Michael Strautmanis works directly with Jarrett, ensuring that communication and engagement strategies are coordinated. The former Clinton administration official for the U.S. Agency for International Development is also a senior adviser to the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. In 2008 Strautmanis was then-Sen. Obama's chief counsel and deputy chief of staff. He later became senior counsel during Obama's presidential campaign. Strautmanis has known the Obama family for years and was once Michelle Obama's paralegal.