The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 21, 2013

Statement by the Press Secretary on Holodomor Remembrance Day

Eighty years ago, the Ukrainian people were subjected to unimaginable suffering as a result of the deliberate policies of the regime of Joseph Stalin.  Ukrainian men, women, and children died of starvation as the product of their labor was seized in an effort to break the will of a proud people.  On November 23, the American people will solemnly join with Ukrainians around the world, including so many Ukrainian-Americans, in remembering the millions who died senselessly as a result of this man-made catastrophe.

Though the Holodomor was an example of the worst in mankind, the tremendous resilience and courage demonstrated by the Ukrainian people in the face of such cruelty is testament to an indomitable national spirit.  Even during the worst days of the famine, the people of Ukraine never gave up hope that their homeland would one day become independent and free.  

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 21, 2013

Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:

Brad R. Carson, of Oklahoma, to be Under Secretary of the Army, vice Joseph W. Westphal.

Maureen Elizabeth Cormack, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Richard A. Kennedy, of Pennsylvania, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority for a term expiring May 30, 2016, vice William Cobey, term expired.

Leslie Berger Kiernan, of Maryland, to be Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform, with the rank of Ambassador.

Leslie Berger Kiernan, of Maryland, to be Alternate Representative of the United States of America to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, during her tenure of service as Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform.

Heather L. MacDougall, of Florida, to be a Member of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission for a term expiring April 27, 2017, vice Horace A. Thompson, term expired.

David Radzanowski, of the District of Columbia, to be Chief Financial Officer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, vice Elizabeth M. Robinson.

John Roth, of Michigan, to be Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security, vice Richard L. Skinner, resigned.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 21, 2013

Presidential Proclamation -- Day of Remembrance for President John F. Kennedy

DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY
 
- - - - - - -
 
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
 
A half century ago, America mourned the loss of an extraordinary public servant. With broad vision and soaring but sober idealism, President John F. Kennedy had called a generation to service and summoned a Nation to greatness. Today, we honor his memory and celebrate his enduring imprint on American history.
 
In his 3 years as President of the United States, John F. Kennedy weathered some of the most perilous tests of the Cold War and led America to the cusp of a bright new age. His leadership through the Cuban Missile Crisis remains the standard for American diplomacy at its finest. In a divided Berlin, he delivered a stirring defense of freedom that would echo through the ages, yet he also knew that we must advance human rights here at home. During his final year in office, he proposed a civil rights bill that called for an end to segregation in America. And recognizing women's basic right to earn a living equal to their efforts, he signed the Equal Pay Act into law.
 
While President Kennedy's life was tragically cut short, his vision lives on in the generations he inspired -- volunteers who serve as ambassadors for peace in distant corners of the globe, scientists and engineers who reach for new heights in the face of impossible odds, innovators who set their sights on the new frontiers of our time. Today and in the decades to come, let us carry his legacy forward. Let us face today's tests by beckoning the spirit he embodied -- that fearless, resilient, uniquely American character that has always driven our Nation to defy the odds, write our own destiny, and make the world anew.
 
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 22, 2013, as a Day of Remembrance for President John F. Kennedy. I call upon all Americans to honor his life and legacy with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. I also call upon Governors of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, officials of the other territories subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and appropriate officials of all units of government, to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff on the Day of Remembrance for President John F. Kennedy. I further encourage all Americans to display the flag at half-staff from their homes and businesses on that day.
 
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.
 
BARACK OBAMA
 

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 21, 2013

President Obama Announces a Presidential Emergency Board, Names Members

WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order creating a Presidential Emergency Board to help resolve an ongoing dispute between the Long Island Rail Road Company and some of its employees. 

The Presidential Emergency Board will provide a structure for the two sides to resolve their disagreements.  The Presidential Emergency Board will hear evidence and, within 30 days, will deliver a report to the President recommending how the dispute should be resolved. 

President Obama also announced that he intends to appoint the following members to Presidential Emergency Board No. 244:

  • Ira F. Jaffe – Chair, Presidential Emergency Board No. 244
  • Roberta Golick – Member, Presidential Emergency Board No. 244
  • Arnold M. Zack – Member, Presidential Emergency Board No. 244

President Obama said, “I appreciate that these dedicated individuals have agreed to devote their talent and years of experience working on labor-management disputes to help reach a swift and smooth resolution of this issue.”

