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The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

  • Paige Eve Alexander – Assistant Administrator for the Middle East, United States Agency for International Development
  • Sharon Y. Bowen – Commissioner, Commodity Futures Trading Commission
  • John C. Cruden – Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, Department of Justice
  • Janet McCabe – Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, Environmental Protection Agency
  • Leon Rodriguez – Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security
  • Ambassador David B. Shear – Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, Department of Defense 

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

  • Jane Watson Stetson – Member, Board of Trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
  • Mary Jacksteit – Chairman, Federal Service Impasses Panel, Federal Labor Relations Authority
  • Martin H. Malin  – Member, Federal Service Impasses Panel, Federal Labor Relations Authority
  • Don Wasserman – Member, Federal Service Impasses Panel, Federal Labor Relations Authority
  • Eric Dannenmaier – Member, Joint Public Advisory Committee of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation
  • Robert Varney  – Member, Joint Public Advisory Committee of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation
  • James J. Murren – Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council
  • Hill Harper – Member, President’s Cancer Panel 

President Obama said, “I am grateful these accomplished men and women 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:

Paige Eve Alexander, Nominee for Assistant Administrator for the Middle East, United States Agency for International Development

Paige Eve Alexander is the Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a position she has held since 2010.  Previously, Ms. Alexander was the Senior Vice President at IREX.  Prior to joining IREX in 2001, Ms. Alexander served for eight years in a number of positions within USAID’s Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, including Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator.  Ms. Alexander served as Associate Director of Project Liberty at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and as a consultant to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the C.S. Mott Foundation, and the Open Society Institute.  She also served as a Board Member for the Project on Middle East Democracy.  Ms. Alexander received a B.A. from Tulane University.

Sharon Y. Bowen, Nominee for Commissioner, Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Sharon Y. Bowen is a partner at the law firm of Latham & Watkins LLP.  She joined Latham & Watkins as an associate in 1988 and became partner in 1991.  Prior to this, from 1982 to 1988, Ms. Bowen was an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.  Ms. Bowen also currently serves as a Member and Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, a position she has held since 2010.  She has served on the Boards of Northwestern University School of Law, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, and Public Education Needs Civic Involvement in Learning.  Ms. Bowen received a B.A. from the University of Virginia, a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law, and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management.

John C. Cruden, Nominee for Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, Department of Justice

John C. Cruden is President of the Environmental Law Institute, a position he has held since 2011.  Mr. Cruden previously served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General from 1995 to 2011 and as Chief of the Environmental Enforcement Section from 1991 to 1995 in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ).  Before joining DOJ, Mr. Cruden was the Chief Legislative Counsel of the Army.  He completed military legal assignments as a criminal prosecutor in Germany, and served as a Staff Judge Advocate as well as Chief of the Litigation Branch in Europe.  Mr. Cruden was General Counsel for the Defense Nuclear Agency and Director of Administrative and Civil Law at the Judge Advocate General’s School in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Before becoming an attorney, he served in Airborne, Ranger, and Special Forces units in Germany and Vietnam.  Mr. Cruden has been the President of the District of Columbia Bar Association and Chairman of the American Bar Association’s Section of  Environment, Energy and Natural Resources.  He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and received an M.A. in Government and Foreign Relations from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from Santa Clara Law School.

Janet McCabe, Nominee for Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation, Environmental Protection Agency

Janet McCabe is the Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation at the Environmental Protection Agency, a position she has held since 2009.  Previously, Ms. McCabe was Executive Director of Improving Kids’ Environment, Inc. and an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Health at the Indiana University School of Medicine from 2005 to 2009.  Ms. McCabe worked as Assistant Commissioner in the Office of Air Quality at the Indiana Department of Environmental Management from 1998 to 2005 and previously served as Branch Chief from 1993 to 1998.  Ms. McCabe served as Assistant Attorney General for Environmental Protection for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1984 to 1989 and as Assistant Secretary for Environmental Impact Review from 1989 to 1993.  From 1983 to 1984, Ms. McCabe was a law clerk for Justice Neil L. Lynch in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.  Ms. McCabe received an A.B. from Harvard College, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Leon Rodriguez, Nominee for Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security

