WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:
- Judith M. Davenport – Member, Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
- Brad Huther – Chief Financial Officer, Department of Housing and Urban Development
President Obama also announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:
- Peter C. Groff – Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
- Joyce A. Mader – Member, Advisory Committee to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
- Horacio Rodiles – Member, United States Section of the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission
- John E. Huerta – Member, Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
- Barry W. Karas – Member, Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
- Ronnie Planalp – Member, Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
President Obama said, “These men and women have demonstrated knowledge and dedication throughout their careers. I am grateful they have chosen to take on these important roles, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.”
President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:
Dr. Judith M. Davenport, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Dr. Judith M. Davenport co-founded Sheridan Broadcasting Corporation with her husband, Ronald Davenport, in 1973. Dr. Davenport also worked as a dentist in private practice from 1979 to 2000. She is a Director of Sheridan Broadcasting Corporation and of The Heinz Endowments. She serves on the boards of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, the Andy Warhol Museum, the Visiting Committee of the Harvard Art Museums, and Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. She is a past Chair of the Board of Trustees of Carlow University, and served on the board of The Alvin Ailey Dance Theater Foundation and the Washington Regional Selection Panel for the President’s Commission for White House Fellowships. Dr. Davenport received a B.S. from Pennsylvania State University, and an M.P.H. and D.M.D. from the University of Pittsburgh.
Brad Huther, