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Briefing Room

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
March 18, 2015

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

  • Douglas J. Kramer – Deputy Administrator, Small Business Administration
  • David J. Shulkin – Under Secretary for Health, Department of Veterans Affairs
  • LaVerne Horton Council – Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology, Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Juan Garcia – Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Department of Defense
  • Andrew Read – Member, Marine Mammal Commission, and upon appointment to be designated Chairman
  • Stephen P. Welby – Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Department of Defense

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

  • General Larry R. Ellis, USA (Ret.) – Member, National Commission on the Future of the Army
  • Kathleen H. Hicks – Member, National Commission on the Future of the Army
  • Thomas R. Lamont – Member, National Commission on the Future of the Army
  • Lieutenant General Jack C. Stultz, USAR (Ret.) – Member, National Commission on the Future of the Army
  • Chad Dickerson – Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations
  • Gary Hirshberg  – Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations
  • Dennis D. Williams – Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations

President Obama said, “I am grateful these accomplished men and women have made the decision to serve our country.  I look forward to working with them.”

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

Douglas J. Kramer, Nominee for Deputy Administrator, Small Business Administration
Douglas J. Kramer is General Counsel at the United States Agency for International Development, a position he has held since 2013.  Prior to this, he served in the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary from 2012 to 2013.  From 2009 to 2012, Mr. Kramer served in the Office of the White House Counsel, first as Deputy Associate Counsel for Presidential Personnel, and then as Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel to the President.  Prior to serving in the White House, he served as Counsel in the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice.  From 2006 to 2009, he worked as an Associate and then Shareholder at the law firm Polsinelli PC.  From 2001 to 2006, he worked as an Associate at the law firm Covington & Burling.  From 2000 to 2001, Mr. Kramer served as a Judicial Clerk in the Chambers of the Hon. Walter L. Carpeneti of the Alaska Supreme Court.  Mr. Kramer received a B.A. from Georgetown University and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.

Dr. David J. Shulkin, Nominee for Under Secretary for Health, Department of Veterans Affairs
Dr. David J. Shulkin is President of Morristown Medical Center, a position he has held since 2010.  He has served concurrently as President of Atlantic Accountable Care Organization and as a Vice President of Atlantic Health.  From 2005 to 2009, Dr. Shulkin was President and CEO of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, and from 2004 to 2005 he was Chief Medical Officer of Temple University Hospital.  Dr. Shulkin served concurrently as Chief Medical Officer of the Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital and Chief Quality Officer of the Drexel University School of Medicine from 2002 to 2004.  Dr. Shulkin was Chairman and CEO of DoctorQuality, Inc. from 1999 to 2002.  Dr. Shulkin was the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Quality Officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System from 1993 to 1999.  From 1992 to 1993, Dr. Shulkin was the Director of Clinical Outcome Assessment and Quality Management at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.  Dr. Shulkin received a B.A. from Hampshire College and an M.D. from the Medical College of Pennsylvania.
 
LaVerne Horton Council, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology, Department of Veterans Affairs
LaVerne Horton Council is the CEO of Council Advisory Services, a position she has held since 2012.  She has also served as Chairperson of the National Board of Trustees for the March of Dimes Foundation since 2011.  From 2006 to 2011, Ms. Council served as Corporate Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Johnson & Johnson.  She worked at Dell in several roles as a Vice President and Global Vice President from 2000 to 2006.  Ms. Council worked at Ernst & Young as Global Partner for the Supply Chain, Life Sciences, and Hi Tech Practice from 1998 to 2000 and as National Leader for the Supply Chain Strategy Team from 1997 to 1998.  Earlier in her career, she held positions at Mercer Management Consulting, Accenture, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and State Farm Insurance.  Ms. Council received a B.B. from Western Illinois University and an M.B.A. from Illinois State University.
 
Juan Garcia, Nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Department of Defense
Juan Garcia is the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, a position he has held since 2009.  In 2006, he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, where he represented the 32nd District from 2007 to 2009.  He also served as an attorney at Hartline, Dacus, Barger, Dreyer & Kern, L.L.P. in Corpus Christi, TX from 2005 to 2009.  After leaving active duty, Mr. Garcia commanded a unit of Flight Instructors in the U.S. Navy Reserve, and he continues to serve as a Reservist today.  From 1992 to 2004, Mr. Garcia was a Naval Aviator in the U.S. Navy.  From 1999 to 2000, he served as a White House Fellow at the Department of Education.  Mr. Garcia received a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles, an M.P.P. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
 
Dr. Andrew Read, Nominee for Member, Marine Mammal Commission, and upon appointment to be designated Chairman
Dr. Andrew Read is the Stephen A. Toth Professor of Marine Biology in the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, a position he has held since 2012.  He has held various positions at the Nicholas School of the Environment, including Rachel Carson Associate Professor from 2004 to 2012, Rachel Carson Assistant Professor from 2001 to 2004, and Assistant Professor of the Practice from 1995 to 2001.  Dr. Read served as President of the Society for Marine Mammalogy from 2008 to 2010 and on the Marine Mammal Commission’s Committee of Scientific Advisors on Marine Mammals from 2003 to 2008.  He has been a member of the Editorial Boards of Marine Mammal Science, the Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, and Endangered Species Research.  Dr. Read is active in the conservation of marine vertebrates and serves on the Cetacean Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission.  He received a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from the University of Guelph.
 

Stephen P. Welby, Nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Department of Defense
Stephen P. Welby is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Systems Engineering at the Department of Defense, a position he has held since 2011.  From 2009 to 2011, Mr. Welby was Director of Systems Engineering at the Department of Defense.  Mr. Welby worked at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency from 1997 to 2008, where he served as Director and Deputy Director of the Tactical Technology Office from 2004 to 2008, Deputy Director of the Information Exploitation Office from 2001 to 2004, and Program Manager from 1997 to 2001.  He was a Project Engineer and Team Leader at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory from 1988 to 1997.  Mr. Welby received a B.S. from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, an M.S. from Texas A&M University, and two M.S. degrees from The Johns Hopkins University.

