President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

• Wanda Felton – First Vice President, Export-Import Bank of the United States
• Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn, USN (Ret) – Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations, and Environment, Department of Defense
• Tom Malinowski - Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Department of State  
• Evan Ryan – Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department of State
• Mark Childress – Ambassador to the United Republic of Tanzania, Department of State 
• Carlos R. Moreno – Ambassador to Belize, Department of State

The President also announced his intent to appoint the following individual to a key Administration post:

• Anthony T. Pierce – Member, District of Columbia Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure

President Obama said, “These dedicated and accomplished individuals will be valued additions to my Administration as we tackle the important challenges facing America.  I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Wanda Felton, Nominee for First Vice President, Export-Import Bank of the United States
Wanda Felton is the First Vice President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, a position she has held since 2011.  Ms. Felton was the managing member of MAP Capital Advisors (MAP) from 2009 to 2011.  Prior to MAP, Ms. Felton was a Managing Director at Helix Associates.  From 1997 to 2004, Ms. Felton was a Director in the Private Fund Group at Credit Suisse, formerly known as Credit Suisse First Boston.  Previously, Ms. Felton was a Managing Director at Hamilton Lane Advisors.  She began her career as a loan officer at the Export-Import Bank of the United States.  Ms. Felton received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.

Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn, USN (Ret), Nominee for Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations, and Environment, Department of Defense
Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn, USN (Ret), is the President of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE).  He is co-chairman of the CNA Military Advisory Board, an international security senior fellow at the Rocky Mountain Institute, and Director of the National Conference on Citizenship.  In addition, Vice Admiral McGinn serves as Chairman and CEO of RemoteReality, a high technology optical and software research firm.  Before joining ACORE in 2011, he was a corporate officer with the Battelle Memorial Institute.  He served in the U.S. Navy for 35 years where he was a naval aviator, test pilot, aircraft carrier commanding officer, and national security strategist.  He also served as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfare Requirements and Programs and commanded the U.S. Third Fleet.  Vice Admiral McGinn received a B.S. from the U.S. Naval Academy.

Tom Malinowski, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Department of State
Tom Malinowski is the Washington Director for Human Rights Watch, a position he has held since 2001.  Previously, from 1998 to 2001, he served as a Senior Director for Foreign Policy Speechwriting on the National Security Staff at the White House.  From 1994 to 1998, he was a speechwriter and member of the Policy Planning Staff at the Department of State.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Malinowski worked as a research assistant for the Ford Foundation from 1992 to 1993 and as a Special Assistant for U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan in 1988.  Mr. Malinowski received a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a M.Phil. from Oxford University.

Evan Ryan, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department of State
Evan Ryan served as Assistant to the Vice President and Special Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement, a position she held from 2009 to 2013. Prior to this, she was Deputy Campaign Manager for the Biden for President Campaign. Previously, Ms. Ryan was a Consultant for the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict. In 2006, she served as Political Director of Unite Our States and prior to that, she was Deputy Chair in Governance for the Clinton Global Initiative in 2005. From 2003 to 2004, she served as a Deputy Director of Communications for the John Kerry for President Campaign, and before that as the Director of Scheduling for Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senatorial campaign. Ms. Ryan previously served in the White House from 1994 to 2000, including as Deputy Director of Scheduling for the First Lady from 1997 to 2000 and as Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff to the First Lady from 1994 to 1997. From 2003 to 2008, she served on the board of Peace Players International and from 2008 to 2013, she was a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Ms. Ryan received a B.A. from Boston College and a M.I.P.P. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Mark Childress, Nominee for Ambassador to the United Republic of Tanzania, Department of State
Mark Childress is Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Planning at the White House.  From 2011 to 2012, he served as Senior Counselor for Access to Justice at the Department of Justice, and from 2010 to 2011, he was Principal Deputy General Counsel and Acting General Counsel at the Department of Health and Human Services.  From 2009 to 2010, he was a Senior Advisor for the Senate HELP Committee.  From 2007 to 2009, he was a Partner at Foley Hoag, LLC.  Previously, from 2005 to 2006, he was a lawyer for Cape York Development Corporation in Cairns, Australia.  He served as Chief Counsel and Policy Director for U.S. Senator Tom Daschle from 2000 to 2005.  Mr. Childress served as Senior Counsel to the President for Nominations from 1998 to 2000.  He was Vice President and General Counsel for the Environmental Working Group from 1995 to 1998 and General Counsel for the Senate Labor Committee from 1989 to 1995.  He received a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina Law School.

Justice Carlos R. Moreno, Nominee for Ambassador to Belize, Department of State
Justice Carlos R. Moreno is Of Counsel at Irell & Manella LLP.  Previously, he served as an Associate Justice on the California Supreme Court from 2001 to 2011.  From 1998 to 2001, Justice Moreno served as a United States District Judge in the Central District of California.  He also served as a judge of the Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles from 1993 to 1998 and as a judge of the Municipal Court for the Compton Judicial District from 1986 to 1993.  He was at the law firm Kelley, Drye & Warren in Los Angeles from 1979 to 1986.  He began his legal career serving as a Deputy City Attorney in Los Angeles from 1975 to 1979.  Justice Moreno received a B.A. from Yale College and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.

President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individual to a key Administration post:

Anthony T. Pierce, Appointee for Member, District of Columbia Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenurebr /> Anthony T. Pierce is the Partner in Charge of the Washington D.C. office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.  He joined the firm in 1987, and has been a Partner for more than 15 years.  From 1984 to 1987, he served as an Evaluator for the United States General Accounting Office.  He is the Secretary of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, and is a past President and current Trustee of the Legal Aid Society for the District of Columbia.  In 2012, he was one of the recipients of the Washington Business Journal’s Minority Business Leader of the Year Award, and in 2008, he was recognized as a “Top Washington Lawyer” in Litigation.  Mr. Pierce received a B.S. from George Mason University and a J.D. from Georgetown University.