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Melody Barnes, a Richmond native and former director of President Barack Obama’s domestic policy council, will be a guest speaker for this year’s TEDxRVA event, “Change,” on June 23.

Barnes, raised in Richmond’s North Side, attended what was then Jefferson-Huguenot-Wythe High School. After attending the University of North Carolina and receiving her law degree from the University of Michigan, she went to work on Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. When he took office, she became director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.

Barnes is also co-founder of the public policy and domestic strategy firm MB2 (MB Squared) Solutions and a senior fellow in Presidential Studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center.

The forum, TedxRVA, is an independently organized event that brings the community together for TED-like inspirational talks. This year’s one-day event includes a speaker series and interactive experiences to discuss how change is present in everyday life and how it can be used for personal and community improvement.

The speakers have inspired change in their communities. They include: