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Briefing Room

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
November 19, 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:

  •          Philip Cullom – Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment, Department of Defense
  •          Swati A. Dandekar – United States Executive Director, Asian Development Bank, with the Rank of Ambassador
  •          Harry R. Hoglander – Member, National Mediation Board  
  •          Daniel B. Maffei – Commissioner, Federal Maritime Commission

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

  •          Dave Eggers – Member, Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
  •          Brigadier General William H. Graham – Member, Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin
  •          Brigadier General David C. Hill – Commissioner, Mississippi River Commission
  •          Barry Jackson – Member, Board of Trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

President Obama also announced his appointment of the following individual:

  •          Anthony Michael Reardon – Member, Federal Salary Council and Member, National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations

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 nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Philip Cullom, Nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment, Department of Defense

Philip Cullom is Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Fleet Readiness and Logistics, a position he has held since 2012.  Vice Admiral Cullom was Director of the Navy’s Energy and Environmental Readiness Division from 2010 to 2012 and Director of the Fleet Readiness Division from 2008 to 2010.  From 2007 to 2008, he served as Commander of Carrier Strike Group Eight.  Vice Admiral Cullom has served as a naval officer for over 30 years, and has held a number of other command and leadership positions including at Navy headquarters and in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.  Vice Admiral Cullom received a B.S. from the U.S. Naval Academy and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Swati A. Dandekar, Nominee for United States Executive Director, Asian Development Bank, with the Rank of Ambassador

Swati A. Dandekar is a former Iowa state legislator and member of the Iowa Utilities Board.  Ms. Dandekar served on the Iowa Utilities Board from 2011 to 2013.  Prior to joining the Utilities Board, Ms. Dandekar served in the Iowa State Senate from 2009 to 2011 and in the Iowa State House of Representatives from 2002 to 2008.  From 2000 to 2003, she was a member of the Vision Iowa Board of Directors.  Ms. Dandekar also served on the Linn-Mar Community School District Board of Education from 1996 to 2002 and was a member of the Iowa Association of School Boards from 2000 to 2002.  Ms. Dandekar received a B.S. from Nagpur University and a Post-Graduate Diploma from Bombay University.

Harry R. Hoglander, Nominee for Member, National Mediation Board

Harry R. Hoglander has been a Member of the National Mediation Board since 2002, and has served four times as Chairman.  Prior to joining the Board, Mr. Hoglander served as a Legislative Specialist in the Office of Congressman John Tierney of Massachusetts, where he covered issues related to transportation, labor, defense, and veterans affairs.  Mr. Hoglander was an aviation Captain for Trans World Airline (TWA). While at TWA, he was also elected Master Chairman of TWA's Master Executive Council and elected Executive Vice-President of the Air Line Pilots Association.  After leaving TWA, Mr. Hoglander was named Aviation Labor Representative to the United States Bi-Lateral Negotiating Team by former Secretary of State James Baker.  He was a pilot in the United States Air Force and retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Mr. Hoglander received a B.A. from Florida State University and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School.

Daniel B. Maffei, Nominee for Commissioner, Federal Maritime Commission

Daniel B. Maffei is a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress.  He served two non-consecutive terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Syracuse, New York, first from 2009 to 2011, on behalf of New York’s 24th District, and second from 2013 to 2015, on behalf of New York’s 25th District.  In between his two terms, he was a Senior Fellow at Third Way, LLC, and a Senior Policy Advisor at Manatt, Phelps, Phillips LLP.  From 2006 to 2008, Mr. Maffei was the Senior Vice President of Corporate Development with Pinnacle Capital Management, LLC.  From 1998 to 2004, Mr. Maffei worked for the United States House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means as a Press Secretary and Communications Director, and he was a Senior Policy Advisor for the Committee from 2004 to 2005.  Mr. Maffei was Press Secretary for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan from 1997 to 1998 and was Press Secretary for Senator Bill Bradley in 1996.  Mr. Maffei received a B.A. from Brown University, an M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and an M.P.P. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

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

Dave Eggers, Appointee for Member, Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Dave Eggers is an author, publisher, screenwriter, and philanthropist.  He founded ScholarMatch in 2010, a non-profit that connects low-income and first-generation college students with funding and guidance.  Mr. Eggers also co-founded 826 National in 2002, a network of non-profit writing and tutoring centers around the United States.  He founded McSweeney’s Publishing in 1998.  Mr. Eggers is the author of several award-winning books, including A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, a finalist for the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, What is the What, a finalist for the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, and A Hologram for the King, a 2012 finalist for the National Book Award.

