President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individual to a key Administration post:

• Christopher E. O’Connor – Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs  

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

• Tamara L. Lundgren – Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations
• Inge G. Thulin – Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations
• Naseem Kourosh – Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
• Barbara Satin – Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
• Manjit Singh – Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
• Jack Martin Brandt – Member, President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities
• Dan Habib – Member, President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities
• Michelle C. Reynolds – Member, President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities
• Ricardo Thornton, Sr. – Member, President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities
• Rev. Thomas J. Reese, S.J. – Member, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
• John Ruskay – Member, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom  

President Obama said, “These fine public servants bring a depth of experience and tremendous dedication to their important roles.  I look forward to working with them.” 

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individual to a key Administration post: 

Christopher E. O’Connor, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs  

Christopher E. O’Connor is Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs.  Previously, he served as Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs from 2010 to 2015.  Mr. O’Connor served in various roles in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1979 to 2009, including Commanding Officer of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar from 2006 to 2009 and Deputy Legislative Assistant to the Commandant of the Marine Corps from 2004 to 2006.  He served with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing as Assistant Wing Commander from 2003 to 2004 and as Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations from 2002 to 2003 in Okinawa, Japan.  Mr. O’Connor received a B.A. from the University of Rochester and an M.A. from The George Washington University.

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

Tamara L. Lundgren, Appointee for Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations

Tamara L. Lundgren is the President and Chief Executive Officer at Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc., a position she has held since 2008.  She first joined Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc. as Chief Strategy Officer in 2005.  Ms. Lundgren was a Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase in London and New York from 2001 to 2004 and a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank AG in New York and London from 1996 to 2001.  She was a partner at Hogan & Hartson LLP in Washington, D.C from 1995 to 1996.  Since 2015, Ms. Lundgren has served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Ryder System, Inc., Parsons Corporation, and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Portland Branch.  Ms. Lundgren received a B.A. from Wellesley College and a J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law.                              

Inge G. Thulin, Appointee for Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations

Inge G. Thulin is Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of 3M Company, positions he has held since 2012.  He held a number of executive and managerial roles at 3M since 1979, including Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from 2011 to 2012, Executive Vice President of International Operations from 2003 to 2011, and Vice President of the Company’s Europe and Middle East areas from 2002 to 2003.  Mr. Thulin is a member on various boards, including Chevron Corporation, World Childhood Foundation, The Business Council, Business Roundtable, and the Council on Foreign Relations.  He previously served as a member on the Board of Directors of the Toro Company.  Mr. Thulin received a B.A. and M.B.A. from University of Gothenburg.

Naseem Kourosh, Appointee for Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships

Naseem Kourosh is the Human Rights Officer at the U.S. Bahá'í Office of Public Affairs, a position she has held since 2011.  In this position, Ms. Kourosh defends the rights of persecuted Bahá'í communities, works to advance international religious freedom, and engages with colleagues and partners in discourse and advocacy around human rights issues.  Before joining the U.S. Bahá'í Office of Public Affairs, she practiced commercial litigation at law firms in New York City, clerked at the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and worked with several human rights organizations.  Ms. Kourosh received a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from the New York University School of Law.

Barbara Satin, Appointee for Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships

Barbara Satin is the Assistant Faith Work Director for the National LGBTQ Task Force.  She is an active member of the United Church of Christ and served on the denomination's Executive Council as its first openly transgender member.  Ms. Satin recently worked on the development of Spirit on Lake, a LGBTQ senior housing project in Minneapolis.  She served on the Board of Directors for OutFront Minnesota from 2001 to 2008 and has served as Chair of GLBT Generations since 1999.  She has also served on the Board of Directors of PFund Foundation, a regional LGBTQ community foundation advancing social justice in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, since 2013. 

Manjit Singh, Appointee for Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships

Manjit Singh is the President of Agilious, a software technology consulting firm she founded in 2013.  He is also co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, a national Sikh American media, policy, and education organization.  He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation and also as a Member-at-Large on the Board of the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington.  Mr. Singh received an M.S. from the State University of New York at Albany and a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Bombay, India.