Ira F. Jaffe, Appointee for Chair, Presidential Emergency Board No. 244
Ira F. Jaffe has been an arbitrator and mediator of labor and employment disputes since 1981 and has presided over more than 4,500 cases in a wide variety of industries in the private and public sectors.  Mr. Jaffe serves on over 60 permanent arbitration panels and has served on four separate PEBs, one in 2001, two in 2007, and one in 2011 in which he served as Chair.  Mr. Jaffe is a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators (NAA) and served as the National President of the Society of Federal Labor Relations Professionals in 1990.  As an Adjunct Professor at the George Washington University Law School, Mr. Jaffe taught courses in labor and employment arbitration and mediation, labor law, collective bargaining and labor arbitration, and agency and partnership.  He is a Charter Fellow in the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and has arbitrated and mediated a wide variety of employee benefits disputes.  He is also a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.  Mr. Jaffe received a B.S. from the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.

Roberta Golick, Appointee for Member, Presidential Emergency Board No. 244
Roberta Golick has been an arbitrator and mediator since 1974, focusing on labor-management disputes.  During this time, she has handled thousands of cases in both the private and public sectors.  She served as the 2011-12 President of the National Academy of Arbitrators.  This is Ms. Golick’s fourth Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) appointment.  She was a panel member most recently on the 2011 PEB regarding a dispute between major freight rail carriers and their unions.  From 1974 to 1982, Ms. Golick served as an arbitrator/mediator at the Massachusetts Board of Conciliation and Arbitration.  Ms. Golick is a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and sits on its First Circuit Credentials Committee.  She is featured in the newly released documentary, The Art and Science of Labor Arbitration, which focuses on arbitrators whose careers and contributions are landmarks in labor law policy and in the resolution of industrial disputes.  Ms. Golick is the 1996 recipient of the Cushing-Gavin Award, given annually by the Boston Labor Guild.  She received a B.A. from Barnard College, Columbia University, and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law. 

Arnold M. Zack, Appointee for Member, Presidential Emergency Board No. 244
Arnold Zack has been an arbitrator and mediator of over 5,000 labor disputes since 1957 and a member of five Presidential Emergency Boards, serving as Chair twice.  He served on Presidential Emergency Board No. 243 involving a coalition of the Nation’s freight carriers and two coalitions representing eleven railroad unions in 2011.  He has just completed a nine year term as Judge on the Asian Development Bank Administrative Tribunal.  He was the President of the National Academy of Arbitrators from 1994 to 1995.  From 1990 to 2000, he was the Chair of the Essential Industries Dispute Settlement Board in Bermuda, and the Chair of the Essential Services Dispute Settlement Board there from 1998 to 2001.  He was the founder and a member of the Board of Control of the Center for Sio-Legal Studies at the University of Natal in South Africa from 1986 to 1990, where he designed dispute resolution systems for employment disputes in South Africa.  He has also served and taught as a senior research associate at the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School since 1985.  He is a member of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.  He has been a Fulbright Scholar and a Wertheim Fellow.  He received a B.A. from Tufts University, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and an M.P.A. from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.   

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 21, 2013

Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:

Andrew Mark Luger, of Minnesota, to be United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota for the term of four years, vice B. Todd Jones, term expired.

Damon Paul Martinez, of New Mexico, to be United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico for the term of four years, vice Kenneth J. Gonzales, resigned.

Sherry Moore Trafford, of the District of Columbia, to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for the term of fifteen years, vice Natalia Combs Greene, retired.

Steven M. Wellner, of the District of Columbia, to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for the term of fifteen years, vice Kaye K. Christian, retired.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 21, 2013

President Obama Nominates Two to Serve on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, President Obama nominated Sherry Moore Trafford and Judge Steven Michael Wellner to serve on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. 

“I am proud to nominate these outstanding candidates to serve on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia,” said President Obama.  “They have a long and distinguished record of service, and I am confident they will serve on the bench with distinction.”

Sherry Moore Trafford: Nominee for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Sherry Moore Trafford has worked as a staff attorney in the Mental Health Division of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia since 2004, where she represents clients in proceedings such as mental health detention and commitment cases.  From 1999 to 2004, Trafford was a staff attorney in the Civil Legal Services Division of the Public Defender Service. From 1997 to 1999, she served as a Skadden Public Interest Law Fellow and staff attorney at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.  From 1995 to 1997, Trafford served as a law clerk for Judge William B. Bryant of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Trafford received her J.D. from Yale Law School and her B.A. with honors from Indiana University.

