WORKING IN THE WHITE HOUSE Catherine Oakar ’99

For as long as she can remember, Catherine Oakar ’99 has wanted to work to make people's lives better. She credits Magnificat for instilling this desire to help others in her and for helping her answer the question, “How can I give back to my community?”

Catherine currently serves as the Special Assistant to the President for Public Health and Disparities at the White House in Washington, D.C. While she has come a long way from her time as a research assistant at MetroHealth, her mission remains the same: help people, especially those often neglected or underserved, lead healthier lives.

After graduating from Magnificat, Catherine majored in pre-med, Spanish, and anthropology at the University of Notre Dame. Growing up she always wanted to be a physician, but she found herself gravitating towards other career options during college. After working at MetroHealth’s Center for Reducing Health Disparities, she decided to pivot and went on to the University of Michigan to receive her master’s degree in public health, focusing on policy and management.

While at Michigan, she earned a Winston Health Policy Fellowship that took her to the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in Washington, D.C. She worked to implement healthcare reform law and educate the general public about the changes.

“If people don’t understand the policy and how it can benefit them, it doesn’t matter how good it is,” she said.

From there, Catherine moved on to work with First Lady Michelle Obama on her Let’s Move Initiative dedicated to ending childhood obesity. She helped drive policy development to modernize

Former First Lady Michelle Obama with Catherine and her sisters, Michelle Oakar Adams ’85 and Margaret Oakar ’96 the Nutrition Facts Label, managed events, and worked with major corporations like McDonald’s and Pepsi, encouraging them to offer healthier options.

When the Obama Administration ended, Catherine had to find a new job. She picked up consulting jobs and eventually started her own consulting business. Soon, she was asked to join the Biden-Harris transition team, overseeing the hiring of all incoming presidential appointees for HHS.

Catherine has learned a lot since her days at Magnificat, but she treasures her education and incredible teachers who taught her life lessons.

“My Magnificat teachers showed me how to look at the world in a new way, to seek out new people and cultures because there is so much to gain from our differences,” she said. “They encouraged me to work hard, be nice to people and learn as much as I can, and with that commitment, everything will work out.”

Catherine lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband. She is still very close with several of her Magnificat friends and prides herself on being an ambassador for Cleveland because “it’s such a great place with such great people.”