President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

• Christopher P. Lu – Deputy Secretary, Department of Labor
• Michael W. Kempner – Member, Broadcasting Board of Governors
• Wes Moore – Member, Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service 

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

• Robert D. Alverson – United States Commissioner, International Pacific Halibut Commission
• James W. Balsiger – United States Commissioner, International Pacific Halibut Commission
• Donald R. Lane  – United States Commissioner, International Pacific Halibut Commission 

President Obama said, “Our nation will be greatly served by the talent and expertise these individuals bring to their new roles. I am grateful they have agreed to serve in this Administration, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

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

Christopher P. Lu, Nominee for Deputy Secretary, Department of Labor

Christopher P. Lu is a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, and in 2013, he was also a fellow at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy.  From 2009 to 2013, Mr. Lu served in the White House as Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary.  Previously, in 2008, he served as Executive Director of the Obama-Biden Transition Project.  From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Lu served as Legislative Director and then as Acting Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Barack Obama.  From 1997 to 2005, Mr. Lu was Deputy Chief Counsel of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (Minority Staff).  He began his career as a law clerk to Judge Robert E. Cowen on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and as an attorney at Sidley Austin.  Mr. Lu was Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders from 2011 to 2013.  He received an A.B. from Princeton University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Michael W. Kempner, Nominee for Member, Broadcasting Board of Governors

Michael W. Kempner is the Founder, President, and CEO of MWW, a public relations firm he founded in 1986. He is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Committee of the American University School of Communications, and a board member of Goodwill Industries International and the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.  Mr. Kempner is also a Founding Board Member of ConnectOne Bancorp.  He served on the White House Council for Community Solutions from 2010 to 2012.  In 2013, he was named Agency Leader of the Year by PR News, Executive of the Year by American Business Awards, and Agency Professional of the Year and Communications Professional of the Year by Bulldog Stars of PR.  Mr. Kempner received a B.S. from American University.

Wes Moore, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service

Wes Moore currently hosts Beyond Belief, a television program on the Oprah Winfrey Network.  In 2010, he published his book The Other Wes Moore.  From 2006 to 2007, Mr. Moore was a White House Fellow, serving as Special Assistant to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.  Prior to that, Mr. Moore served as a paratrooper and Captain in the United States Army and had a combat tour of duty in Afghanistan with the 1st Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division from 2005 to 2006.  While a student at Johns Hopkins University, he founded STAND!, an organization which works with Baltimore youth involved in the criminal justice system.  Mr. Moore received a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and a Masters of Letters from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

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

Robert D. Alverson, Appointee for United States Commissioner, International Pacific Halibut Commission

Robert D. Alverson is currently Manager and Executive Secretary of the Fishing Vessel Owners’ Association, a position he has held since 1976.  Since 2007, Mr. Alverson has served as a member of the Pacific Fishery Management Council Groundfish Advisory Panel.  Mr. Alverson has also served on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s ITQ Advisory Committee for Halibut and Sablefish since 2005.  He has served on both the Pacific Fishery Management Council and North Pacific Fishery Management Council.  Mr. Alverson has been the recipient of numerous professional awards, including the Norwegian Commercial Club’s “King Neptune” award, for 30 years of service to the fishing industry.  Mr. Alverson received a B.A. from the University of Washington.

Dr. James W. Balsiger, Appointee for United States Commissioner, International Pacific Halibut Commission

Dr. James W. Balsiger is currently Regional Administrator for the Alaska Region of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s National Marine Fisheries Service, a position he has held since 2000.  He was appointed as United States Commissioner on the United States Section of the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission in 2013.  From 2008 to 2010, he served as the Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries at NOAA.  Dr. Balsiger served as the Acting Regional Science and Research Director at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center from 1996 to 2000, where he also served as Deputy Science Director from 1991 to 1995.  Prior to that, he was the Program Leader for the Status of Stocks Task within the Center's Resource Ecology and Fisheries Management Division from 1977 to 1991.  Dr. Balsiger received a B.S. from the Michigan Technological University, an M.S. from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington.

Donald R. Lane, Appointee for United States Commissioner, International Pacific Halibut Commission

Donald R. Lane is a commercial fisherman in Homer, Alaska.  For more than 30 years, Mr. Lane has been the owner and operator of the fishing vessel Predator and has worked closely with the Alaska fishery communities, including recreational sport users, sport charters, and the commercial industry.  From 1984 to 1992, Mr. Lane served as a member of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Homer Advisory Committee.  He has served as member of the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission since 1988 and as a member of the North Pacific Fisheries Association since 1985, serving as President from 1996 to 2002.  Mr. Lane served in the United State Coast Guard from 1972 until 1975 and holds a U.S. Merchant Marine Officer Masters License.