President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

• Colleen Bradley Bell – Ambassador to Hungary, Department of State
• Madelyn Creedon – Principal Deputy Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy
• Janice Schneider – Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, Department of the Interior
• Joseph William Westphal – Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Department of State
• Ellen D. Williams – Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, Department of Energy 

President Obama said, “I am grateful these accomplished individuals 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 coming months and years.”

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

Colleen Bradley Bell, Nominee for Ambassador to Hungary, Department of State

Colleen Bradley Bell is a Producer for Bell-Phillip Television Productions, Inc., a position she has held since 2012.  Prior to this position, Ms. Bell was the Director of Special Projects and an Associate Producer and Script Supervisor at Bell-Phillip Television.  She served as General Trustee for the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts from 2012 to 2013.  Ms. Bell served as a Member of the Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts from 2010 to 2012, and was designated Chairman of the Committee in 2011.  Ms. Bell currently serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Children’s Institute, and a Trustee on the Boards of Directors of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Los Angeles Music Center.  She is a founding member of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Leadership Council and also serves on the advisory board of the UCLA Rape Treatment Center.  Ms. Bell received a B.A. from Sweet Briar College.

Madelyn Creedon, Nominee for Principal Deputy Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy

Madelyn Creedon is the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs, a position she has held since 2011.  From 2001 to 2011, Ms. Creedon was counsel for the Democratic staff on the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services and was responsible for the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces as well as threat reduction and nuclear nonproliferation issues.  From 2000 to 2001, she served as the Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration, and from 1997 to 2000 she was counsel on the Senate Committee on Armed Services.  Ms. Creedon was the Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy from 1995 to 1997 and served as the General Counsel for the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission from 1994 to 1995.  From 1990 to 1994, Ms. Creedon was counsel for the Senate Committee on Armed Services. Prior to this, from 1980 to 1990, she was a trial attorney and Acting Assistant General Counsel for Special Litigation in the Office of the General Counsel at the Department of Energy.  Ms. Creedon received a B.A. from the University of Evansville and a J.D. from St. Louis University School of Law.

Janice Schneider, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, Department of Interior

Janice Schneider is a partner in the Environment, Land and Resources Department of Latham & Watkins LLP, a position she has held since 2005.  She is co-chair of Latham & Watkins’ Energy and Infrastructure Project Siting and Defense Practice as well as local department chair of the Environment, Land & Resources Department.  Previously, Ms. Schneider was a senior associate with Latham & Watkins LLP from 2001 to 2004.  From 2000 to 2001, she was Counselor to the Deputy Secretary of the Interior.  Ms. Schneider was a trial attorney in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 1998 through 1999, and again in 2001.  From 1993 to 1998, Ms. Schneider was an Attorney-Advisor with the U.S. Department of the Interior in the Office of the Solicitor.  Ms. Schneider received a B.S. from the University of Miami and a J.D. with a Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College.

Dr. Joseph William Westphal, Nominee for Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Department of State

Dr. Joseph William Westphal is Under Secretary of the Army at the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), a position he has held since 2009.  Previously, from 2007 to 2009, while on leave from the University of Maine, Dr. Westphal served in a number of positions at The New School University in New York City, including Senior Vice President for Research, Director of the Tishman Environment and Design Center and Provost.  Dr. Westphal was Professor of Political Science at the University of Maine from 2002 to 2009 and Chancellor of the University of Maine System from 2002 to 2006.  From 2001 to 2002, Dr. Westphal was Senior Policy Counselor at Patton Boggs, LLP in Washington D.C.  Previously, he served as the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works at the Department of Defense from 1998 to 2001, and from 1997 to 1998 Dr. Westphal was Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  In addition, he was Executive Director of the Congressional Sunbelt Caucus and Budget Analyst for the U.S. House Committee on the Budget.  Dr. Westphal received a B.A. from Adelphi University, an M.A. from Oklahoma State University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Dr. Ellen D. Williams, Nominee for Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, Department of Energy

Dr. Ellen D. Williams is the Chief Scientist for BP, a position she has held since 2010.  She is currently on a leave of absence from the University of Maryland where she has served as a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Physics and the Institute for Physical Science and Technology since 2000.  Dr. Williams has served as a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Maryland since 1991.  She founded the University of Maryland Materials Research Science and Engineering Center and served as its Director from 1996 through 2009.  Dr. Williams received a B.S. in Chemistry from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology.