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:

• Jerry L. Johnson  - Member, Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health
• Jacob Lozada - Member, Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health
• Dean Ornish - Member, Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health
• Herminia Palacio- Member, Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health
• Kent A. Salazar– Member, Board of Directors of the Valles Caldera Trust

President Obamasaid, “I am honored that these talented individuals have decided to join this Administration and serve 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:

Jerry L. Johnson, Appointee for Member, Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health
Jerry L. Johnson currently serves as a principal partner for Heffler, Radetick & Saitta, LLP, a certified public accounting and consulting firm.  He is also the founder and co-chairman of ESmith Legacy, Inc. and chairman of Auxum Partners, LLC, positions he has held since 2007 and 2000 respectively.  From 2002 to 2006, Mr. Johnson served as the President of eMoney Advisory, Inc.  Prior to joining eMoney, he was an Executive Vice President at Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., a position he held from 1995 to 2002.  He currently serves on the boards of Bryn Mawr Trust Company, Savanna Inc., Coriell Institute, Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education and the Union League of Philadelphia. He previously served as Vice Chairman of PWRT Services, Inc.  In 2010, Mr. Johnson was awarded the Distinguished Community Leadership Award from Operation Understanding. He was previously named by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the Top 40 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America.  Mr. Johnson holds a B.S. in Education from Truman University, a M.S. in Management from Massachusetts Institute Technology, and a M.A. in counseling and guidance from Northern Illinois University. 

Dr. Jacob Lozada, Appointee for Member, Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health
Dr. Jacob Lozada currently serves as Member of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Retired Persons, the National Medical Music Group, the Budget Committee of Andrews Federal Credit Union, and he is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.  Dr. Lozada previously served as a Senior Advisor for Diversity Strategies at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), where he managed the Interagency Task Force on Hispanic Employment from 2003 to 2005.  Prior to his work at OPM, Dr. Lozada was the Assistant Secretary of Human Resources and Administration at the Department of Veterans Affairs from 2001 to 2003.  He was awarded the VA Exceptional Service Award and LULAC’s Presidential Citation Award for his extraordinary service.  He has also worked as a Principal at Booz Allen & Hamilton’s Healthcare Practice, a Consultant at Electronic Data Systems, an Adjunct Assistant Professor at The George Washington University, Principal at the Council for Excellence in Government, and a Colonel for the U.S. Army Medical Department.  Dr. Lozada holds a B.A. in Science from the University of Puerto Rico, an M.A. in Health Administration from Baylor University and a Ph.D. in Education from Walden University.

Dr. Dean Ornish, Appointee for Member, Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health
Dr. Dean Ornish is the founder and president of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, positions he has held since 1995.  Dr. Ornish is the author of six books, including The Spectrum.  He serves on the board of directors for a number of non-profits, including the San Francisco Food Bank, and was previously appointed to the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy during the Clinton Administration.  During his career, Dr. Ornish has received numerous awards and honors, including being selected as a “National Public Health Hero” by the University of California, Berkeley, “one of the 125 most extraordinary University of Texas alumni in the past 125 years,” “one of the fifty most influential members of his generation” by LIFE magazine, and one of the “TIME 100” in integrative medicine.  He was a Clinical Fellow in Medicine at Harvard Medical School and completed his residency in internal medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital from 1981 to 1984.  Dr. Ornish received a B.A. in Humanities from the University of Texas in Austin in 1975 and his M.D. in 1980 from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Dr. Herminia PalacioAppointee for  Member, Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health
Dr. Herminia Palacio currently serves as the Executive Director of Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services, a local health department assisting approximately 2 million people.  Dr. Palacio is also an adjunct faculty member of the Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas School of Public Health.  Dr. Palacio previously served as Special Policy Advisor to the Director for the San Francisco Department of Public Health; and before that, she worked as an attending physician in various departments of San Francisco General Hospital. She has served on the advisory committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center at UC Berkeley, the CDC Advisory Committee to the Director, and the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Prepositioned Medical Countermeasures for the Public.  Dr. Palacio has served on the Boards of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, the Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center, the Texas Association of Local Health Officials, and the Harris County Healthcare Alliance.  She was awarded the Excellence in Health Administration Award by the American Public Health Association in 2007.  Dr. Palacio received her M.D. from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, her M.P.H. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health and her B.A. from Barnard College, Columbia University.

Kent A. Salazar, Appointee for Member, Board of Directors of the Valles Caldera Trust
Kent A. Salazar has owned and run Kent Salazar Co., a small business focused on environmental consulting, since 2002.  Additionally, Mr. Salazar is serving his second term as a regional director for the National Wildlife Federation Board.  In the past he has been appointed by the New Mexico Congressional Delegation and State Governors to represent New Mexico on several environmental and conservation task forces and commissions, including the New Mexico State Game and Fish commission.  After serving as a division manager for twenty years, Mr. Salazar retired from the City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department in 1996.  He has a B.S. in Biology from the University of New Mexico.