President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

• Dean C. Garfield – Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations
• Harold McGraw III – Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations
• Bob Stallman – Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations
• Bradford J. White – Member, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
• Lisa Borin Ogden – Member, Board of Governors of the United Service Organizations, Incorporated
• Sakurako Fisher – General Trustee, Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
• Maura Corby Sullivan – Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs
• Naomi L. Nelson – Member, National Historical Publications and Records Commission

President Obama also announced his appointment of the following individuals to key Administration posts:

• Brad D. Smith – Member, President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans
• Michèle A. Flournoy – Member, President’s Intelligence Advisory Board
• Kevin Nealer – Member, President’s Intelligence Advisory Board

President Obama said, “I am grateful that these impressive individuals have chosen to dedicate their talents to serving the American people at this important time for our country.  I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

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

Dean C. Garfield, Appointee for Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations

Dean C. Garfield is President and CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council, a position he has held since 2008.  He was first appointed to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations in 2010.  Previously, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategic Officer for the Motion Picture Association of America and as Vice President of Legal Affairs at the Recording Industry Association of America.  Mr. Garfield is a member of the boards of the SEED School, Aidan Montessori School, and College for Every Student.  Mr. Garfield received a B.A. from Middlebury College, an M.P.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Harold McGraw III, Appointee for Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations

Harold McGraw III is Chairman and previous President and CEO of McGraw-Hill Financial.  He was first appointed to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations in 2010 and served as its Chairman from 2012 to 2014.  Mr. McGraw serves on the boards of United Technologies and Phillips 66.  He is Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, the Emergency Committee for American Trade, and the U.S. Council for International Business.  He serves on the boards of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, Carnegie Hall, the Council for Economic Education, New York Public Library, National Organization on Disability, and Prep for Prep.  Mr. McGraw previously was chairman of Business Roundtable and the U.S. – India Business Council.  Since 2009, he has participated in the U.S.–India CEO Forum.  Mr. McGraw received a B.A. from Tufts University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Bob Stallman, Appointee for Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations

Bob Stallman is a rice and cattle producer in Columbus, Texas and is President of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).  Previously, he was President of the Texas Farm Bureau and a member of AFBF’s board of directors.  Mr. Stallman was first appointed to the Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations in 2007, and was also selected to serve on the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee for Trade and the Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy.  Mr. Stallman received a B.A. from the University of Texas.

Bradford J. White, Appointee for Member, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

Bradford J. White is an Associate Director of the Alphawood Foundation, which he joined in 2012.  He was first appointed to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in 2011.  From 2009 to 2012, Mr. White was Vice President at CBWhite & Associates in Evanston, Illinois.  He is also the former Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Development at The Habitat Company LLC.  Previously, Mr. White was Vice President of Related Midwest LLC.  He serves on the board of the Delta Institute and is past chair of the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois and Preservation Action.  Mr. White received a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from DePaul University.

Lisa Borin Ogden, Appointee for Member, Board of Governors of the United Service Organizations, Incorporated

Lisa Borin Ogden is a Deputy Attorney General and the Director of the Victims’ Compensation Assistance Program at the Delaware Department of Justice, a position she has held since 2011.  She has served on the Board of Governors of the United Service Organizations, Incorporated since 2011.  Ms. Ogden served as Special Assistant to the President in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel from 2009 to 2010.  Prior to that, she served as Legislative Assistant to then-Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr.  Ms. Ogden received a B.A. from Emory University and a J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law.

Sakurako Fisher, Appointee for General Trustee, Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Sakurako Fisher is the President of the San Francisco Symphony, a position she has held since 2012.  She has been a member of the San Francisco Symphony’s Board of Governors since 1992, and was formerly the Vice President of the Symphony’s Board of Governors and Chair of the Development Steering Committee.  Ms. Fisher serves as the Chairman of the National Board of the Smithsonian Institution and is a member of the U.S. advisory board of the Union Centrale des Arts Decoratifs.  She is an advisory board member of the Department of Humanities and Sciences and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University.  Ms. Fisher was made Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres from the government of France.  Ms. Fisher received a B.A. from Stanford University.

Maura Corby Sullivan, Appointee for Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs

Maura Corby Sullivan is a former Marine Corps Captain and veteran of the Iraq War, serving in Fallujah in 2005.  Ms. Sullivan has served in a number of general management roles at PepsiCo, most recently as Zone Director for Frito-Lay’s Central New England Zone business.  In 2013, Ms. Sullivan was appointed by Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts to serve on The Board of Trustees of the Soldiers’ Home in Chelsea, MA.  She was appointed to serve as Member of the American Battle Monuments Commission in 2010.  Ms. Sullivan received a B.A. from Northwestern University, an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, and an M.P.A. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Dr. Naomi L. Nelson, Appointee for Member, National Historical Publications and Records Commission

Dr. Naomi L. Nelson is Associate University Librarian at Duke University, a position she has held since 2014.  She has also been Director of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Duke University since 2010.  Previously, she was Interim Director for the Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library at Emory University from 2008 to 2010, and held a number of positions at Emory University after joining in 1991.  Dr. Nelson is on the faculty of the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia and is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for Duke University Press.  Dr. Nelson has served on the Society of American Archivists’ Committee on Education, the Research Libraries Group’s Encoded Archival Description Advisory Group, and on the Digital Library Federation’s Aquifer Initiative.  She previously chaired the Society of American Archivists’ Technology Best Practices Task Force.  Dr. Nelson received an A.B. from Duke University, an M.L.S. from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Library and Information Science, and a Ph.D. from Emory University.

President Obama announced his appointment of the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Brad D. Smith, Appointee for Member, President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans

Brad D. Smith is currently the President and CEO of Intuit, positions he has held since 2008.  Previously, Mr. Smith held various positions at Intuit, including Senior Vice President of the Small Business Division from 2005 to 2007, General Manager of the Small Business Division from 2006 to 2007, and General Manager of the Quickbooks Business Unit from 2005 to 2006.  He led Intuit’s Consumer Tax Group from 2004 to 2005 and served as Vice President and General Manager of Intuit’s Accountant Central and Developer Network from 2003 to 2004.  Prior to joining Intuit, Mr. Smith held several executive positions at ADP from 1996 to 2003, including Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development.  He also held various positions at PepsiCo, Seven-Up, and Advo, Inc.  Mr. Smith received a B.A. from Marshall University and an M.A. from Aquinas College.

Michèle A. Flournoy, Appointee for Member, President’s Intelligence Advisory Board

Michèle A. Flournoy is CEO of the Center for a New American Security.  She co-founded the non-profit research organization in 2007.  She is also a Senior Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group, a position she has held since 2012.  From 2009 to 2012, Ms. Flournoy served as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy at the Department of Defense (DOD), and from 2007 to 2009 she was a co-lead for President Obama’s DOD transition team.  Ms. Flournoy has also served as a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies from 2001 to 2006, and from 1998 to 2001 she was a Research Professor at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University.  From 1997 to 1998, she served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Threat Reduction, and from 1995 to 1998 she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy at DOD.  Ms. Flournoy received a B.A. from Harvard University and an M.Phil. from Balliol College, Oxford University.

Kevin Nealer, Appointee for Member, President’s Intelligence Advisory Board

Kevin Nealer is a Principal and Partner at the Scowcroft Group.  He joined the company in 1993.  From 1990 to 1991, Mr. Nealer was a Fulbright professor in the People’s Republic of China.  From 1982 to 1987, he served on the Professional Staff of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, and was previously a Foreign Service Officer with the Department of State.  Mr. Nealer has served as a lecturer, program moderator, and adjunct professor at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business.  He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the American Board of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue.  From 2011 to 2013, he served as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.  Mr. Nealer received a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Readout of Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa O. Monaco’s Meeting with Security Officials from the Netherlands

Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa O. Monaco met at the White House today with the Netherlands Minister for Security and Justice Ivo Opstelten and National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism Dick Schoof.  In this meeting, Ms. Monaco expressed the United States’ appreciation for the Netherlands’ contributions to the international coalition to degrade and ultimately destroy the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and reaffirmed the U.S. government’s commitment to continue cooperating closely with the Dutch on a range of counterterrorism priorities, particularly the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters.  Ms. Monaco, Minister Opstelten and Mr. Schoof discussed opportunities for our two countries to strengthen collaboration to prevent and disrupt foreign terrorist fighter travel to Syria and Iraq and address the shared threat posed by returning foreign fighters.  

