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Obamas host private dinner Saturday to discuss post-White House plans - The
Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/04/02/obamas-host-private-dinner-saturday-to-discuss-post-white-house-plans/

Obamas host private dinner Saturday to discuss post-White House plans

President Obama, his wife Michelle and their daughters, Malia and Sasha,
stand during a moment of silence prior to a baseball game in Havana on
March 22. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

President Obama and his wife Michelle are hosting a private dinner Saturday
night at the White House to discuss his post-presidency plans and the
Chicago-based Barack Obama Foundation, according to individuals familiar
with the gathering.

"The president and first lady are having a private dinner tonight with
friends and longtime supporters, many of whom are assisting the outside
work of the Foundation as it gets up and running,” White House spokesman
Eric Schultz said in an email. “The president is continuing his
conversations with friends regarding his future plans for his Foundation,
including the library and programming."

The president will pay for the meal out of his personal funds, according to
White officials, and the gathering will not involve fundraising. Obama has
pledged not to raise money for his foundation while in office.

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Foundation will serve as laboratory for Obama's post-presidency projects
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/obama-library-also-seen-as-laboratory-for-post-white-house-initiatives/2015/05/12/e1333830-f84e-11e4-a13c-193b1241d51a_story.html>

Attendees will include the foundation’s board chair, Marty Nesbitt; its
executive director Robbin Cohen; and its vice president of civic
engagement, Mike Strautmanis, according to a foundation official who spoke
on the condition of anonymity because the dinner had not yet taken place.
Both White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and White House deputy
chief of staff for operations for Anita Decker Breckenridge will also be
there, the official added.

The foundation just moved into offices on Chicago’s South Side, in Hyde
Park, last month. It has also narrowed the list of potential architects to
seven finalists, including one Chicago firm, John Ronan Architects, along
with David Adjaye, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Renzo Piano, SHoP Architects,
*Snøhetta* and Tod Williams Billie Tsien.

Obama, Morgan Freeman and Tom Hanks walk into a steakhouse
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2016/02/18/president-obama-and-actor-morgan-freeman-both-spotted-at-blt-steak-for-dinner/>

Saturday’s meal is not the first one Obama has had this year to help
strategize about his post-White House life. In February, he and Jarrett
joined actors Morgan Freeman and Tom Hanks, along with other supporters, at
BLT Steak restaurant in Washington to discuss the foundation.


Eric D. Schwerin
eschwerin@rosemontseneca.com

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