President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

• Linda Thomas-Greenfield – Member, Board of Directors of the African Development Foundation 

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

• Edith Ramirez – Member (Government Official), Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States
• Geovette E. Washington – Member (Government Official), Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States
• Janet Keller – Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
• Kerry James Marshall – Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
• Kalpen Suresh Modi – Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
• Andrew J. Weinstein – Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
• John Lloyd Young – Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities 

President Obama said, “These fine public servants bring both a depth of experience and tremendous dedication to their new roles.  Our nation will be well-served by these men and women, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.” 

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

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the African Development Foundation

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a member of the Career Foreign Service, is currently serving as Assistant Secretary for African Affairs at the Department of State.  Prior to assuming her current position, she was Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources.  She was also Chairman of the Board of the Foreign Service.  Previously, from 2008 to 2012, she was the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia.  From 2006 to 2008, she was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau for African Affairs, and from 2004 to 2006, she was a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.  Other assignments have included overseas postings in Nigeria, The Gambia, Kenya, Jamaica, Pakistan, and Switzerland.  From 1991 to 1993, she served as a Staff Assistant in the Office of the Director General of the Foreign Service.  Prior to joining the Department of State in 1982, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield taught Political Science at Bucknell University.  Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield received a B.A. from Louisiana State University and an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin.

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

Edith Ramirez, Appointee for Member (Government Official), Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States

Edith Ramirez is the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a position she has held since March 2013.  She has served as an FTC Commissioner since 2010.  From 1997 to 2010, Ms. Ramirez was a partner in the Los Angeles office of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP (formerly Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP).  From 1993 to 1996, she was an associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.  Ms. Ramirez served as a law clerk from 1992 to 1993 for Judge Alfred T. Goodwin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  She received an A.B. in History from Harvard University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Geovette E. Washington, Appointee for Member (Government Official), Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States

Geovette E. Washington is the General Counsel for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), a position she has held since June 2013.  Ms. Washington was previously Deputy General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Commerce from 2010 to 2013.  Prior to this, she worked at Lewis Baach PLLC (formerly Baach Robinson and Lewis PLLC), as partner from 2000 to 2010 and associate from 1996 to 1999.  Ms. Washington was a Special Assistant to the Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice from 1993 to 1996.  She was a law clerk for the Honorable Aubrey E. Robinson, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia from 1992 to 1993.  Ms. Washington received a B.A. from Wesleyan College and a J.D. from Duke University.

Janet Keller, Appointee for Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities

Janet Keller is the founder of Keller Consultants, a company she started in 1990 to provide strategic and fundraising advice to candidates and campaigns.  She has been involved in politics and public policy for three decades at the local, state, and federal levels.  In 2012, she served as a member of the Obama for America National Finance Committee.  She was also a member of the National Finance Committee of the Democratic National Committee, the Women’s Leadership Forum, and was appointed by former Governor Gray Davis to represent San Diego on the California Regional Water Quality Control Board from 2000 to 2006.  Ms. Keller received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of San Diego.

Kerry James Marshall, Appointee for Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities

Kerry James Marshall is an independent artist with solo and group exhibitions, public projects, and public collections displayed in museums around the United States, including the National Gallery of Art.  He works across a broad range of media, including painting, photography, video, sculpture, performance, and installations.  He was a tenured professor at the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at Chicago until 2006.  Mr. Marshall worked as production designer for the feature films Daughters of the Dust and Sankofa.   In 1997, he received a MacArthur Fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.  He is a board member of the advisory board of the Atlantic Center for the Arts and the Tiffany Foundation, and previously served on the advisory board of the Artadia Foundation.  Mr. Marshall received a B.F.A. from the Otis Arts Institute.

Kalpen Suresh Modi, Appointee for Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities

Kalpen Suresh Modi is an actor, writer, and producer.  From 2009 to 2011, he was an Associate Director of the Office of Public Engagement at the White House, serving as liaison to Young Americans, the Arts, and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.  Before joining the White House, Mr. Modi worked as an artist and actor in Los Angeles and New York, and was also an Adjunct Lecturer in Asian American Studies, Film Studies, and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania.  He served as a member of the Obama for America National Arts Policy Committee in 2008 and as a National Campaign Co-Chair in 2012.  Mr. Modi received a B.A. from University of California, Los Angeles.

Andrew J. Weinstein, Appointee for Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities

Andrew J. Weinstein is the Managing Partner at the Weinstein Law Firm, a position he has held since 1996.  He is a member of the Florida Panthers Advisory Board, the Board of Governors of the American Association for Justice, and the Board of Directors of the Florida Justice Association Board.  Mr. Weinstein is also Finance Chair of the Democratic Party of Florida.  In 2011, he was listed among the Legal Elite by Florida Trend magazine, and he has been named a Florida Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers magazine.  Mr. Weinstein received a B.A. from the University of Central Florida and a J.D. from Nova Southeastern University.

John Lloyd Young, Appointee for Member, President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities

John Lloyd Young is an actor and singer.  He originated the role of “Frankie Valli” in the Broadway hit Jersey Boysfrom 2005 to 2007, and reprised that role in 2013.  He has held lead roles in Spring Awakening, The Chosen,and Les Miserables.  He has performed in venues across the country with guest appearances on television shows including Glee in 2009 and Vegas in 2013. Mr. Young won a Tony award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2006 for his work in Jersey Boys, and received Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Theatre World awards.   He has been involved with charitable organizations such as Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, AIDS Project Los Angeles, amfAR, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the United Service Organization.  Mr. Young received a B.A. in Theatre Arts from Brown University.

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