Judge Steven Michael Wellner: Nominee for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Steven Michael Wellner is Principal Administrative Law Judge for Unemployment Insurance Appeals for the District of Columbia Office of Administrative Hearings. Prior to his appointment in May 2006, Judge Wellner was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where he focused on environmental counseling for corporations, trade associations, and clients involved in corporate transactions.  In addition, he managed the pro bono legal services program for Kirkland & Ellis’s Washington office and received the John Carroll Society Pro Bono Legal Service Award in 2004.  Judge Wellner received his J.D. from the University of Michigan and his B.A. with high distinction from the University of Virginia.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 21, 2013

President Obama Nominates Two to Serve as U.S. Attorneys

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, President Obama nominated Andrew Mark Luger and Damon Paul Martinez to serve as U.S. Attorneys. 

“These two individuals have proven themselves to be not only top-flight attorneys but dedicated public servants," President Obama said. "I am grateful for the work they have already done on behalf of the American people and confident that they will ensure justice is served as United States Attorneys."

Andrew Mark Luger: Nominee to be United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota

Andrew Mark Luger is currently a partner at the law firm of Greene Espel, where he has worked since 1996.  Luger previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the White Collar Unit of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota from 1992 to 1995 and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Business Fraud Unit of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York from 1989 to 1992.  He worked in private practice at the law firms of Stillman, Friedman & Shaw from 1987 to 1989 and Townley & Updike from 1985 to 1987.  Luger received his J.D. magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 1985 and his B.A. summa cum laude from Amherst College in 1981.

Damon Paul Martinez: Nominee to be United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico

Damon Paul Martinez has been an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico since 2001 and currently supervises the Organized Crime and Gang Section.  Martinez served as a Judge Advocate with the United States Army Reserve from 2002 to 2009.  Since 2009, he has served in the New Mexico National Guard and currently holds the rank of Major.  Martinez was the Legislative Director for then-Congressman Tom Udall from 1999 to 2000; an Assistant Attorney General with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office from 1996 to 1998; and a Legislative Assistant for Senator Jeff Bingaman from 1993 to 1996.  Martinez received his M.B.A. in 1993, his J.D. in 1992, and B.A. in 1989, all from the University of New Mexico.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 21, 2013

Executive Order -- Presidential Emergency Board

EXECUTIVE ORDER
 
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ESTABLISHING AN EMERGENCY BOARD TO INVESTIGATE DISPUTES
BETWEEN THE LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD COMPANY AND CERTAIN OF ITS EMPLOYEES
REPRESENTED BY CERTAIN LABOR ORGANIZATIONS
 
 
Disputes exist between the Long Island Rail Road Company (LIRR) and certain of its employees represented by certain labor organizations. The labor organizations involved in these disputes are designated on the attached list, which is made part of this order.
 
The disputes heretofore have not been adjusted under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, as amended, 45 U.S.C. 151-188 (RLA).
 
A party empowered by the RLA has requested that the President establish an emergency board pursuant to section 9A of the RLA (45 U.S.C. 159a).
 
Section 9A(c) of the RLA provides that the President, upon such request, shall appoint an emergency board to investigate and report on the disputes.
 
NOW, THEREFORE, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 9A of the RLA, it is hereby ordered as follows:
 
Section 1. Establishment of Emergency Board (Board). There is established, effective 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on November 22, 2013, a Board of three members to be appointed by the President to investigate and report on these disputes. No member shall be pecuniarily or otherwise interested in any organization of railroad employees or any carrier. The Board shall perform its functions subject to the availability of funds.
 
Sec. 2. Report. The Board shall report to the President with respect to the disputes within 30 days of its creation.
 
Sec. 3. Maintaining Conditions. As provided by section 9A(c) of the RLA, for 120 days from the date of the creation of the Board, no change in the conditions out of which the disputes arose shall be made by the parties to the controversy, except by agreement of the parties.
 
Sec. 4. Records Maintenance. The records and files of the Board are records of the Office of the President and upon the Board's termination shall be maintained in the physical custody of the National Mediation Board.
 
Sec. 5. Expiration. The Board shall terminate upon the submission of the report provided for in section 2 of this order.
 
BARACK OBAMA
THE WHITE HOUSE,
November 21, 2013.
 