Jack Martin Brandt, Appointee for Chair, President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities

Jack Brandt is the Disability Policy Specialist for the Partnership for People with Disabilities at Virginia Commonwealth University, a position he has held since 2010.  Mr. Brandt was a Disability Rights Advocate at the Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy from 2008 to 2010, and a Disability Policy Consultant for the State of Virginia from 2006 to 2008.  He was a Governor’s Fellow at Virginia’s Office of Community Integration for People with Disabilities in 2006.  Mr. Brandt has served on the Virginia Community Integration Advisory Commission since 2011 and on the Virginia Statewide Independent Living Council from 2006 to 2012.  He received the Colorado Award from the Virginia Department of Aging and Rehabilitation Services in 2013, the Participatory Action Research Award from The Arc of the U.S. in 2012, and the Jackie Crews Award for Excellence in Leadership from the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities in 2006.   He was first appointed as a member of the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities in 2010.  Mr. Brandt received a B.A. from James Madison University and an M.S. from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Dan Habib, Appointee for Member, President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities

Dan Habib is a Filmmaker and Project Director of the Inclusive Communities Project at the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability, where he has worked since 2008.  Mr. Habib has held a few positions at Concord Monitor from 1998 to 2008, including Photography Editor, freelance photographer, and Staff Photographer.  Mr. Habib created a nationally broadcasted film about his son, Including Samuel.  He received the Humanitarian Service Award from the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts in 2015 and the Justice for All Grassroots Award from the American Association of People with Disabilities in 2013.  He was first appointed as a member of the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities in 2014.  Mr. Habib received a B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Michelle C. Reynolds, Appointee for Member, President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities

Dr. Michelle C. Reynolds is a Research Associate with the University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC) Institute for Human Development, Missouri’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, a position she has held since 1997.  At UMKC, Dr. Reynolds serves as the Director of the Individual Advocacy and Family Support and Missouri Family-to-Family Disability Resource Center.  She holds various leadership positions with the National Community of Practice for Supporting Families of Individuals with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities and Missouri’s Family-to-Family Health Information Center.  She was first appointed as a member of the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities in 2014.  Dr. Reynolds received a B.A. and M.A. from Rockhurst University and a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri Kansas City.

Ricardo Thornton, Sr., Appointee for Member, President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities

Ricardo Thornton, Sr. has worked at the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library in Washington, D.C. since 1978.  Mr. Thornton is a member of Project ACTION!, a coalition of adults with disabilities.  He is a member of the D.C. Developmental Disabilities Council, serves on the Special Olympics Board of Directors, and an actor with the theatre group Players Unlimited.  Mr. Thornton and his wife Donna were the subjects of Profoundly Normal, a made-for-TV movie.  In 1997, he was selected by The Washingtonian as a Washingtonian of the Year.  He was first appointed as a member of the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities in 2014. 

Rev. Thomas J. Reese, S.J., Appointee for Member, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom

Rev. Thomas J. Reese, S.J. is a Senior Analyst for the National Catholic Reporter, where he has worked since 2005.  Rev. Reese was Editor-in-Chief of America magazine from 1998 to 2005 and an associate editor from 1978 to 1985.  Additionally, Rev. Reese was a Senior Fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center from 2006 to 2013 and from 1988 to 1998.  Rev. Reese entered the Jesuits in 1962 and was ordained in 1974.  He was first appointed to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in 2014.  Rev. Reese received a B.A. and M.A. from St. Louis University, an M.Div. from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. John Ruskay, Appointee for Member, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom

Dr. John Ruskay is a partner at JRB Consulting Services, a position he has held since 2014.  Dr. Ruskay is currently the Executive Vice President-Emeritus of the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, where he previously served as Executive Vice President & CEO from 1999 to 2014.  He began his tenure at the UJA Federation working in a variety of roles in 1993 including Chief Operating Officer, Group Vice President for Program Services, and Executive Director for Education and Community Services.  From 1985 to 1993, Dr. Ruskay served as the Vice Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.  From 1980 to 1985, he was the Education Director of the 92nd Street Y.  Dr. Ruskay received a B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University.