President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

• Kathryn D. Sullivan, PhD, Assistant Secretary of Commerce (Observation and Prediction), Department of Commerce
• Leon Rodriguez, Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor

President Obama also announced his intent to appoint David Chavern as a Member of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy & Negotiations.  His biography is below.

President Obama said, “I am pleased that these dedicated and accomplished individuals will be joining our Administration.  I am confident they will serve our nation well in their new roles, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

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

Kathryn D. Sullivan, PhD, Nominee for Assistant Secretary of Commerce (Observation and Prediction), Department of Commerce
Kathy Sullivan is the inaugural director of the Battelle Center for Mathematics and Science Education Policy in the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at Ohio State University.  Prior to joining Ohio State, Dr. Sullivan served a decade as President and CEO of the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, Ohio, one of the nation’s leading science museums.  Dr. Sullivan joined COSI after three years’ service as Chief Scientist at NOAA, where she oversaw research and technology programs agency-wide.  Dr. Sullivan was one of the first six women selected to join the NASA astronaut corps in 1978 and holds the distinction of being the first American woman to walk in space.  She flew on three shuttle missions during her 15-year tenure, including the mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope.  Dr. Sullivan has also served on the National Science Board (2004-2010) and as an oceanographer in the U.S. Navy Reserve (1988-2006).  She holds a bachelor’s degree in earth sciences from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a doctorate in geology from Dalhousie University in Canada.

Leon Rodriguez, Nominee for Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor
Leon Rodriguez currently serves as Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Chief of Staff in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he oversees the operations of the Division and leads its work on immigration and national origin-related civil rights matters.   From 2007 to 2010, Mr. Rodriguez served as the County Attorney for Montgomery County, Maryland, overseeing all legal issues involving the Montgomery County government.  Prior to his appointment as County Attorney, he was a shareholder in the Washington, D.C. office of Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Shriver.  From 1997 to 2001, Mr. Rodriguez served first as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and later as First Assistant U.S. Attorney.  From 1994 to 1997, he worked as a trial attorney in the Criminal Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, prosecuting cases throughout the United States involving law enforcement misconduct, human trafficking and racial violence.  Mr. Rodriguez began his legal career in 1988,  serving as an Assistant District Attorney in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in New York.  He holds a B.A. from Brown University and a J.D. from Boston College Law School.

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

David Chavern, Appointee for Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy & Negotiations
David Chavern is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  Mr. Chavern serves as chair of the Chamber’s Management Committee and is responsible for day-to-day operations and long-term planning, including a range of policy, financial, administrative, and legal operations. Mr. Chavern also oversees the Business Civic Leadership Center and several revenue operations.  He previously served as the Chamber’s Chief of Staff and Vice President of its Capital Markets initiative. Prior to joining the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, he served in senior positions at the U.S. Export-Import Bank and was in private legal practice in Philadelphia. Mr. Chavern is on the board of governors of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. Formerly, he was an elected member of the City Council of Falls Church.