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:

• Gregory S. Fehribach – Member, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Access Board
• Dorit D. Straus – Member, Cultural Property Advisory Committee
• Lynne M. Ireland – Member, National Museum and Library Services Board
• Mort Sajadian – Member, National Museum and Library Services Board
• Kenneth J. Schutz – Member, National Museum and Library Services Board
• Debo P. Adegbile – Commissioner, United States Commission on Civil Rights
• Catherine E. Lhamon – Commissioner, United States Commission on Civil Rights

President Obama said, “These individuals have demonstrated knowledge and dedication throughout their careers. I am confident that they will serve the American people well.”

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

Gregory S. Fehribach, Appointee for Member, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Access Board

Gregory S. Fehribach is Founder of The Fehribach Group, a position he has held since 1995.  Mr. Fehribach is a Panel Trustee for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Indiana, a position he has held since 1988.  He was designated a Distinguished Fellow at Ball State University’s Bowen Center for Public Affairs in 2009, where he established The Disability Project.  Mr. Fehribach has served on the Ball State University Board of Trustees, the Indiana Governor’s Planning Council for People with Disabilities, the Board of Directors of the Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation, and the Marion County Health and Hospital Corporation Board of Trustees.  Mr. Fehribach received a B.S. and M.A. from Ball State University and a J.D. from Ohio Northern University’s Pettit College of Law.

Dorit D. Straus, Appointee for Member, Cultural Property Advisory Committee

Dorit D. Straus is an Art and Insurance Advisor for Art and Insurance Advisory Services Inc., a position she has held since 2013.  Ms. Straus was previously Vice President Worldwide Specialty Fine Art Manager for Chubb & Son, where she held various management positions from 1982 to 2013.  She has been a Visiting Lecturer at the Association for Research into Crimes Against Art since 2009 and was an Art Culture and Entertainment Manager at ACE USA from 1998 to 2000.  Ms. Straus was a Curatorial Researcher at the Jewish Museum from 1981 to 1982, an Assistant Collection Manager at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography at Harvard University from 1978 to 1981, and an Assistant Registrar at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts from 1976 to 1978.  She serves on the Board of Directors of AXA Art Americas Corporation, and the International Foundation for Art Research.  Ms. Straus received a B.A. from The City University of New York.

Lynne M. Ireland, Appointee for Member, National Museum and Library Services Board

Lynne M. Ireland is Deputy Director of the Nebraska State Historical Society, a position she has held since 2007.  Ms. Ireland has held various positions with the Historical Society since 1979, including Chief Education and Information Officer from 2001 to 2007, Associate Director for Museums and Historic Sites from 1990 to 2001, Coordinator of Museum Programs and Public Relations from 1984 to 1990, and Folklife/Special Projects Coordinator from 1979 to 1984.  She was an Adjunct Professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from 1992 to 2004.  Ms. Ireland is a past Council member and past Chair of the American Association for State and Local History and a member of the Nebraska Museums Association, the American Alliance of Museums, and the Mountain-Plains Museums Association.  Ms. Ireland received a B.A. from Nebraska Wesleyan University and an M.A. from the State University College at Oneonta.

Dr. Mort Sajadian, Appointee for Member, National Museum and Library Services Board

Dr. Mort Sajadian is Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Amazement Square, The Rightmire Children’s Museum, positions he has held since 1997.  Dr. Sajadian was Director and Chief Executive Officer of Seattle Children’s Museum from 1995 to 1997 and Director of the Museum of Art and Archaeology at the University of Missouri from 1990 to 1995.  He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Children’s Museums.  Under Dr. Sajadian’s leadership, Amazement Square was a 2015 Recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service.  Dr. Sajadian received a B.A. from the University of New York, Albany and an M.A. and Ph.D from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Kenneth J. Schutz, Appointee for Member, National Museum and Library Services Board

Kenneth J. Schutz is the Dr. William Huizingh Executive Director of the Desert Botanical Garden, a position he has held since 2001.  Mr. Schutz previously served as Executive Director of the Science Museum of Western Virginia from 1993 to 2001 and President of Bentley Consulting from 1990 to 1993.  He worked at the Baltimore Zoo from 1978 to 1988, where he served in various roles including Director of Marketing and Director of Development.  Mr. Schutz serves on the Board of the American Public Gardens Association and is an Accreditation Commissioner for the American Alliance of Museums.  He previously served on the Board of the Center for Plant Conservation.  Mr. Schutz received a B.S. from Bucknell University, an M.S. from Johns Hopkins University, and an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia.

Debo P. Adegbile, Appointee for Commissioner, United States Commission on Civil Rights

Debo P. Adegbile is a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, LLP, a position he has held since 2014.  Previously, from 2013 to 2014, Mr. Adegbile was Senior Counsel to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee.  From 2001 to 2013, he held a number of roles at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., including Special Counsel, Acting President and Director-Counsel, Associate Director-Counsel and Director of Litigation, Associate Director of Litigation, and Assistant Counsel.  Prior to joining the NAACP, he was an associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison from 1994 to 2001.  Mr. Adegbile received a B.A. from Connecticut College and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Catherine E. Lhamon, Appointee for Commissioner, United States Commission on Civil Rights

Catherine E. Lhamon is Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, a position she has held since 2013.  Previously, Ms. Lhamon was the Director of Impact Litigation at Public Counsel from 2009 to 2013.  Prior to joining Public Counsel, she served at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California as Okrand/Wirin Attorney from 1999 to 2005, Racial Justice Director from 2005 to 2009, and Assistant Legal Director in 2009.  From 1997 to 1999, Ms. Lhamon was a Supervising Attorney at the Appellate Litigation Program at Georgetown University Law Center.  She clerked for the Honorable William A. Norris on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from 1996 to 1997.  Ms. Lhamon received a B.A. from Amherst College and a J.D. from Yale Law School.