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:

• Barbara Jenkins – Member, Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences
• Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz – Member, Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences
• Herbert Block – Member, Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad
• Eric D. Schwerin – Member, Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad
• Gary P. Zola – Member, Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad
• Sylvia Orozco – Member, National Museum and Library Services Board
• Annette Evans Smith – Member, National Museum and Library Services Board
• Deborah Taylor – Member, National Museum and Library Service Board
• Jonathan L. Zittrain – Member, National Museum and Library Service Board
• Tamar Newberger – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
• Eric Ortner – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
• Michael Posner – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
• Menachem Rosensaft – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

President Obama said, “These fine public servants bring a depth of experience and tremendous dedication to their important roles. I know they will serve the American people well.”

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

Barbara Jenkins, Appointee for Member, Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences
Barbara Jenkins is the Superintendent for Orange County Public Schools, a position she has held since 2012. She was named the 2017 Florida Superintendent of the Year.  Dr. Jenkins previously served as the Deputy Superintendent and Chief of Staff for Orange County and oversaw five area superintendents and the Division of Teaching and Learning.  Dr. Jenkins also served as president of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents from 2015 to 2016.  She was named CEO of the Year in 2015 by the Orlando Business Journal.  Dr. Jenkins is a member of the Aspen Urban Superintendent’s Network.  Dr. Jenkins received a B.A., M.A., and Ed.D. from the University of Central Florida.

Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz, Appointee for Member, Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences
Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz is Co-Director of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and Senior Program Officer of Tribal College and Universities (TCUs) Early Childhood Education Initiatives at the American Indian College Fund.  Dr. Yazzie-Mintz previously served as Program Officer of the College Fund’s Wakanyeja “Sacred Little Ones,” Ké’ Family Engagement, and Cultivating Lakota Early Childhood Education Initiatives.  She has worked with TCUs and with early learning centers serving Native children, developing curriculum and strengthening early learning programs.  Previously, she was an assistant professor at Indiana University, Bloomington from 2005 to 2011.  Dr. Yazzie-Mintz was the 2016 recipient of the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Alumni Council Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education.  Dr. Yazzie-Mintz received a B.S. and M.Ed. from Arizona State University and an Ed. D. from Harvard University.

Herbert Block, Appointee for Member, Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad
Herbert Block is the Principal at Montrose Strategies, a position he has held since 2015.  Mr. Block was Assistant Executive Vice President of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee from 1999 to 2015.  He served as Assistant Director for Intergovernmental and Public Affairs for the New York City Independent Budget Office from 1996 to 1999 and was Deputy Director for Intergovernmental Relations at the Corporation for National and Community Service from 1994 to 1995.  Mr. Block was Assistant to the Mayor of the City of New York from 1990 to 1993 and a Special Assistant to the Manhattan Borough President from 1986 to 1989.  He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Hebrew Free Burial Association and the Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust.  Mr. Block was first appointed to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad in 2011.  Mr. Block received a B.A. from Columbia University and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.

Eric D. Schwerin, Appointee for Member, Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad
Eric D. Schwerin is President of RSP Investments, LLC, a position he has held since 2013.  Mr. Schwerin is also President and Founding Partner of Rosemont Seneca Advisors, LLC, a position he has held since 2008.  He was previously Partner at Oldaker, Biden & Belair, LLP from 2002 to 2008 and worked in various roles at the Department of Commerce, including as Senior Policy Advisor from 1999 to 2002 and International Trade Specialist from 1994 to 1999.  He was an Associate Director in the Office of Public Liaison at the White House from 2000 to 2001.  Mr. Schwerin was appointed to the Industry Trade Advisory Committee for Information and Communications Technologies, Services, and Electronic Commerce in 2003.  He was first appointed to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad in 2015.  Mr. Schwerin received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University.

Dr. Gary P. Zola, Appointee for Member, Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad
Dr. Gary P. Zola is the Edward M. Ackerman Family Distinguished Professor of the American Jewish Experience and Reform Jewish History at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio, a position he has held since 2014.  He is also the Executive Director of The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, where he has worked since 1998.  Dr. Zola is a member of the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, and the Academic Council of the American Jewish Historical Society.  He was first appointed to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad in 2011.  Dr. Zola received a B.A. from the University of Michigan, an M.A. from Northwestern University, and an M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. from the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion.

Sylvia Orozco, Appointee for Member, National Museum and Library Services Board
Sylvia Orozco is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Mexic-Arte Museum of Austin, Texas, positions she has held since 1984.  Ms. Orozco served on the Advisory Board of the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center from 2008 to 2012 and the Mayor’s Community Cabinet in Austin, Texas from 2009 to 2011.  She was inducted into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame in 2009 and received the Ohtli Award from the Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior from the General Consulate of Mexico in Austin in 2007.  Ms. Orozco received a B.F.A. from The University of Texas at Austin.

