Obama's Key Advisers on the Workforce—PICTURES

Jill Biden: Obama deputized the vice president’s wife, a longtime community-college instructor, as the face of the administration’s push to raise awareness of and increase access to community colleges. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Arne Duncan: The Education secretary is a longtime friend of Obama’s and an ardent champion of school reforms. Duncan started his career at a nonprofit that funded college educations for inner-city students in Chicago, and he spent seven years as chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools. (Richard A. Bloom)

Alan Krueger: As a labor economist and the current chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Krueger plays a key role in developing Obama’s jobs policies, making sure they have a strong link to economic growth. He served as the Labor Department’s chief economist in the mid-1990s. (UPI/Kevin Dietsch)

Cecilia Muñoz: An experienced civil-rights advocate and a veteran of the National Council of La Raza, Muñoz has spent her career fighting for immigrants’ rights. Her portfolio broadened earlier this year when she became director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. (Richard A. Bloom)