Leadership Project CLE:
A Discussion of Barack Obama’s "A Promised Land"
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
12:00 P.M.-1:30 P.M. (CST)
Presented by:
Michael Strautmanis
Executive Vice President for External Affairs
Obama Foundation
Greg Miarecki
Executive Assistant Dean for Career Planning and Professional Development
University of Illinois College of Law
This presentation will discuss Barack Obama’s "A Promised Land." The presentation will provide an overview of the leadership traits discussed by President Obama in the book, and how practicing attorneys can incorporate these leadership lessons in their own practices. Key to this discussion will be issues related to professionalism, diversity and inclusion, and civility, and how practicing attorneys can apply these concepts in their practices. This course is designed as a beginner to intermediate level course.
Course is free and open to the public, but registration is required for Illinois MCLE credit. 1.50 Illinois MCLE general credit hours have been approved for this course.
REGISTER HERE
Join by Zoom
https://illinois.zoom.us/j/87066619782?pwd=V0Z1YW0wV1JtTGorSHZLSVFBcWh0QT09
Meeting ID: 870 6661 9782
Password: 901837
Michael Strautmanis holds an undergraduate degree and a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law. Currently, he serves as the Obama Foundation’s Executive Vice President for External Affairs, building its strategy to extend President and Mrs. Obama’s legacy through the development of the Obama Presidential Center and civic engagement programming in Chicago. Through community affairs, government relations, and strategic partnerships, Michael has built the Foundation's impact agenda in Chicago to create an anchor institution that will catalyze economic renewal on the South Side of Chicago and develop the city’s next generation of leaders. In this role, he is in dialogue with Chicagoans from every walk of life who are looking to learn more about the Obama Presidential Center and participate in the Foundation’s mission to empower leaders to give back to their communities. Michael also leads the My Brother's Keeper Alliance, President Obama's signature initiative to create safe, healthy, and nurturing communities for boys and young men of color across the nation.
Before joining the Obama Foundation, Michael spent over a decade in Washington, D.C., working to increase access to economic opportunity, strengthen the judicial system, and champion equity and inclusion in the White House, federal agencies, and Congress. He served in the Obama White House for four of those years 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 where he led an enterprise-wide initiative to consolidate, focus, and deepen the impact of Disney’s corporate social responsibility programs. Michael began his career in government working in the Office of General Counsel at the U.S. Agency for International Development. He did stints at the House of Representatives and American Association for Justice before joining then-Senator Obama’s congressional staff, campaign, and subsequent transition team.
An active member of Chicago’s civic community, Michael serves on the boards of Everside Health, Inc., the Emerald South Economic Development Collaborative, the Billie Jean King Leadership Institute, the Illinois Finance Authority and Headspace Health.
Greg Miarecki holds an undergraduate degree in Public Policy and a Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago. Currently, he serves as the Executive Assistant Dean for Career Planning and Professional Development at the University of Illinois College of Law. He also serves as the Director of the College of Law’s Leadership Project, a new program designed to teach leadership skills to students and to promote debate and discussion about leadership in the legal profession. Prior to his academic roles, Greg was a partner at Winston & Strawn LLP in Chicago, where he focused on complex commercial and white-collar criminal litigation.