President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 11/16/10

WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:

• Mark C. Alexander, Member, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
• Mark Brzezinski, Member, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
• Lisa M. Caputo, Member, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
• Shelby F. Lewis,  Member, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board

President Obama said, “The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board will be well served by the experience and expertise these impressive individuals bring to their new roles.  I am proud to have them serve in this Administration, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

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

Mark C. Alexander, Appointee for Member, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
Mark C. Alexander is a Professor of Law at Seton Hall University School of Law, where he specializes in Constitutional Law and also teaches Criminal Procedure.  His scholarship focuses on the intersection of law, politics and government and on free speech issues. During the 2003-2004 Academic Year, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach a course in American Law & Politics at Universidad Carlos III. Mr. Alexander was a Senior Advisor to the Obama Presidential Campaign, serving as National Policy Director, New Jersey State Director and on the Presidential Transition Team.  Mr. Alexander received his J.D. from Yale University Law School and a B.A., in Architecture from Yale University.

Mark Brzezinski, Appointee for Member, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
Mark Brzezinski is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of McGuireWoods, where he specializes in anti-corruption law.  As a Fulbright Scholar in Poland between 1991 and 1993, Mr. Brzezinski authored the book “The Struggle for Constitutionalism in Poland.”  He was later elected and served two terms on the Board of the US Fulbright Scholarship Association.  He served on the Obama Presidential Campaign’s foreign policy team from January 2007 until the election.  Mr. Brzezinski served first as a Director for Russian/Eurasian affairs, and then as a Director for Southeast European Affairs on the National Security Council under President Clinton. He earned his BA from Dartmouth College, his J.D. from the University of Virginia Law School, and he has a doctorate in political science from Oxford University.

Lisa M. Caputo, Appointee for Member, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
Lisa M. Caputo is Managing Director in Citigroup’s Investment Bank and is Chairman and Founder of Women & Co., Citi’s leading women’s financial services business.  Most recently, Ms. Caputo was Executive Vice President of Global Marketing and Corporate Affairs and Chief Marketing Officer for Citigroup globally since 2007. She was Global Chief Marketing and Community Relations Officer for all of Citi’s global consumer businesses from 2005 to 2007.  Before joining Citi, Ms. Caputo held senior executive marketing and communications positions with Disney Publishing Worldwide and the CBS Corporation. Prior to embarking on a career in business, she served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Press Secretary to the First Lady at the White House during President Clinton’s first term.  Ms. Caputo is a member of the Board of Directors of Best Buy Co., Inc., The Sesame Workshop, WNET Channel 13, and New Visions for Public Schools.  She graduated with her bachelor’s degree from Brown University and received a Master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University.

Shelby F. Lewis, Appointee for Member, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
Shelby F. Lewis is Professor Emeritus at Clark Atlanta University, Executive Director of The Lewis Foundation, and an international development consultant. As a Senior Fulbright Lecturer at the National University of Lesotho from 1982 to 1983, she helped establish the Women’s Research Collective; and, as an international consultant in Zimbabwe from 1985 until 1987 she helped found Network: A Pan-African Women’s Forum and Development Consultants Network, a development company.  Ms. Lewis served on the Board of the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) for two terms and established a teaming relationship between CIES and the United Negro College Fund Special Programs, Inc. (UNCF/SP) during her tenure as Vice President for International Development and director of university-to-university linkage programs at UNCF/SP.  She earned her undergraduate degree from Southern University, Baton Rouge, a Master’s Degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a PhD from the University of New Orleans, all in Political Science.