Leon Rodriguez is the Director of the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services, a position he has held since 2011.  From 2010 to 2011, he served as Chief of Staff and Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice (DOJ).  Previously, Mr. Rodriguez was County Attorney for Montgomery County, Maryland from 2007 to 2010.  He was a principal at Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Shriver in Washington, D.C. from 2001 to 2007.  He served in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania from 1997 to 2001, first as Chief of the White Collar Crimes Section from 1998 to 1999 and then as First Assistant U.S. Attorney until his departure.  Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Rodriguez was a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division at DOJ from 1994 to 1997 and a Senior Assistant District Attorney at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in New York from 1988 to 1994.  He received a B.A. from Brown University and a J.D. from Boston College Law School.     

Ambassador David B. Shear, Nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, Department of Defense

Ambassador David B. Shear is the U.S. Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, a position he has held since 2011.  From 2009 to 2011, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the Department of State (DOS).  Previously, he was the Director of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at DOS.  Mr. Shear joined the Foreign Service in 1982 and has served in Sapporo, Beijing, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, and Washington, D.C.  Mr. Shear received a B.A. from Earlham College and an M.A from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and has attended Waseda University, Taiwan National University, and Nanjing University.

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

Jane Watson Stetson, Appointee for Member, Board of Trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Jane Watson Stetson served as National Finance Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2012.  From 2007 to 2008, she was Vermont Finance Chair for the Obama for America campaign.  From 2005 to 2006, Ms. Stetson served as Finance Chair for Congressman Peter Welch.  In 1997, Ms. Stetson co-founded the William E. Boyle, Jr. Community Pediatrics Program at Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth.  She is Chair of the Partners for Community Wellness at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.  She also chairs its Executive Committee, and formerly served on its Community Advisory Board.  She also served on the boards of the Mountain School of Milton Academy in Vershire, Vermont and Proctor Academy in Andover, New Hampshire. 

Mary Jacksteit, Appointee for Chairman, Federal Service Impasses Panel, Federal Labor Relations Authority

Mary Jacksteit has been a sole practitioner of her own facilitation and mediation firm since 2000.  She is Chairman of the Federal Service Impasses Panel, a position she has held since her appointment in 2009.  She is currently working with the National Institute for Civil Discourse supporting the National Dialogue on Mental Health launched by President Obama in 2013.  From 2003 to 2006, Ms. Jacksteit directed the Collaboration DC project at Search for Common Ground.  From 1993 to 1999, Ms. Jacksteit was the Project Director of Search for Common Ground's Network for Life and Choice.  From 1977 to 1984, Ms. Jacksteit served as Attorney and Deputy General Counsel for the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO.  Ms. Jacksteit was previously a Member of the Federal Service Impasses Panel from 1995 to 2002.  Ms. Jacksteit received a B.A. from University of Pittsburgh, a J.D. from Georgetown University, and an M.S. from George Mason University. 

Martin H. Malin, Appointee for Member, Federal Service Impasses Panel, Federal Labor Relations Authority

Martin H. Malin is the Director of the Institute for Law and the Workplace and a professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s (IIT) Chicago-Kent College of Law.  He is a Member of the Federal Service Impasses Panel, a position he has held since his appointment in 2009.  He served as a Norman and Edna Freehling Scholar from 1990 to 1993.  Mr. Malin has been an Arbitrator, Mediator, and Hearing Officer working on panels in the Chicago area since 1984.  From 1984 to 1986, Mr. Malin was a consultant to Illinois’ public employment labor boards.  From 1978 to 1980, he was an assistant professor of business law at The Ohio State University.  From 1976 to 1978, Mr. Malin was a law clerk to the Honorable Robert E. DeMascio, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.  Mr. Malin serves as Secretary of the American Bar Association’s Section on Labor and Employment Law and as a member of the Board of Governors of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.  Previously, he served on the Board of Governors of the National Academy of Arbitrators.  Mr. Malin received a B.A. from Michigan State University and a J.D. from George Washington University.

