President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

• Erin C. Conaton – Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Department of Defense
• Scott H. DeLisi – Ambassador to the Republic of Uganda, Department of State
• Deborah Delisle – Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of Education
• Tracey Ann Jacobson – Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo, Department of State
• James J. Jones – Assistant Administrator for Toxic Substances, Environmental Protection Agency
• Frank KendallIII – Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, Department of Defense
• James N. Miller – Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Department of Defense
• Marietta S. Robinson –Commissioner, Consumer Product Safety Commission
• Adam E. Sieminski– Administrator, Energy Information Administration, Department of Energy
• John Christopher Stevens – Ambassador to Libya, Department of State
• Linda Thomas-Greenfield–Director General of the Foreign Service, Department of State
• Constance B. Tobias – Chairman, Board of Veterans’ Appeals
• Pamela Ann White – Ambassador to the Republic of Haiti, Department of State
• Jessica Lynn Wright – Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, Department of Defense

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

• Eldar Shafir – Member, President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability
• Robert J. Stevens -  Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations
• Kimberlydawn Wisdom– Member, Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health

President Obamasaid, “I am grateful that these talented and dedicated individuals have agreed to take on these important roles and devote their talents to serving the American people. I look forward to working with them in the comings months and years.”

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

Erin C. Conaton, Nominee for Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Department of Defense
Erin C. Conaton is currently the Under Secretary of the Air Force.  Prior to her confirmation in 2010, she served on the House Committee on Armed Services as Staff Director (2007-2010), Minority Staff Director (2005-2007), and Professional Staff Member (2001-2005).  From 1998 to 2001, she worked on the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century, also known as the Hart-Rudman Commission.  She holds B.S. from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and an M.A. from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Ambassador Scott H. DeLisi, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Uganda, Department of State
Ambassador Scott H. DeLisi is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and is currently U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, a position he has held since March 2010.  Prior to his assignment in Nepal, Ambassador DeLisi was the Director of Career Development and Assignments in the State Department's Bureau of Human Resources.  During his 30 year career in the Foreign Service, Ambassador DeLisi has served as Ambassador to the State of Eritrea and as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Gaborone, Botswana.  He has also served as Director for Entry Level Programs in the Bureau of Human Resources, Director for Southern African Affairs, and Chief of the Political Section in Sri Lanka.  His other postings include assignments in Pakistan, Madagascar, and India.   Ambassador DeLisi received his B.A. and J.D. from the University of Minnesota.

Deborah Delisle, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of Education
Deborah Delisle served as the State Superintendent of Public Instruction for the Ohio Department of Education from 2008 to 2011.  Previously, Ms. Delisle worked in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District in Ohio, first as Associate Superintendent from 2001 to 2003, then as Superintendent from 2003 to 2008.  Since beginning her career as an elementary teacher in Connecticut in the 1970s, Ms. Delisle has served in a variety of roles at the school district level in Ohio, including as Director of Academic Services, Director of Curriculum and Professional Development, and Coordinator of Gifted and Talented Programs.  Ms. Delisle has served on several education boards, including the Governing Board of the Minority Student Achievement Network, Executive Board of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, and the Council of Chief State School Officers Executive Board.   Ms. Delisle is a recipient of the Betsy Cowles Women in Leadership Award and the Buckeye Association of School Administrators Distinguished Service Award.  She holds a B.S. from Springfield College and an M.Ed. from Kent State University.

Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo, Department of State
Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Foreign Service Institute (FSI).  Prior to joining FSI, she served as U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan (2006-2009) and U.S. Ambassador to Turkmenistan (2003-2006).  Previously, she was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Riga, Latvia.  Prior to her assignment in Riga, Ambassador Jacobson served as Deputy Executive Secretary at the National Security Council.  Other assignments have included overseas postings in Seoul, Korea; Nassau, Bahamas; and Moscow, Russia.  Ambassador Jacobson’s Washington assignments have included service in State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, and Office of the Under Secretary for Management.  Ambassador Jacobson received a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and an M.A. from John Hopkins Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.

James J. Jones, Nominee for Assistant Administrator for Toxic Substances, Environmental Protection Agency
James J. Jones is the Acting Assistant Administrator for Toxic Substances in the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  In 2011, Mr. Jones served as Deputy Assistant Administrator in the Office of Air and Radiation at the EPA.  From 2007 to 2011, Mr. Jones was Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention at the EPA from 2003 to 2007 he served as Director of the Office of Pesticide Programs at EPA.  Mr. Jones held a series of management positions in the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs from 1994 until 2003, when he became the Director.  He served as a Special Assistant to the Assistant Administrator of what is now the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention from 1991 to 1994.  Mr. Jones earned a B.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park and a M.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara. 

