White House Announces the 2016-2017 National Finalists for the White House Fellows Program

WASHINGTON, DC — The President’s Commission on White House Fellowships announced today the National Finalists for the 2016-2017 White House Fellowship. This year’s class of Finalists represents an accomplished and diverse cross-section of professionals from the private sector, academia, medicine, and our armed services.

National Finalists for the nation’s premiere program for leadership and public service hail from across the United States, from Akron to Miami, Rapid City to Los Angeles. They have demonstrated remarkable professional achievement early in their careers, a commitment to public service, and the leadership skills needed to succeed at the highest levels of the Federal government.

National Finalists have advanced through a highly competitive selection process, including a comprehensive written application and regional interviews with civic leaders in eight different cities across the country. The National Finalists will be evaluated by the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships in Washington, DC from June 9-12, 2016.

A complete list of National Finalists appears below:

2016 National Finalists

Robert Accordino

Resident, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Raven Bukowski

Major, United States Army

Akron, Ohio

Shawn Callahan

Major, United States Army

Spencerport, New York

Eric Chastain

Master Sergeant, United States Army

Tenino, Washington

Jason Curtis

Major, United States Air Force

Kalispell, Montana

Linden Dahlkemper

Lieutenant, United States Coast Guard

Erie, Pennsylvania

Sharice Davids

Deputy Director, Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation

Rapid City, South Dakota

Lloyd Edwards

Politico-Military Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School, and Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy

Equinunk, Pennsylvania

Wifredo Fernandez

Associate Director, Innovation & Economic Development – Faculty, Honors College Florida International University

Miami, Florida

Timothy D. Gatlin

Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army

Houston, Texas

Erik Iverson

Deputy Director, Office of Emergency Management, City of Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Ang Yu Kleiman

Graduate Student, Tufts University

Orem, Utah

Joseph McGeehin

Vice President, Office of the Chairman and CEO, Morgan Stanley

Newtown Square, Pennsylvania

Michael Morales

Commander, United States Air Force

Naranjito, Puerto Rico

Warren Morgan

Academic Superintendent, Cleveland Metropolitan School District

Cleveland, Ohio

Daniel Thompson Paine

Vice President of Operations and Business Development, Quizlet

Nashville, Tennessee

Austin Ramirez

President and Chief Executive Officer, HUSCO International

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Kathryn Roos

Graduate Student, Harvard University

South Bend, Indiana

Lindsey Ross

Resident Physician, Neurosurgery, Cedar-Sinai Medical Center

Los Angeles, California

Kyle Scherer

Associate, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Dover, Ohio

Tina Shah

Physician, Pulmonary & Critical Care, University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Matthew Swenson

Press Secretary and Senior Communications Advisor, Office of Governor Mark Dayton and Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Jason Tama

Commander, United States Coast Guard

Cabin John, Maryland

Kerry Thompson

Information & Program Coordinator, Disability Rights Fund

Malden, Massachusetts

Phoenix Torrijos

Major, United States Air Force

La Crosse, Wisconsin

Anjali Tripathi

Astrophysics Ph.D. Candidate, Harvard University

Woodlands Hills, California

Frederick Tsai

Senior Director, Global Strategy & Operations, Salesforce.com

San Francisco, California

Wesley Turbeville

Senior Associate, McKinsey and Company

Midlothian, Virginia

Bryant Cameron Webb

Resident Physician, New York-Presbyterian Hospital

Spotsylvania, Virginia

David Wertime

Senior Editor, Foreign Policy

Jenkintown, Pennsylvania

About the White House Fellows Program

Founded in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the White House Fellows Program offers exceptional Americans first-hand experience working at the highest levels of the Federal government. After a competitive application process, selected individuals spend a year in Washington, DC working full-time for Cabinet Secretaries, senior White House staff, and other top-ranking government officials. Fellows also participate in an education program consisting of roundtable discussions with renowned leaders from the private and public sectors, including the President and Vice President. Fellowships are awarded on a strictly non-partisan basis.

Mary Zients, founder and Board Chair of the Urban Alliance Foundation is the chair of the Commission. Cheryl Dorsey, the President of Echoing Green, serves as Vice Chair. Other members of the Commission are: Beth Cobert (Ex-officio), Wesley Clark, Carmen Corrales, Nelson Diaz, Matrice Ellis-Kirk, Helene Gayle, Alice T. Germond, Vartan Gregorian, Steve Gunderson, Cynthia Hale, Deborah Harmon, Christy Haubegger, Peter Blair Henry, Amanda Hesser, John Hockenberry, Lisa Ling, Shannon Price Minter, George Muñoz, Lloyd W. Newton, Theodore Olson, Roger Porter, Rion Joaquin Ramirez, Steve Spinner, Ziad Haider (Ex-officio; President of the White House Fellows Foundation and Association), George Thibault, Eleanor Kaye Wilson, and Judy Wise.

There are more than 700 White House Fellow alumni, a distinguished group that includes former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Additional information about the White House Fellows Program can be found at obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/fellows.