President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

• Jay C. Shambaugh – Member, Council of Economic Advisers
• M. Tia Johnson – Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, Department of Homeland Security
• Doreen E. Brown – Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
• Aaron Payment – Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
• Joan McDonald – Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council
• Lisa Funderburke Hoffman – Member, National Museum and Library Services Board
• Carmen Amalia Corrales – Member, President’s Commission on White House Fellowships

President Obama said, “I am confident that these experienced and hardworking individuals will help us tackle the important challenges facing America, and I am grateful for their service.  I look forward to working with them.”

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

Dr. Jay C. Shambaugh, Appointee for Member of the Council of Economic Advisers
Dr. Jay C. Shambaugh is currently a Professor of Economics and International Affairs at the George Washington University, a position he has held since 2013.  Dr. Shambaugh has also served as a Faculty Research Fellow and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research since 2007.  He previously held positions within the Council of Economic Advisers between 2009 and 2011, first as a Senior Economist from 2009 to 2010 and then Chief Economist from 2010 to 2011.  Dr. Shambaugh has held several teaching positions within economic departments across the country as an Associate Professor with tenure at the George Washington University from 2012 to 2013, a Visiting Associate Professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business from 2011 to 2012, and an Assistant Professor and then Associate Professor from 2002 to 2011 at Dartmouth College.  From 2011 to 2013, Dr. Shambaugh was also a Visiting Scholar at the International Monetary Fund.  He was a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of International Integration Studies at Trinity College, Dublin from 2005 to 2006.  Dr. Shambaugh received a B.A. from Yale, an M.A.L.D. from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

M. Tia Johnson, Appointee for Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, Department of Homeland Security
M. Tia Johnson is currently a Senior Advisor at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security, a position she has held since 2014.  Prior to this, Ms. Johnson served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps from 1984 to 2013, where she was the first African-American female to attain the rank of Colonel in JAG Corps history.  From 2012 to 2013, she was the Senior Military Assistant to the General Counsel of the Department of Defense.  Ms. Johnson served as a Special Assistant for Legal and International Security Affairs in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs from 2010 to 2011, the Judge Advocate for U.S. Forces Korea from 2008 to 2010, and Associate Deputy General Counsel for International Affairs from 2007 to 2008.  Ms. Johnson received a B.A. from the Hampton Institute, a J.D. from Temple University, an LL.M. from the University of Virginia, an LL.M. from the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s School, and an M.S. from the U.S. Army War College.

Doreen E. Brown, Appointee for Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
Doreen E. Brown is the Executive Director of Title VII Indian Education in Anchorage, Alaska, a position she has held since 2013.  She was Supervisor for Indian Education in Anchorage from 2004 to 2012 and a Resource Teacher for Indian Education from 2001 to 2004.  Ms. Brown taught kindergarten and fourth grade at Kincaid Elementary School from 1996 to 2000 and was a teacher and mentor for Indian Education from 1997 to 2000.  Ms. Brown taught second and third grade at Baxter Elementary School from 1990 to 1996 and began her career teaching kindergarten and first grade at Kuspuk Elementary School in 1989.  She has been a member of the Southcentral Native Educators Association since 2001 and was elected to serve on the Board of Directors for Education Northwest from 2004 to 2010.  Ms. Brown received a B.S. from Chaminade University and an M.Ed. from the University of Kansas.

Aaron Payment, Appointee for Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
Aaron Payment is Tribal Chairperson of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a position he has held since 2012 and previously from 2004 to 2008.  In 2010, Mr. Payment served as Tribal Executive Director of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi.  He was the American Indian Liaison at Michigan State University from 2008 to 2009.  Mr. Payment held various positions at Lake Superior State University which include a Data Consultant for Upward Bound in 2008, an Academic Coordinator from 2003 to 2004, and a Native American Counselor/Recruiter in 1989.  From 1996 to 2004, Mr. Payment was Vice-Chair of the Tribal Board of Directors for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, where he served as the Deputy Executive Director/Judicial Branch Division Director from 2001 to 2003.  He was a Grants Writer and Policy Project Management Consultant for the Michigan Rural Systemic Initiative and a Project Coordinator for the Anishnabe Future Leaders Program at the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan from 1998 to 2004.  Mr. Payment was an Instructor of Political Science, Native American Studies and Grant Administration at Lake Superior State University from 1994 to 1996 and served as Federal-State Policy Administrator/Assistant to the Executive Director of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians from 1991 to 1993.  He was Dean's Assistant in the Dean of Students’ Office/Minority Retention Coordinator at Northern Michigan University from 1989 to 1990.  Mr. Payment received a B.S. and an M.P.A. from Northern Michigan University.

Joan McDonald, Appointee for Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council
Joan McDonald most recently served as Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation from March 2011 to July 2015.  Ms. McDonald previously served as the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development from 2007 to 2011.  Prior to her position in Connecticut, Ms. McDonald held several senior positions in New York state and local government, including Senior Vice President for Transportation for the New York City Economic Development Corporation, Deputy Commissioner for Planning and Traffic Operations for the New York City Department of Transportation, and Director of Capital and Long Range Planning for Metro-North Railroad.  She has also served as a Vice President for the New York and New Jersey region at Jacobs Engineering.  Ms. McDonald received a B.A. from LeMoyne College and an M.P.A from Harvard University.

Lisa Funderburke Hoffman, Appointee for Member, National Museum and Library Services Board
Lisa Funderburke Hoffman is Associate Director of the McColl Center for Art + Innovation, a position she has held since 2013.  Ms. Hoffman was Director of Environmental Program and Community Engagement at the Center from 2012 to 2013.  Previously, she was Director of the Charlotte Nature Museum from 2003 to 2012.  Ms. Hoffman worked as an Educator and Mentor for Prince George’s County Public Schools from 2001 to 2002 and as an Educator for District of Columbia Public Schools from 1996 to 2001.  Previously, she was an Outreach Coordinator at Howard University from 1998 to 1999 and worked in Collections Management as a Herbarium Technician at the National Museum of Natural History from 1993 to 1995.  She was a Preparing Future Faculty for the Professorate Fellow and a National Science Foundation Fellow from 1998 to 1999.  Ms. Hoffman is a member of the Board of Trustees of Alliance of Artist Communities, the Board of Directors of Lakewood Trolley, Inc. and the Board of Directors of Jazz Arts Initiative.  Ms. Hoffman received a B.A. and an M.S. from Howard University.

Carmen Amalia Corrales, Appointee for Member, President’s Commission on White House Fellowships
Carmen Amalia Corrales is a Partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, a position she has held since 1998.  She was an Associate at the firm from 1990 to 1998.  Previously, Ms. Corrales served as a Law Clerk for the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1989 to 1990.  She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Academy of Political Science, the Committee for the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, the Board of Trustees of Bloomfield College, and the Board of Trustees of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.  Ms. Corrales received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.