Yvette M. Jarvis, a 1979 magna cum laude graduate of

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

, moved to Greece in 1982 as an accomplished basketball player, to play for

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the mos ...

. She became the first African American to play in the Greek Women's Basketball League, while also being the first salaried female athlete in the league. She is the first African-American elected to public office in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

in October 2002. An elected city councilwoman in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Jarvis is a former professional athlete, model and actress. Jarvis, is a strong supporter of human rights, those particularly of Greece's women, children, immigrants, and the disabled. Some of Jarvis' many political accomplishments include the establishment of a national toll-free hotline for victims of domestic violence in April 2003 and the development of a Greek Language program for Immigrant Mothers for the City of Athens. She was the coordinator for the "

Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...

for President - Greece" organization for US expats in Greece in 2008 and 2012. Chair of Democrats Abroad from 2010 to 2013 and a boardmember from 1992. She is the lead singer and co-founder of the band SouLuv. She is married to John Muller, and they have a son, John Jacob Muller. Yvette and her family currently reside in

Centennial, Colorado Centennial is a home rule city located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,418 at the 2020 United States census, making Centennial the 11th most populous municipality in Colorado. Centennial is a principal ...

where she currently serves as Senior Program Director of the Extended Learning Program with Denver Public Schools.

Sources

* Carson, Peter. (August 16, 2004).
"American Aphrodite."
Retrieved June 5, 2007. * Carroll, Denolyn. (March, 2003).
"You go! Yvette Jarvis - now! - African American woman elected to Athens, Greece city council - Brief Article."
Essence. Retrieved June 5, 2007.

(December, 2005). Boston University's Alumni e-Newsletter. Retrieved June 5, 2007.
"Yvette Jarvis to join PASOK ticket for Athens municipal polls."
(May 11, 2002). Athens News Agency. Retrieved June 5, 2007.
"Yvette Jarvis' website in Greek."
Retrieved June 5, 2007.

Retrieved June 5, 2007. Year of birth missing (living people) Naturalized citizens of Greece American expatriate sportspeople in Greece Living people Boston University alumni Greek women's basketball players Greek people of African-American descent American emigrants to Greece Panathinaikos WBC players {{Greece-sport-bio-stub