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 21, 2013

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

  • Richard A. Kennedy – Member, Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
  • Heather L. MacDougall – Member, Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission

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

Richard A. Kennedy, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
Richard A. Kennedy is President and CEO of Kencor, Inc., an elevator systems company, where he has worked since 1982.  From 1994 to 1996, he was also CEO of Delco Elevator Equipment Sales, Inc., and from 1978 to 1981, he was CEO of Elevator Sales & Service, Inc.  He is currently a Director of the Elevator Contractor Council for the Association of Building Contractors. He was President of the National Association of Elevator Contractors from 2010 to 2011, and from 2009 to 2011 he served on its Board of Directors.  Mr. Kennedy received an A&S Degree from Villanova University and an M.B.A. from Widener University.

Heather L. MacDougall, Nominee for Member, Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission
Heather L. MacDougall serves as Of Counsel at Akerman LLP in the firm's Labor & Employment Practice Group, a position she has held since 2012.  Previously, Ms. MacDougall was Of Counsel at Ford & Harrison LLP from 2011 to 2012.  She served as Counsel to Bridgestone Americas, Inc. and Firestone Diversified Products, LLP from 2009 to 2012.  From 2003 to 2009, Ms. MacDougall was a Partner at Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, and prior to that she served as Chief Legal Counsel and Special Advisor to the Chairman of the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission from 2002 to 2003.  Ms. MacDougall received a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin and a J.D. from Marquette University Law School. 

 

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
November 21, 2013

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

  • Brad R. Carson – Under Secretary of the Army, Department of Defense
  • Maureen Elizabeth Cormack – Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Department of State
  • Leslie Berger Kiernan – Representative of the United States to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform, with the rank of Ambassador
  • David Radzanowski – Chief Financial Officer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • John Roth – Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security

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

  • Anita K. Blanchard – Member, Committee for the Preservation of the White House
  • Gargee Ghosh – Member, President’s Global Development Council
  • John D. Podesta – Member, President’s Global Development Council

President Obama also announced his appointment of the following individual to a key Administration post:

  • Alan J. Patricof – Member, President’s Global Development Council

President Obama said, “I am pleased to announce that these experienced and committed individuals have agreed to join this Administration, and 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:

Brad R. Carson, Nominee for Under Secretary of the Army, Department of Defense
> Brad R. Carson is General Counsel of the Department of the Army at the Department of Defense, a position he has held since 2012.  Previously, Mr. Carson was a Professor of Business Law at the University of Tulsa, where he had a joint appointment in the College of Law and the College of Business from 2009 to 2012.  From 2010 to 2012, he was the Director of the National Energy Policy Institute at the University of Tulsa.  Mr. Carson served on active military duty as a United States Navy officer deployed to Iraq, embedded with the United States Army's 84th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Battalion from 2008 to 2009.  Mr. Carson was the Chief Executive Officer of Cherokee Nation Businesses, L.L.C. from 2009 to 2010 and a fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 2005.  From 2000 to 2005, Mr. Carson represented the 2nd District of Oklahoma in the United States House of Representatives.  He practiced commercial law at Crowe & Dunlevy, P.C.  Mr. Carson received a B.A. from Baylor University, an M.A. from Trinity College at Oxford University, and a J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

Maureen Elizabeth Cormack, Nominee for Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Department of State
Maureen Elizabeth Cormack, a career member of the Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor is the Principal Deputy Coordinator of the Bureau of International Information Programs at the Department of State (DOS), a position she has held since June 2011.  She was Executive Assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs from 2010 to 2011.  Ms. Cormack also served as the Director of the Office of Western European Affairs from 2009 to 2010 and as the Deputy Director for Korean Affairs from 2006 to 2009.  She was a Pearson Fellow on the Homeland Security Committee of the House of Representatives from 2005 to 2006.  Ms. Cormack has served overseas in various capacities, including as Press Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Korea, as Deputy Cultural Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, and as the First Consul at the American Presence Post in western France.  Ms. Cormack joined the Foreign Service in 1989 and in early assignments served as Director of the American Centers in Kwangju, South Korea and Warsaw, Poland.  Prior to joining the Foreign Service, from 1980 to 1985, Ms. Cormack worked for the Ravinia Festival, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.   Ms. Cormack received a B.A. from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and an M.A. from the University of Chicago.