Brigadier General William H. Graham, Appointee for Member, Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin

Brigadier General William H. Graham is the Commander and Division Engineer of the Army Corps of Engineers, North Atlantic Division, a position he has held since March 2015.  From 2014 to 2015, he served as the Chief of Staff for the Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters.  Previously, from 2013 to 2014, Brigadier General Graham served as Engineer Director for the NATO Training Mission and Combined Security Transition Command in Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command.  From 2007 to 2008, he served as the Division Engineer for the First Armored Division, Operation Iraqi Freedom.  Brigadier General Graham was the Commander of the 40th Engineers Battalion of Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2005 to 2006.  Previously, he served as the Executive Officer for the 588th Engineer Battalion from 2003 to 2004.  Brigadier General Graham has five combat tours and is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Bronze Star Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, and Army Achievement Medal.  He is a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College, and was an Army War College Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Security Studies Program.  Brigadier General Graham received a B.S. from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.S. from the University of Kansas. 

Brigadier General David C. Hill, Appointee for Commissioner, Mississippi River Commission

Brigadier General David C. Hill is Commander and Division Engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Southwestern Division, a position he has held since 2014.  Previously, he served as Director for the Office of the Chief of Engineers in Washington, D.C. from 2013 to 2014 and as Commander of the 36th Engineer Brigade at Fort Hood, Texas from 2011 to 2013.  Brigadier General Hill served as Colonels Human Resource Manager for the U.S. Army’s Colonels Management Office in the Office of the Chief of Staff in Washington, D.C. from 2009 to 2010.  He served as Commander of the 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), from 2007 to 2009. Brigadier General Hill also served as Chief of Operations and Chief of Training, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), from 2004 to 2007. Prior to this, he served as Operations Officer and Executive Officer, 299th Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), at Fort Hood, Texas and at Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq from 2002 to 2004.  He was an Engineer Trainer and Senior Engineer Training Analyst with the Operations Group at the United States Army National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California from 1999 to 2001.  Brigadier General Hill served as Company Commander with the 1st Armored Division Engineer Brigade and 16th Engineer Battalion and as Engineer Staff Officer for the 1st Armored Division in Bad Kreuznach and Giessen, Germany from 1996 to 1999.  Brigadier General Hill’s additional operational assignments include Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Operation Joint Endeavor.  He has received numerous awards and decorations, including two Legion of Merit Medals, three Bronze Star Medals, five Meritorious Service Medals, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, four Army Commendation Medals, and six Army Achievement Medals.  Brigadier General Hill received a B.S. from the United States Military Academy, an M.S. from the University of Missouri-Rolla, and an M.S. from the National War College.

Barry Jackson, Appointee for Member, Board of Trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Barry Jackson is a Strategic Advisor at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP, and a Managing Director at The Lindsey Group, positions he has held since 2013.  He has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars since 2009.  Mr. Jackson served as Chief of Staff to Speaker of the House John Boehner from 2010 to 2012 and from 1991 to 2001.  He served in the White House as Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives and External Affairs from 2007 to 2009, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy to the Senior Advisor from 2003 to 2007, and Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Strategic Initiatives from 2001 to 2003.  Mr. Jackson was Executive Director of the House Republican Conference from 1995 to 1999 and Director of the “Contract with America” in 1994.  He is a member of a number of boards and commissions, including the National Endowment for Democracy, the Consortium of Catholic Academies, and the Professional Advisory Board of the University of Iowa School of Journalism.  Mr. Jackson received a B.A. from the University of Iowa.

President Obama announced his appointment of the following individual:

Anthony Michael Reardon, Appointee for Member, Federal Salary Council and Member, National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations

Anthony Michael Reardon is currently the President of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), a position he has held since August 2015.  He also currently serves as a member of the Employee Thrift Advisory Council.  Mr. Reardon has held various leadership positions for the NTEU since 1990, including National Executive Vice President from 2013 to 2015, Chief Operating Executive from 2004 to 2013, Director of Operations from 1999 to 2004, and Director of Information Systems from 1991 to 1999.  He began his career at NTEU as Operations Manager from 1990 to 1991.  Mr. Reardon received a B.A. from DePaul University.