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

General Larry R. Ellis, USA (Ret.), Appointee for Member, National Commission on the Future of the Army
General Larry R. Ellis, USA (Ret.) has been President and CEO of VetConnexx, LLC since 2013, a company that provides career opportunities for veterans.  He was President and CEO of Point Blank Solutions, Inc. from 2005 to 2009.  General Ellis served in the U.S. Army from 1969 to 2004, where he achieved the rank of General in 2001.  During his tenure in the Army, he served in a number of command and leadership positions in the United States, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, South Korea, and Vietnam.  General Ellis was appointed to the American Battle Monuments Commission in 2014.  General Ellis received a B.S. from Morgan State University and an M.S. from Indiana University.

Dr. Kathleen H. Hicks, Appointee for Member, National Commission on the Future of the Army
Dr. Kathleen H. Hicks is Senior Vice President, Kissinger Chair, and Director of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a position she has held since 2013.  From 2012 to 2013, she was Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and from 2009 to 2012 she was Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Forces.  From 2006 to 2009, she was a Senior Fellow at CSIS.  Between 1993 and 2006, Dr. Hicks served in a variety of career civil service positions within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, including Director for Policy Planning and Director for Homeland Defense Strategic Planning and Program Integration.  Dr. Hicks received an A.B. from Mount Holyoke College, an M.P.A. from the University of Maryland, and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
 
Thomas R. Lamont, Appointee for Member, National Commission on the Future of the Army
Thomas R. Lamont is Principal at LAMONT Consulting Services. Mr. Lamont served as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs from 2009 to 2013.  Previously, Mr. Lamont was Special Counsel at the University of Illinois from 2005 to 2009 and Executive Director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education from 2004 to 2005.  Prior to that, Mr. Lamont was a partner at the firm of Brown, Hay & Stephens, LLP from 2002 to 2004.  Before entering private practice, he served as Executive Director of the Office of the Illinois State’s Attorney Appellate Prosecutor and Director of Civil Litigation in the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.  Mr. Lamont was appointed to the American Battle Monuments Commission in 2014 and has served as Chair of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. After serving in the Illinois National Guard in various roles over 25 years, including most recently State Staff Judge Advocate General, he retired in 2007 as Colonel. Mr. Lamont
 
Lieutenant General Jack C. Stultz, USAR (Ret.), Appointee for Member, National Commission on the Future of the Army
Lieutenant General Jack C. Stultz, USAR (Ret.) currently serves on the Board of Directors of VSE Corporation, a position he has held since 2013.  He was Chief of the U.S. Army Reserve and Commanding General of the United States Army Reserve Command from 2006 to 2012.  Lieutenant General Stultz served as Deputy Chief of the Army Reserve from 2005 to 2006 and as Commander of the 143rd TRANSCOM from 2004 to 2005.  Previously, he was the Director of Movements, Distribution and Transportation for Combined Forces Land Component Command Kuwait from 2003 to 2004, Commander of the 143rd TRANSCOM (Forward) in Iraq from 2002 to 2003, and Deputy Commanding General of the 143rd TRANSCOM from 1999 to 2002.  Lieutenant General Stultz served in the Army Reserve from 1979 to 2012 and as an active duty Army officer from 1974 to 1979.  He worked at Procter and Gamble for 28 years and retired as an operations manager in 2007.  Lieutenant General Stultz received a B.A. from Davidson College.
 
Chad Dickerson, Appointee for Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations
Chad Dickerson is CEO of Etsy, a position he has held since 2011.  He was Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Etsy from 2008 to 2011.  Previously, Mr. Dickerson was Director of the Brickhouse and Advanced Products teams at Yahoo! from 2007 to 2008, and was Senior Director of the Yahoo! Developer Network from 2006 to 2007.  He also served as CTO of InfoWorld Media Group from 2001 to 2005 and was CTO of Salon.com from 1998 to 2001.  Mr. Dickerson received a B.A. from Duke University.
 
Gary Hirshberg, Appointee for Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations
Gary Hirshberg is Chairman of Stonyfield Farm, Inc., a position he has held since 1999.  He was CEO of Stonyfield Farm, Inc. from its founding in 1983 to 2012, and has been Managing Director of Stonyfield Europe since 2008.  Mr. Hirshberg has been a member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations since 2011.  He is Chairman and member of the Board of Directors of Just Label It, a project of Organic Voices.  Mr. Hirshberg serves as a member of several corporate boards including Late July, Orgain, Applegate Farms, Peak Organic Brewing, and Sweetgreen.  He is also a member of the board of Danone Communities Fund.  Mr. Hirshberg received a B.A. from Hampshire College.

Dennis D. Williams, Appointee for Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations
Dennis D. Williams is President of United Automobile Workers (UAW), a position he has held since 2014.  Previously, he was UAW Secretary-Treasurer from 2010 to 2014.  Mr. Williams has served as a member of the Governing Committee of the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust since 2011.  He has also been a Director of Navistar International Corporation since 2006.  Mr. Williams has been Director of UAW Region 4 since 2001 and he was Assistant Director from 1995 to 2001.  Mr. Williams was a Salvage Welder at J.I. Case Company from 1977 to 1988.  He joined UAW Local 806 in 1977 and served as member and Chairman of the Bargaining Committee. In 1988, he was appointed international representative to the National Organizing Department.  Mr. Williams served in the United States Marine Corps from 1972 to 1975.