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:

•          Mary K. Wakefield – Deputy Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services
•          Anthony Coscia – Director, AMTRAK Board of Directors
•          Matthew Rhett Jeppson – Director of the Mint, Department of the Treasury
•          Andy Slavitt – Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services

President Obama said, “I am grateful that these talented and dedicated individuals have agreed to take on these important roles and devote their talents to serving the American people.  I look forward to working with them.”

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

Dr. Mary K. Wakefield, Nominee for Deputy Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services

Dr. Mary K. Wakefield is currently Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a position she has held since 2009.  Since April 2015, she has been Acting Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services.  Prior to joining HHS, Dr. Wakefield held various positions at the University of North Dakota (UND), including Professor and Director of the Center for Rural Health at the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences and Associate Dean for Rural Health, and she also served on the UND College of Nursing faculty.  From 1996 to 2001, Dr. Wakefield was a Professor and Director of the Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics at George Mason University.  She spent nearly ten years on Capitol Hill from 1987 to 1996, where she served on the staffs of Senators Kent Conrad, Jocelyn Burdick, and Quentin Burdick.  Dr. Wakefield is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and a member of the Institute of Medicine.  She has served on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and as Chair of the National Advisory Council for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. She was a member of the President’s Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry from 1997 to 1998 and was a member of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services from 1999 to 2003.  Dr. Wakefield received a B.S.N. from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, and an M.S.N. and Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin.

Anthony Coscia, Nominee for Director, AMTRAK Board of Directors

Anthony Coscia is a partner at Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP.  He first joined the firm in 1984 as an associate and was elected to the Executive Committee of the firm in 1994.  Mr. Coscia currently serves as a Director on the AMTRAK Board of Directors, a position he has held since June 2010.  He was elected Chairman of the Board in 2013.  From 2003 to 2011, he was the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.  Mr. Coscia served as Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority from 1992 to 2003.  Mr. Coscia serves on various boards, including the Board of Directors of United Water, Inc., Sun Bancorp Inc., and Sun National Bank.  Mr. Coscia received a B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University and a J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law.

Matthew Rhett Jeppson, Nominee for Director of the Mint, Department of the Treasury

Matthew Rhett Jeppson is the Principal Deputy Director of the Mint, a position he has held since January 2015.  Mr. Jeppson was Associate Administrator in the Office of Veterans Business Development at the Small Business Administration (SBA) from 2012 to 2015 and also served as the Acting Chief Operating Officer of SBA from 2014 to 2015.  From 2010 to 2012, he was Lead Crisis Response Planner at U.S. European Command.  Mr. Jeppson served as Deputy Director of Operations for U.S. Forces Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010.  From 2004 to 2008, he was Chief of Joint National Training Capability and European Engagements Lead at the United States Special Operations Command and served as Counter-Terrorism Planner and Chief of Current Operations for Marine Forces Europe from 2001 to 2003.  Mr. Jeppson was Director of State Purchasing and Special Assistant to the Secretary at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation of the State of Florida from 1999 to 2003, and he served as Operations and Exercise Officer at Special Operations Command Central from 1995 to 1999.  He was Vice President of E. Mark Jeppson, Inc. from 1992 to 1994.  He also served as Principal Battalion Staff Officer, 81mm Mortar Platoon Commander, Rifle Company Executive Officer, and Rifle Platoon Commander in the 1st Marine Division from 1989 to 1991.  Mr. Jeppson received a B.A. from the University of Florida. 

Andy Slavitt, Nominee for Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services

Andy Slavitt is currently Principal Deputy Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) at the Department of Health and Human Services, a position he has held since July 2014.  Mr. Slavitt has served as Acting Administrator of CMS since March 2015.  From 2012 to 2014, he served as Group Executive Vice President for Optum, a clinical, technological and operational solutions focused subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group.  As part of that work, Mr. Slavitt was a key member of the team brought on to turn around HealthCare.gov during the first open enrollment period.  From 2005 to 2012, he was part of senior leadership at Inginex, now Optum Insight, serving as COO from 2005 to 2006 and as CEO from 2006 to 2012.  Mr. Slavitt was CEO of the Consumer Solutions Group at UnitedHealth Group from 2004 to 2005.  From 1999 to 2004, he served as CEO of HealthAllies, Inc., an online healthcare shopping company he founded.  Mr. Slavitt was COO of Paula Financial from 1995 to 1999 and was an Associate at McKinsey & Company from 1993 to 1995.  He began his career as an Investment Banking Financial Analyst at Goldman Sachs & Company.  Mr. Slavitt received a B.A. and B.S. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.