Annette Evans Smith, Appointee for Member, National Museum and Library Services Board
Annette Evans Smith joined the Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC) in 2003, and has served as its President and CEO since 2011.  In 2012, Ms. Evans Smith worked on the legislation that established the Alaska Native Language Preservation and Advisory Council.  Ms. Evans Smith previously worked with the Southcentral Foundation and The Northern Forum from 2000 to 2001 and from 2001 to 2003, respectively.  She is a member of the Foraker Group Operations Board, the Alaska Native Advisory Panel for the Alaska State Council on the Arts, and the University of Alaska Anchorage’s College of Business and Public Policy’s Alaska Native Organizational Management Advisory Committee.  Ms. Evans Smith is also Chair of the Governor-appointed Alaska Native Language Preservation & Advisory Council.  In 2009, Ms. Evans Smith was recognized by the Governor of Alaska for Distinguished Service to the Humanities.  Ms. Evans Smith received a B.A. from Stanford University.

Deborah Taylor, Appointee for Member, National Museum and Library Service Board
Deborah Taylor is Coordinator of School and Student Services at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, where she has worked since 1974 in various additional roles including as a Branch Librarian and Head of the Office of Children and Youth.  Ms. Taylor is a member of the Voice of Youth Advocates Editorial Advisory Board and served as President of the Young Adult Library Services Association and Chair of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards.  She received the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Practitioner Award for Lifetime Achievement from the American Library Association in 2015.  Ms. Taylor received a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Jonathan L. Zittrain, Appointee for Member, National Museum and Library Service Board

Jonathan L. Zittrain is a Professor of Computer Science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the George Bemis Professor of International Law at Harvard Law School, positions he has held since 2010 and 2008, respectively.  Mr. Zittrain is also Vice Dean for Library and Information Resources at the Harvard Law School Library and Co-Founder and Faculty Director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, positions he has held since 2012 and 1997, respectively.  He was the Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the Federal Communications Commission from 2011 to 2012, and Chair of its Open Internet Advisory Committee from 2012 to 2014.  Mr. Zittrain is a member of the Board of Directors of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Board of Advisors for Scientific American.  Mr. Zittrain has a B.S. from Yale University, an M.P.A. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Tamar Newberger, Appointee for Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
Tamar Newberger is a computer scientist.  Ms. Newberger was Chief Marketing Officer of Catbird Security from 2004 to 2013 and also served as Director for Enterprise Accounts and Channel Sales and Product Marketing and Analyst Relations at Tarantella, Inc. from 2002 to 2004 and 2000 to 2002, respectively.  She worked as Director for Server Product Marketing and Product Management at SCO, Inc. from 1996 to 2000 and was Senior Product Planner, Product Marketing Manager, and Product Engineer at Novell, Inc. from 1993 to 1996.  Ms. Newberger was the Product Marketing Manager at Magic Software Enterprises, Inc. from 1992 to 1993 and a Member of Technical Staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Inc. from 1985 to 1992.  She is a board member of the International School of Prague, a trustee of the Jewish Women’s Federation of Chicago and was previously a member of the Board of Trustees for the Young Women’s Leadership Charter School.  Ms. Newberger received a B.A. and M.S. from Columbia University.

Eric Ortner, Appointee for Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
Eric Ortner is Principal of The Ortner Group, a position he has held since 2013.  Mr. Ortner was a Journalist and Producer with NBC News, ABC News, and CBS News, a Senior Producer of Good Morning America, and a Producer for the Today Show from 1996 to 2009.  He is a member of the Board of the Global Poverty Project and an Executive Producer of the Global Citizen Festival.  Mr. Ortner was appointed to the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in 2015.  Mr. Ortner received a B.A. from the University of Rochester.

Michael Posner, Appointee for Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
Michael Posner is the Jerome Kohlberg Professor of Ethics and Finance and Co-Director of the Center for Business and Human Rights at New York University Stern School of Business, where he has worked since 2013.  Mr. Posner served as Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the State Department from 2009 to 2013.  He served in a variety of roles at Human Rights First from 1978 to 2009, including President and Executive Director.  Mr. Posner was a lawyer at Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal from 1975 to 1978.  He lectured at Columbia Law School from 1984 to 2008 and at Yale Law School from 1981 to 1984 and again in 2009.  Mr. Posner received a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Menachem Rosensaft, Appointee for Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
Menachem Rosensaft is Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School, General Counsel of the World Jewish Congress, and Adjunct Professor of Law at Cornell Law School, positions he has held since 2011, 2009, and 2008, respectively.  Mr. Rosensaft worked at Van der Moolen Specialists USA, LLC from 2004 to 2007 in a variety of roles including General Counsel, Senior Legal Counsel, and Special Counsel.  He served as Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Holocaust Survivors’ Memoirs Project from 2004 to 2013 and was Director and Editor-in-Chief of the Project from 2000 to 2004.  Mr. Rosensaft worked as Executive Vice President of the Jewish Renaissance Foundation, Inc. from 1996 to 2000 and as Senior International Counsel at The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation from 1995 to 1997.  He is the Founding Chairman of the International Network of Children of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, a former National President of the Labor Zionist Alliance, and a past President of Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City.  Mr. Rosensaft was appointed to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council in 2010, 1999, and 1994.  Mr. Rosensaft received a B.A. and M.A. from John Hopkins University, an M.A. from Columbia University, and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law.