President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

• Ashton B. Carter–  Nominee for Deputy Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense
• I. Charles McCulloughIII – Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
• Ernest Mitchell, Jr. –Administrator, United States Fire Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security
• Nancy M. Ware – Director, Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia
• Gregory H. Woods – General Counsel, Department of Energy

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

• Carol Pensky - Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
• Robert M. Saltzman - Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars

President Obamasaid, “These dedicated individuals bring a wealth of experience and talent to their new roles and I am proud to have them serve in this Administration.  I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.”

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

Ashton B. Carter, Nominee for Deputy Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense
Ashton B. Carter is currently the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics.  Prior to assuming this position in 2009, he was Chair of the International and Global Affairs faculty at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and Co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project. From 1993 to 1996, he served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy.  During that time, he directed military planning during the 1994 crisis over North Korea's nuclear weapons program and was instrumental in removing all nuclear weapons from the territories of Ukraine, Kazakstan, and Belarus.  Dr. Carter also directed the establishment of defense and intelligence relationships with the countries of the former Soviet Union when the Cold War ended and participated in the negotiations that led to the deployment of Russian troops as part of the Bosnia Peace Plan Implementation Force.  Dr. Carter has been a member of the Aspen Strategy Group, the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute of Strategic Studies.  From 2006 to 2008, he served as a member of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s International Security Advisory Board.  He was twice awarded the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal and was also awarded the Defense Intelligence Medal.  Dr. Carter holds a bachelor's degree from Yale University and a doctorate from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.

I. Charles McCullough III, Nominee for Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
I. Charles McCullough III is currently the Deputy Inspector General in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.  Previously, Mr. McCullough served as the Assistant Inspector General for Investigations in the Office of the Inspector General at the National Security Agency/Central Security Service.  From 2001 to 2003, he was Senior Counsel for Law Enforcement and Intelligence in the Office of the General Counsel at the Treasury Department.  Prior to that, Mr. McCullough held various positions at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including Supervisory Special Agent (1999-2001), Associate Division Counsel (1997-1999), and Special Agent (1991-1997).  He holds a B.A. from the University of Kentucky and a J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law at Pennsylvania State University.

Ernest Mitchell, Jr.,  Nominee for Administrator, United States Fire Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security
Ernest Mitchell, Jr. is a retired fire chief and past president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC).  Prior to retiring, from 1998 to 2004, Mr. Mitchell served as Fire Chief and Assistant Director of Disaster Emergency Services for the City of Pasadena, California Fire Department.  Previously, from 1991 to 1998, he served as Fire Chief and Deputy City Manager of Monrovia, California.  Mr. Mitchell also served as a Battalion Chief for the City of Compton in California.  In addition to maintaining his active membership in the IAFC, Mr. Mitchell currently serves on the International Association of Firefighters Hazardous Materials Advisory Board and the International Fire Service Training Association Executive Board.  Mr. Mitchell holds an A.S. in fire science from Long Beach City College, a B.P.A. from the University of San Francisco and an M.P.A. from California State University at Northridge.

Nancy M. Ware, Nominee for Director, Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia
Nancy M. Ware currently serves as a Management Analyst for the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia (CSOSA).  Prior to joining CSOSA, Ms. Ware served for eight years as the Executive Director for the District of Columbia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, where she developed the infrastructure to support law enforcement, juvenile justice, and other criminal justice branches.  Previously, Ms. Ware was the Director of Technical Assistance and Training for the Department of Justice Executive Office for Weed and Seed, and before this served as the Director of Program Development for the Bureau of Justice Assistance in the Office of Justice Programs.  Earlier in her career, Ms. Ware served as an Executive Director of the Rainbow Coalition; Executive Director of the Citizenship Education Fund; and Executive Director of the District of Columbia Mayor's Youth Initiatives Office.  She holds a B.A. and an M.Ed. from Howard University.

Gregory H. Woods, Nominee for General Counsel, Department of Energy
Gregory H. Woods is currently the Deputy General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Transportation.  From 2004 to 2009, Mr. Woods was a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in New York, New York.  He was an associate at the firm from 1998 to 2004.  Mr. Woods was a member of the firm’s corporate finance and Latin American practice groups and a member of the firm’s hiring and diversity committees.  From 1995 to 1998, Mr. Woods was a Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he litigated fraud cases.  Mr. Woods currently serves on the board of the Union Settlement Association in New York, which provides social services in East Harlem, and the Board of Trustees of Williams College.  Mr. Woods holds a B.A. from Williams College and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

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

Carol Pensky, Appointee for Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
Carol Pensky currently serves on the Board of Directors of DC Prep, a public charter school in Washington, D.C., where she was a founding Advisory Board member beginning in 2003.  Ms. Pensky also serves on the Board of Directors of the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing in Washington, and she is a past President and past Vice President of the Center.   She is also a member of the Advisory Board of Woodley House, Inc., an organization that provides housing and clinical services for the mentally ill in Washington.  Ms. Pensky is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of George Washington University.

Robert M. Saltzman, Appointee for Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
Robert M. Saltzman is currently Associate Dean at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law and Police Commissioner for the Los Angeles Police Department. Prior to his appointment to the Police Commission, Mr. Saltzman served on the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission from 2005 until 2008, and as Commission Vice President in 2008. He was also a Member of the Board of Trustees of the National Association for Law Placement Foundation from 1999 to 2002.  Mr. Saltzman currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute, and formerly served on the Board of Visitors of the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and Leadership at Dartmouth College.  Mr. Saltzman holds an A.B. summa cum laude from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from Harvard University.