-Braun and Reps. Bobby Rush , Jesse Jackson Jr. and Jan Schakowsky . She also gave money to former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.).

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