President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

• Mark Doms – Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, Department of Commerce
• Deborah Ann McCarthy – Ambassador to the Republic of Lithuania, Department of State
• William Shaw McDermott – Member, Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
• Walter G. Secada – Member, Board of Trustees of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation
• Nina Mitchell Wells  – Member, Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority

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

• Alex Krieger – Member, Commission of Fine Arts

President Obama said, “I am grateful these accomplished men and women have agreed to join this Administration, and I’m confident they will serve ably in these important roles. 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:

Dr. Mark Doms, Nominee for Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, Department of Commerce
Dr. Mark Doms is Chief Economist at the United States Department of Commerce (DOC), a position he has held since August 2009.  Prior to joining DOC, Dr. Doms was Senior Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.  From 1996 to 2002, he worked within the Research and Statistics Division at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C., where he focused on innovation, productivity, wages, the manufacturing sector, and price measurement.  Dr. Doms worked with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development from 1995 to 1996. In 1992, he began his career in federal service at the Department of Commerce in the Center for Economic Studies.  He received a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Deborah Ann McCarthy, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Lithuania, Department of State
Deborah Ann McCarthy, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, currently serves as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs.  Previous positions with the Department of State include Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Athens, Greece from 2008 to 2010, Special Coordinator for Venezuelan Affairs from 2006 to 2007, Senior Advisor for Counter Terrorism from 2004 to 2006, and Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement from 2002 to 2004.  Additional overseas assignments include Consul General in Montreal, Canada (2001 to 2002), Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Managua, Nicaragua (1998 to 2001), and Economic Counselor in Paris, France (1996 to 1998) and Port au Prince, Haiti (1991 to 1993).   Ms. McCarthy received a B.A. from the University of Virginia, and an M.A. and an M.S.F.S. from Georgetown University.  

William Shaw McDermott, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
William Shaw McDermott is a Partner at K&L Gates LLP, where he has served as an Administrative Partner and a Member of the Management Committee.  From 1981 to 1990, he was a founding member of the law firm McDermott & Rizzo and he was a lawyer at Choate Hall & Stewart from 1976 to 1981.  He served as a law clerk to Judge Andrew A. Caffrey of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1976.  Mr. McDermott serves on the Leadership Council of the Harvard School of Public Health and the Board of Directors of the Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.  He has served the Boston Bar Foundation in several leadership roles, including as President from 2008 to 2010.  Mr. McDermott received an A.B. from Harvard University and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Dr. Walter G. Secada, Nominee for Member, Board of Trustees of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation
Dr. Walter G. Secada is a Professor of Teaching and Learning, and the Senior Associate Dean of the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Miami.  From 1985 to 2003, Dr. Secada held numerous positions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, including Professor of Curriculum and Instruction from 1994 to 2003, and Director of the Diversity in Mathematics Education program at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research from 2001 to 2003.  From 1995 to 1996, Dr. Secada was the Director of the Hispanic Dropout Project at the U.S. Department of Education.  He is a member of the National Association for Bilingual Education, the Fulbright Association, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and the American Educational Research Association. As a Fulbright Fellow, Dr. Secada was a consultant to the Universidad Catolica San Pablo in Peru.  Dr. Secada earned a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, and an M.S. and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University.

Nina Mitchell Wells, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
Nina Mitchell Wells served as New Jersey Secretary of State from 2006 to 2010 under Governor Jon Corzine.  Previously, from 1998 to 2004, she served as Vice President for Public Affairs at Schering-Plough Corporation and President of the Schering-Plough Foundation.  Ms. Wells served as Assistant Dean for the Minority Student Program, Rutgers University School of Law from 1996 to 1997 and Vice President and Senior Attorney at the CIT Group, Inc. from 1994 to 1996.  Ms. Wells has served on the Boards of the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority, St. Barnabas Medical Center, The New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and the Advisory Board of Teach for America.  She received a B.A. from Newton College of the Sacred Heart (now Boston College) and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School.

