Obama Center asks for 100 unpaid volunteers despite hiring the former president’s ‘close friend’ as CEO on $740K

The Obama Presidential Center is recruiting unpaid volunteers for its Chicago campus when it opens later this year – despite paying its chief executive a $740,000 salary. 

Up to 100 volunteers will be hired to greet visitors and guide guests around the facility once it launches in June, the Obama Foundation announced this week. 

The push for volunteer ‘ambassadors’ is part of a new program that will place community members in public-facing roles, according to the foundation. 

Meanwhile, Barack Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett is being paid an eye-watering six-figure salary to oversee the 19.3-acre campus in Chicago’s Jackson Park. 

Jarrett is one of those employed in the foundation’s highly-compensated leadership roles, and she is one of Obama’s closest advisers and longtime personal friends. 

According to the foundation’s federal tax filings, Jarrett earned $740,000 in compensation in 2024, the same amount she received in both 2023 and 2022.

In a statement announcing the program, Jarrett said volunteers will play a key role in shaping the visitor experience at the center.

‘The Obama Presidential Center is a place where the world meets the best of the city of Chicago, and our volunteers will help bring that vision to life every day,’ Jarrett said.

‘As Ambassadors, they will create a welcoming and inclusive experience for visitors while representing the strength, resilience, and leadership of this community. 

‘Together, we are building something that inspires service, connection, and action far beyond our walls.’

Foundation officials say the volunteers will help greet guests and guide them through the various attractions planned for the campus.

During the initial phase of the program, volunteers will also explain exhibits and assist with events so that guests ‘feel personally welcomed from the moment they arrive,’ according to the foundation.

Recruitment efforts are focused primarily on residents of Chicago.

The foundation said the volunteer program reflects what it describes as Obama’s long-standing emphasis on civic service and community engagement.

The Obama Presidential Center – a sprawling cultural complex rising on the city’s South Side – has been described by the foundation as an $850 million campus designed to serve as a museum, community hub and public gathering space.

Plans for the site include a 22-story museum tower, athletic and community facilities, public gathering spaces and a branch of the Chicago Public Library.

The foundation says the project will also generate major economic activity for the surrounding area.

An economic analysis conducted by Deloitte projected the center could produce $3.1 billion in economic impact over a decade and create thousands of jobs tied to construction and operations.

Foundation officials say more than 50 percent of construction contracts have gone to diverse firms, while about one-third of the construction workforce has come from Chicago’s South and West Side neighborhoods.

Nearly 800 residents have also participated in construction pre-apprenticeship programs, according to the foundation.

While the center is expected to employ roughly 300 full- and part-time workers, the foundation says volunteers will complement the paid staff by helping interact with visitors.

The organization has steadily expanded its workforce over the years as the presidential center project advanced.

Tax filings show total salaries and benefits at the foundation grew from $18.5 million in 2018 to $43.7 million in 2024, as staffing increased to 337 employees and annual revenue approached $210 million.

Still, the foundation’s new program will rely on unpaid volunteers to help greet visitors and guide them around the campus.

The practice is not unusual in the nonprofit world. Presidential libraries, museums and cultural institutions frequently use volunteer programs to assist visitors and support operations.

‘Volunteerism has been central to President Obama’s vision of civic life since his earliest days as a community organizer on Chicago’s South Side,’ the foundation said in announcing the program.

The statement also pointed to the 2.2 million volunteers mobilized during Obama’s presidential campaign and national service initiatives during his administration, including the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act and United We Serve.

The center’s chief executive, Valerie Jarrett, has been one of the most influential figures in Obama’s political circle for decades.

A former senior adviser in the Obama White House, Jarrett joined the Obama Foundation as CEO in 2021, overseeing the development of the presidential center.

Her relationship with Barack and Michelle Obama predates the presidency and extends deep into their personal lives.

In her memoir Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward, Jarrett described spending evenings with the Obamas in the White House residence, talking about their lives while enjoying drinks and snacks on the Truman Balcony.

‘I was afforded my unique access because I understood that being a friend is being a friend,’ Jarrett wrote.

She also described the Obamas as ‘my dear friends’ and said the trio often spent time together relaxing after long days in Washington.

Scheduled to open on Juneteenth, the Obama Presidential Center consists of several buildings sprawled across the campus in Jackson Park.

Among the amenities is an eight-story museum made of granite that stands at 225 feet tall, featuring four floors of exhibits from the Obama presidency and a Sky Room observation deck.

Large art installations will line the interior of the tower, including an 83-foot-tall abstract glass work collage inspired by African and American history and art history created by Julie Mehretu.

The exterior of the museum building will feature words taken from President Obama’s speech marking the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches.

However, the museum building was recently blasted on social media after an architecture critic pointed out that the text engraved on the outside is difficult to read. 

The text is engraved across two sides of the building, meaning viewers looking at it from one angle find that it has mismatched run-over lines.

Others agreed, writing that the looming, concrete and granite building’s design is an ‘eye-sore’ and gave them a ‘headache’ while looking at it.

Despite the concerns over its design, Jarrett told CBS News Chicago in December that they are excited to open their doors.

Jarrett explained how this investment and project will demonstrate how diversity can ‘better represent the community in which we’re located and be a national model for how you can be inclusive and have a world-class product and a world-class operation.’

She also told the outlet that contracting with racially diverse businesses is a priority.

‘Because we believe inclusion is actually a strength,’ Jarrett said.

Jarrett, who grew up near the project, added that it’s personally satisfying that the Obamas chose her community to invest in.

The foundation center has cost upwards of $850 million to construct.

‘I hope they not only learn about President Obama and the people upon whose shoulders he stands, but also a little something about themselves and how they can go and bring change home to their own communities, and everyone can do something to be a force for good,’ Jarrett said.