Remarks by President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel Before Bilateral Meeting

Oval Office

11:23 A.M. EDT

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, it’s good once again to welcome the Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu.  Obviously, he’s no stranger to the White House.  I think I’ve met with Bibi more than any world leader during my tenure as President. 

We meet at a challenging time.  Israel is obviously in a very turbulent neighborhood, and this gives us an opportunity once again to reaffirm the unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel, and our ironclad commitment to making sure that Israel is secure.

Throughout the summer, obviously all of us were deeply concerned about the situation in Gaza.  I think the American people should be very proud of the contributions that we made to the Iron Dome program to protect the lives of Israelis at a time when rockets were pouring into Israel on a regular basis.  I think we also recognize that we have to find ways to change the status quo so that both Israeli citizens are safe in their own homes and schoolchildren in their schools from the possibility of rocket fire, but also that we don’t have the tragedy of Palestinian children being killed as well.

And so we’ll discuss extensively both the situation of rebuilding Gaza but also how can we find a more sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Our agenda will be broader than that, obviously.  I’ll debrief Bibi on the work that we’re doing to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL, and the broader agenda that I discussed at the United Nations, which is mobilizing a coalition not only for military action, but also to bring about a shift in Arab states and Muslim countries that isolate the cancer of violent extremism that is so pernicious and ultimately has killed more Muslims than anything else. 

And we’ll also have an opportunity to discuss the progress that’s being made with respect to dealing with Iran’s nuclear program, which obviously has been a high priority for not only Israel, but also the United States and the world community. 

So we have a lot to talk about, and I appreciate very much the Prime Minister coming.  It’s challenging I think for an Israeli Prime Minister to have to work so hard during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but I know that the Prime Minister’s utmost priority is making sure that his country is safe during these difficult times.  And we’re glad that the United States can be a partner in that process.

PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU:  Mr. President, first I want to thank you.  I want to thank you for the unflinching support you gave Israel during our difficult days and difficult summer we had -- expressed in so many ways, but also in an additional installment of support for Iron Dome, which has saved so many lives, saved many lives across the border.  And I thank you for that, and for the continuous bond of friendship that is so strong between Israel and the United States.

I also want to thank you for this opportunity to meet with you and to discuss the enormous challenges facing the United States and Israel in the Middle East.  There’s definitely a new Middle East.  I think it poses new dangers, but it also presents new opportunities.

As for the dangers, Israel fully supports your effort and your leadership to defeat ISIS.  We think everybody should support this.  And even more critical is our shared goal of preventing Iran from becoming a military nuclear power.

As you know, Mr. President, Iran seeks a deal that would lift the tough sanctions that you’ve worked so hard to put in place, and leave it as a threshold nuclear power.  I fervently hope that under your leadership that would not happen.

Equally, I think that there are opportunities.  And the opportunities, as you just expressed, is something that is changing in the Middle East, because out of the new situation, there emerges a commonality of interests between Israel and leading Arab states.  And I think that we should work very hard together to seize on those common interests and build a positive program to advance a more secure, more prosperous and a more peaceful Middle East.

I remain committed to a vision of peace of two states for two peoples based on mutual recognition and rock solid security arrangements on the ground.  And I believe we should make use of the new opportunities, think outside the box, see how we can recruit the Arab countries to advance this very hopeful agenda.  And I look forward to our discussions on these and many other matters.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Thank you very much, everybody.

END
11:29 A.M. EDT