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

Alex Krieger, Appointee for Member, Commission of Fine Arts
Alex Krieger is a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where he has taught since 1977.  He is a founding principal of the architecture and urban design firm Chan Krieger Sieniewicz, which is now part of Chan Krieger NBBJ.  Mr. Krieger served as Chair of Harvard’s Department of Urban Planning and Design from 1998 to 2004, as Director of Harvard's Urban Design Program from 1992 to 2000, and as Associate Chairman of the Department of Architecture from 1985 to 1989.  From 1994 to 1998, he served as the Director of the National Endowment for the Arts Mayor’s Institute on City Design.  Mr. Krieger’s publications include Remaking the Urban Waterfront and A Design Primer for Towns and Cities.  In addition, Mr. Krieger is a National Design Peer for the General Services Administration, and is the founder and co-director of the Large City Planners Institute. He received a B.Arch. from Cornell University and an M.C.P.U.D. from Harvard University.

Statement by the Vice President on the Eighteenth Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act

Eighteen years ago today, the landmark Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was signed into law. It was founded on the basic premise that every woman deserves to be safe from violence, and since its passage, we have made tremendous strides towards achieving that goal. We gave law enforcement and the courts more tools to combat domestic violence and hold offenders accountable. We created a national hotline to direct victims to life-saving assistance. And since VAWA passed, annual rates of domestic violence have dropped by more than 60 percent. 

But we still have much work to do. Three women still die every day as a result of domestic violence. One in five women have been raped, many as teenagers, and one in six women have been victims of stalking. While women and girls face these devastating realities every day, reauthorization of a strengthened VAWA languishes in Congress. VAWA is just as important today as it was when it first became law, and I urge Congress to keep the promise we made to our daughters and our granddaughters on that day—that we would work together to keep them safe.

Readout of the President’s Call with Egyptian President Morsi

The President called Egyptian President Morsi today to review the strategic partnership between the United States and Egypt, and our ongoing efforts to strengthen bilateral economic and security cooperation. Given recent events, and consistent with our interest in a relationship based on mutual interests and mutual respect, President Obama underscored the importance of Egypt following through on its commitment to cooperate with the United States in securing U.S. diplomatic facilities and personnel. The President said that he rejects efforts to denigrate Islam, but underscored that there is never any justification for violence against innocents and acts that endanger American personnel and facilities. President Morsi expressed his condolences for the tragic loss of American life in Libya and emphasized that Egypt would honor its obligation to ensure the safety of American personnel.

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

• Christopher R. Beall – Director, AMTRAK Board of Directors
• Lorne W. Craner -  Member, Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation

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

Christopher R. Beall, Nominee for Director, AMTRAK Board of Directors
Christopher R. Beall is a Partner at Highstar Capital, L.P., an infrastructure investment firm specializing in the transportation, environmental services, and energy sectors. From 2003 to 2004, Mr. Beall served as the Chief Financial Officer for Aslan Group, where he directed capital and human resource optimization efforts and oversaw the company's entry into the environmental services business. Before joining Aslan, he served as an Associate in the Global Natural Resources division of Lehman Brothers Inc. from 2000 to 2003.  Mr. Beall received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Oklahoma State University and an M.B.A. from Harvard.

Lorne W. Craner, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation
Lorne W. Craner is currently President of the International Republican Institute (IRI), a role he previously held from 1995 to 2001.  From 2001 to 2004, he served as Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the Department of State.  Before serving as President of IRI, he was Vice President for Programs at IRI from 1993 to 1995.  Previously, Mr. Craner served as Director of Asian Affairs for the National Security Council at The White House from 1992 to 1993, and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs from 1989 to 1992.  From 1986 to 1989, he was a Legislative Assistant for Senator John McCain.  He began his career as a Legislative Assistant for Congressman Jim Kolbe.  Mr. Craner served as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation from 2007 to 2010.  He received a B.A. from Reed College and an M.A. from Georgetown University.