President Obama also announced his intent to appoint Michael J. Hansen to serve as a Commissioner of the United States Section of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.  His biography is below.

President Obama said, “The American people will be greatly served by the experience and dedication these accomplished individuals bring to these important roles.  I am proud to have them serve in this administration and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.”

Pamela L. Spratlen is a career member of the Foreign Service with the rank of Counselor. She most recently served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Astana, Kazakhstan. Prior to that, she was Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central Asia. She also served as Consul General in Vladivostok, Russia. Other overseas postings include Moscow, Guatemala and the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In Washington, Ms. Spratlen has served in the Executive Secretariat, Special Assistant to the Counselor of the Department of State and as Country Director in the Bureaus of European Affairs and South and Central Asian Affairs. She also served as Diplomat-in-Residence at the East West Center in Hawaii.  Ms. Spratlen received her A.B. from Wellesley College and holds an M.A. from the School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Army War College.

Timothy J. Feighery currently serves as an Attorney Adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State, where he focuses on defending the United States’ interests in international arbitration and foreign investment disputes.  From 2003 to 2004, Mr. Feighery was a Deputy Special Master for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, where he was responsible for assessing claims for compensation by victims of the 9/11 attacks.  Prior to that, he served as a Team Leader (1996-1998), and later became Chief of Section of the Legal Services Branch (2000-2003) of the United Nations Compensation Commission in Geneva, established to address claims arising out of Iraq’s 1990 invasion and occupation of Kuwait.  Previously, Mr. Feighery worked as a Senior Attorney in the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission and as an Associate at Kaye Scholer LLP.  Mr. Feighery served as Co-Vice Chair of the American Bar Association Committee on International Courts and has also taught as an Adjunct Professor at the George Mason University School of Law and Webster University in Geneva, Switzerland.  Mr. Feighery holds a B.A. and J.D. from Fordham University.

Dr. Michael J. Hansen is currently a Professor of Fisheries at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point.  He was first appointed as a U.S. Commissioner on the Great Lakes Fishery Commission in 2004.  He previously held positions as Chief of the Section of Resource Assessment and Fish Community Dynamics with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Great Lakes Science Center from 1990 until 1996, the Great Lakes Sport Fishery Specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources from 1984 to 1990, and Associate Scientist with EA Engineering, Science & Technology in Lincoln, Nebraska from 1981 until 1984. He earned his Ph.D. from Michigan State University, his M.S. from Cornell University, and his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point.