Frank Kendall III, Nominee for Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, Department of Defense
Frank Kendall III is currently the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.  President Obama appointed Mr. Kendall to be Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics in March 2010. From 2008 to 2010, he was a Managing Partner at Renaissance Strategic Advisors, prior to which, he was a consultant in the areas of technical and program management.  From 1994 to 1996, he was Vice President of Engineering at Raytheon.  Mr. Kendall spent 12 years at the Department of Defense, serving as Director of Tactical Warfare Programs (1989-1994), Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Strategic Systems (1986-1989), and Chief of the Systems Analysis Office within the Ballistic Missile Defense Systems Command (1982-1986).  From 1971 to 1982, he served as an officer in the United States Army.  He holds a B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point, an M.S. from the California Institute of Technology, an M.B.A. from Long Island University, and a J.D. from Georgetown University. 

James N. Miller, Nominee for Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Department of Defense
James N. Miller is currently the Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.  Prior to his appointment in 2009, he was the Senior Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security.  From 2000 to 2007, he worked in the senior leadership at Hicks & Associates, Inc.  From 1997 to 2000, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Requirements, Plans, and Counterproliferation Policy.  From 1992 to 1997, he was an assistant professor at Duke University.  Dr. Miller began his career in 1988 as a professional staff member for the House Armed Services Committee.  He holds a B.A. from Stanford University and an M.A and Ph.D. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Marietta S. Robinson, Nominee for Commissioner, Consumer Product Safety Commission
Marietta S. Robinson has practiced as a trial attorneyfor 33 years, handling a wide variety of complex litigation for both plaintiffs and defendants.  She is also a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers, a position she has held since 1994, and served as its first female president from 2010 to 2011.  In 2011, Ms. Robinson served as independent legal counsel to the Chair of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission in Liberia.   Previously, Ms. Robinson served for eight years as a federally-appointed trustee of the Dalkon Shield Trust, which disbursed over $2.4 billion to more than 300,000 claimants in over 120 countries.  She is a Fellow in American Bar Foundation and Michigan Bar, and in 2000 was a candidate for the Michigan Supreme Court.  In 2009, Ms. Robinson was an appointed member of the Judicial Advisory Committee for the Eastern District of Michigan and from 1985 to 1989 she served on the Michigan State Building Authority.  She also served as a member of the Michigan State Bar Representative Assembly.  Ms. Robinson earned a B.A. with High Distinction from the University of Michigan-Flint and a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law.

Adam E. Sieminski, Nominee for Administrator, Energy Information Administration, Department of Energy
Adam E. Sieminski is currently the Chief Energy Economist for Deutsche Bank where he has served since 2005.   Prior to this, he served as the Director and Energy Strategist for Deutsche Bank’s global oil and gas equity team, a position he has held since 1998.  Mr. Sieminski served as Vice President and Senior Oil Analyst for NatWest Securities from 1995 until 1998 and Vice President and Oil Analyst for Washington Analysis Corporation from 1973 until 1995.  In 2006, Secretary of Energy Sam Bodman appointed Mr. Sieminski to the National Petroleum Council, where he still serves as a Member.  Mr. Sieminski received his B.S. and M.P.A. from Cornell University.

John Christopher Stevens, Nominee for Ambassador to Libya, Department of State
John Christopher Stevens, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, served as Special Representative to the Libyan Transitional National Council from March 2011 to November 2011.  Prior to this role, he was the Director of the Office of Multilateral Nuclear and Security Affairs.  From 2007 to 2009, he served as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Tripoli, Libya.  From 2006 to 2007, he was a Pearson Fellow with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  Previous overseas assignments have included: Deputy Principal Officer and Political Section Chief in Jerusalem; Political Officer in Damascus; Consular/Political Officer in Cairo; and Consular/Economic Officer in Riyadh.  In Washington, Mr. Stevens has served as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Iran Desk Officer, and a Staff Assistant in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.  Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Mr. Stevens was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco from 1983 to 1985.  He holds a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, a J.D. from the University of California Hastings College of the Law, and an M.S. from the National War College.

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Nominee for Director General of the Foreign Service, Department of State
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, with the rank of Minister Counselor and currently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, a position she has held since August 2008.  Previously, she was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau for African Affairs from 2006 to 2008, and Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration from 2004 to 2006.  Other assignments have included overseas postings in Nigeria, The Gambia, Kenya, Jamaica, Pakistan, and Switzerland.  From 1991 to 1993, she served as a Staff Assistant in the Office of the Director General of the Foreign Service.  Prior to joining the Department of State, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield taught Political Science at Bucknell University.  Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield received a B.A. from Louisiana State University and an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin.

Constance B. Tobias, Nominee for Chairman, Board of Veterans’ Appeals
Constance B. Tobias is currently Chair of the Departmental Appeals Board at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Prior to her appointment in 2007, Ms. Tobias served as the Chief Veterans Law Judge for the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from 1995 to 2007.  From 1993 to 1995, she was Counsel to the Chairman of the BVA.  From 1991 to 1993, she was a Staff Attorney in the Office of the General Counsel for the VA.  She began her career in 1983 as a Staff Attorney for the BVA.  In 2007, Ms. Tobias received the Department of Veterans Affairs Distinguished Career Award.  She holds a B.A. from St. Augustine College and a J.D. from Cornell University. 

Ambassador Pamela Ann White, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Haiti, Department of State
Ambassador Pamela Ann White, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister, currently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to The Gambia.  Prior to serving in The Gambia, she was United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director in Liberia, Tanzania, and Mali.  From 1999 to 2001, she served as USAID’s Deputy Director for East Africa.  Previously, Ambassador White held a number of overseas positions with USAID, including: Executive Officer in Senegal, Haiti, Egypt and South Africa and Community Liaison Officer in Burkina Faso.  Prior to joining USAID in 1978, Ambassador White served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon from 1971 to 1973.  She holds a B.A. from the University of Maine, an M.A. from the School for International Training, and an M.S. from the Industrial College of Armed Forces.

Jessica Lynn Wright, Nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, Department of Defense
Jessica Lynn Wright is currently the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Personnel.  Prior to joining the Administration in 2010, Ms. Wright served as the Adjutant General of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Commander of the Pennsylvania National Guard.  Previously, she was the Deputy Adjutant General for the Army (2000-2004) and State Army Aviation Officer (1998-2000) for the Pennsylvania National Guard.  From June 1997 to November 1998, she was the Commander of the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade in the 28th Infantry Division in Pennsylvania.  From 1989 to 1996, Ms. Wright held several roles at the National Guard Bureau Headquarters in Washington, DC including executive officer and chief of the budget and services branch and chief of the personnel service division for the Army National Guard personnel directorate.   Ms. Wright began her military career in 1975 in the Pennsylvania National Guard.  She holds a B.A. from Alderson and Broaddus College and an M.A. from Webster University.

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

Eldar Shafir, Appointee for Member, President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability
Eldar Shafir is the William Stewart Tod Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs in the Department of Psychology and the Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.  Dr. Shafir’s research focuses on descriptive analyses of decision making, and on issues related to behavioral economics, with a focus on decision making in the context of poverty and on the application of behavioral research to policy. He is Past President of the Society for Judgment and Decision Making, a member of the Russell Sage Foundation Behavioral Economics Roundtable, Research Affiliate of Innovations for Poverty Action, and Fellow of the Filene Research Institute, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, and the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University. He is co-founder and director of Ideas42, a social science research and development lab. Dr. Shafir received his B.A. from Brown University and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from MIT.

Robert J. Stevens, Appointee forMember, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations
Robert J. Stevens is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lockheed Martin Corporation.  He serves on the International Advisory Boards of the Atlantic Council, the British-American Business Council, and the Aerospace Industries Association’s Board of Governors.  Mr. Stevens is member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a director of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, and served on a Presidential Commission to Examine the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry.  Mr. Stevens has received the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s inaugural LeJeune Recognition for Exemplary Leadership and the National Defense Industrial Association’s James Forrestal Industry Leadership Award.  Mr. Stevens served in the Marine Corps before receiving his B.A. from Slippery Rock University.  He received his M.A. from the Polytechnic University of New York and his M.B.A. from Columbia University.

Dr. Kimberlydawn Wisdom, Appointee for Member, Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health
Dr. Kimberlydawn Wisdom is the Senior Vice President of Community Health & Equity and the Chief Wellness Officer at the Henry Ford Health System, positions she’s held since 2011.  She is also a board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician at the Henry Ford Health System and serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Medical Education at the University of Michigan Medical School.  From 2003 to 2010, Dr. Wisdom served as the first Surgeon General in Michigan’s history.  Dr. Wisdom established the Institute on Multicultural Health at the Henry Ford Health System and created the “Generation with Promise” program, a W. K. Kellogg funded initiative focused on addressing issues of childhood obesity.  She has also served as a Fellow with the American College of Emergency Physicians and has been widely recognized for her work on wellness issues, having been asked to present her research to numerous professional and academic audiences.  Dr. Wisdom earned a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.D. from the University of Michigan Medical School, and an M.S. from the University of Michigan School of Public Health.