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The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

·       Luke J. McCormack – Chief Information Officer, Department of Homeland Security

·       Edmund J. Malesky – Member, Board of Directors of the Vietnam Education Foundation

·       Elisa Spungen Bildner – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

·       John Farahi – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

·       Dana M. Perlman – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

President Obama said, “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 appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Luke J. McCormack, Appointee for Chief Information Officer, Department of Homeland Security

Luke J. McCormack is the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Information Resources Management/Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the Department of Justice, a position he has held since 2012.  From 2005 to 2012, he served as the CIO for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security.  He previously served at Customs and Border Protection as Acting Director of Infrastructure Services Division from 2004 to 2005, Director of Architecture and Engineering from 2002 to 2003, and Director of Systems Engineering from 1999 to 2002.  Before joining the federal government, he served at various private sector companies including MCI and Ford Aerospace.  He received an M.B.A. from the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. 

Dr. Edmund J. Malesky, Appointee for Member, Board of Directors of the Vietnam Education Foundation

Dr. Edmund J. Malesky is an associate professor of Political Science at Duke University.  From 2005 to 2012, he held various teaching positions at the University of California, San Diego.  Previously, he was an Academy Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University.  Dr. Malesky was a Senior Advisor on Methodology for the United Nations Development Program and served as the Lead Researcher of the Vietnam Provincial Competitiveness Index.   He received the Gabriel A. Almond Award from the American Political Science Association for Best Dissertation in Comparative Politics in 2005.  Dr. Malesky received a B.S. in Developmental Economics from Georgetown University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from Duke University.

Elisa Spungen Bildner, Appointee for Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

Elisa Spungen Bildner was CEO of FreshPro, a fresh-cut produce processing company, from 1996 to 2007.  Earlier in her career, Ms. Spungen Bildner was a professor of journalism at Rutgers University and New York University.  She also taught media law at Seton Hall University Law School, and was a reporter-editor at the Star Ledger in Newark, New Jersey.  Previously, she practiced law at Proskauer Rose LLP and Lowenstein Sandler PC.  She is a past president of JTA, an international wire service, a founder and board member of the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale University, co-chair of the board of trustees and co-founder of the Foundation for Jewish Camp, and a board member and past chair of the Jewish Funders Network.  Ms. Spungen Bildner received a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University and a J.D. from the Columbia University School of Law.

John Farahi, Appointee for Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

John Farahi is CEO and Co-Chairman of the Board of Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc., a position he has held since 1993.  He is also a partner in the Farahi Investment Company.  He is a member of the AIPAC National Council and is the founder of the Farahi Jewish Day School in Reno, Nevada.  Mr. Farahi has served on the Nevada Commission on Tourism, the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority, the V&T Railroad Development Committee, and as a Trustee on the Washoe County Airport Authority.   Mr. Farahi received a B.A. in Political Science from the California State University, Hayward.

Dana M. Perlman, Appointee for Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

Dana M. Perlman founded the law firm Perlman & Associates in 1999.  He currently serves as Vice President of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission and is also co-chair of the LGBT Leadership Council of the Democratic National Committee.  He previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Human Rights Campaign, the Los Angeles Board of Transportation Commissioners, the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank, and the Los Angeles County Commission on Youth.  Mr. Perlman received a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles and a J.D. from the University of Southern California.