Leslie Berger Kiernan, Nominee for Representative of the United States to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform, with the rank of Ambassador
Leslie Berger Kiernan is Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to the President in the Office of the White House Counsel at the White House, a position she has held since 2011.  From 1995 to 2011, Ms. Kiernan was a partner at Zuckerman Spaeder and an associate with the firm from 1988 to 1994.  From 1986 to 1988, she was an associate at Kirkland & Ellis.  Prior to joining Kirkland & Ellis, she was a staff assistant on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs.  Ms. Kiernan received an A.B. from Brown University, and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

David Radzanowski, Nominee for Chief Financial Officer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
David Radzanowski is currently Chief of Staff for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a position he has held since 2010.  Previously, he served as the Deputy Associate Administrator for Program Integration for NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate from 2008 to 2010 and as the Assistant Associate Administrator for the Resources Management and Analysis Office in Space Operations from 2006 to 2008.  Before joining NASA, Mr. Radzanowski served at the White House Office of Management and Budget from 1998 to 2006 in a variety of roles, including Deputy Associate Director for Appropriations in the Office of Legislative Affairs, Chief of the Science and Space Programs Branch, and Program Examiner for the Science and Space Programs Branch.  From 1990 to 1998, he held two positions at the Congressional Research Service, Specialist in Aerospace Policy and Analyst in Aerospace Policy.  Mr. Radzanowski received a B.S. from University of Wisconsin-Madison and an M.S. from Carnegie Mellon University.

John Roth, Nominee for Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security
John Roth is currently the Director of the Office of Criminal Investigations at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a position he has held since 2012.  Prior to that, he was Special Counsel for International Money Laundering Policy at the Department of Justice (DOJ) from 2010 to 2012.  Prior to this, Mr. Roth was the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Attorney General at DOJ from 2008 to 2009 and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division at DOJ from 2007 to 2008.  From 2004 to 2007 and 2009 to 2010, Mr. Roth worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia in several roles, including Chief of the Fraud and Public Corruption Section and Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney for Operations.  Previously, Mr. Roth served as Section Chief at DOJ’s Criminal Division for the Narcotic and Dangerous Drugs Section and the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section from 1999 to 2004, including serving a detail as Senior Counsel and Team Leader for the 9/11 Commission from 2003 to 2004.  From 1994 to 1999, he was Chief of the Narcotics Section at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and from 1987 to 1994 he was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.  Mr. Roth received a B.A. and J.D. from Wayne State University.

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

Dr. Anita K. Blanchard, Appointee for Member, Committee for the Preservation of the White House
Dr. Anita K. Blanchard is the Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program Director at the University of Chicago Medical Center, a position she has held since 2004.  She is also an Associate Professor of Obstetrics/Gynecology.  Dr. Blanchard is a board member of the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, and a Founding board member of the Society for Specialists in General Obstetrics and Gynecology.  She is also a member of the City of Chicago Landmarks Commission, the City of Chicago Advisory Council on Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and the Art Institute of Chicago’s Photography Committee.  Dr. Blanchard received a B.A. in Neurobiology and Physiology from Northwestern University and an M.D. from the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago.

Gargee Ghosh, Appointee for Member, President’s Global Development Council
Gargee Ghosh is the Director of Policy Analysis and Financing at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a position she has held since 2012.  She also held roles in global health and international economics with the Gates Foundation from 2004 to 2009.  Previously, she was a Senior Expert in the international development practice at McKinsey & Company, and also worked at Google.org and the Center for Global Development.  She is a member of the advisory board of the University of California San Francisco’s Global Health Group.  Ms. Ghosh received a B.A. from the University of Victoria, an M.Sc. in Economics from the University of Oxford, and an M.Sc. in International Relations from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

John D. Podesta, Appointee for Member, President’s Global Development Council
John D. Podesta is Chairman of the Center for American Progress, a think tank he founded in 2003.  In 2013, he served on the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.  Previously, Mr. Podesta was co-Chair of the Obama-Biden Transition Project in 2008 and 2009, and served as Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton from 1998 to 2001.  Mr. Podesta received a B.A. from Knox College and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.

President Obama announced his appointment of the following member to a key Administration post:

Alan J. Patricof, Appointee for Member, President’s Global Development Council
Alan J. Patricof is Managing Director of Greycroft, LLC, a venture capital firm he founded in 2006.  Previously, Mr. Patricof served as Chairman of Apax Partners, Inc., which he had founded as Patricof & Co. Ventures, Inc.  He served as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation from 2007 to 2010, and reappointed for a second term in 2010.  From 1993 to 1995, he served as Chairman of the White House Conference on Small Business Commission.  He was a board member of TechnoServe, Trickle Up Program, the Global Advisory Board of Endeavor, and the Initiative for Global Development Leadership Council.  Mr. Patricof received a B.S. in Finance from Ohio State University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University Graduate School of Business.