Don Wasserman, Appointee for Member, Federal Service Impasses Panel, Federal Labor Relations Authority

Don Wasserman has been a labor relations professional for his entire career.  He is a Member of the Federal Service Impasses Panel, a position he has held since his appointment in 2009.  Since 2001, he has arbitrated and mediated disputes within various state and local government services, the Federal Government, and the non-profit and corporate sectors.   From 1995 to 2001, Mr. Wasserman served as a Member and then Chairman of the Federal Labor Relations Authority.  From 1967 to 1995, Mr. Wasserman was the Assistant to the President and Director of Research and Collective Bargaining at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.  Mr. Wasserman is also a member of the D.C. Public Employee Relations Board and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Employee Relations Council.  He has also been on the labor rosters of the American Arbitration Association, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and National Mediation Board.  Mr. Wasserman received a B.S. from Temple University and an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Eric Dannenmaier, Appointee for Member, Joint Public Advisory Committee of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Dr. Eric Dannenmaier is a Professor of Law at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, where he has been a member of the faculty since 2007.  Dr. Dannenmaier was a visiting Associate Professor of Law at Tulane University from 2006 to 2007 and served as Director of Tulane’s Institute for Environmental Law and Policy from 2001 to 2005.  In 2001, Dr. Dannenmaier was a Visiting Chair of Natural Resources Law at the University of Calgary.  From 2000 to 2001, he served as an adjunct associate professor and from 1996 to 1999, he was a Professorial Lecturer at American University Washington College of Law.  Concurrently, from 1996 to 2001, Dr. Dannenmaier served as the Director of the Environmental Law Program of the U.S. Agency for International Development.  He was an environmental attorney at Bryan, Cave, LLP from 1990 to 1995; a Litigation Attorney at McDermott, Will & Emery from 1985 to 1990; and an Associate Attorney at Herrick & Smith from 1984 to 1985.  Dr. Dannenmaier received a B.A. from Drury University, a J.D. from Boston University School of Law, an M.St. from Oxford University, and an L.L.M and J.S.D. from Columbia Law School.

Robert Varney, Appointee for Member, Joint Public Advisory Committee of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation

Robert Varney is the Executive Vice President of Normandeau Associates, a position he has held since 2009.  Previously, Mr. Varney served as the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 1 (New England) Administrator from 2001 to 2009.  From 1989 to 2001, he was the Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and in 1989, he served as the Director of the New Hampshire Office of State Planning.  Mr. Varney was the Executive Director of Nashua Regional Planning from 1987 to 1989 and served as the Executive Director of the Upper Valley-Lake Sunapee Council from 1983 to 1987.  Mr. Varney received a B.A. from University of New Hampshire and an M.S. from Michigan State University.

James J. Murren, Appointee for Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council

James J. Murren has been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MGM Resorts International since 2008.  He has been a member of the Board of Directors since joining MGM Resorts International in 1998 and President since 1999.  Mr. Murren has held various positions at MGM, including Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer.  Mr. Murren worked in the financial industry for 14 years in a number of positions, including Managing Director and Co-Director of Equity Research of Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, formerly C.J. Lawrence.  He is currently the Vice Chair of the American Gaming Association and  a member of the Board of Trustees of Brookings Institution.  Mr. Murren received a B.A. from Trinity College.

Hill Harper, Appointee for Member, President's Cancer Panel

Hill Harper is a film, television, and stage actor and currently a cast member on the USA television drama Covert Affairs, where he plays the role of Calder Michaels.  He is a Member of the President’s Cancer Panel, a position he has held since his appointment in 2012.  During his career, Mr. Harper has appeared in numerous films, television shows, and plays and has received seven NAACP Image Awards for his writing and acting.  Mr. Harper is a survivor of thyroid cancer.  In 2011, he authored The Wealth Cure: Putting Money in Its Place, a New York Times bestseller which chronicles his diagnosis with thyroid cancer and his journey to health.  He received a B.A. from Brown University, an M.P.A. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.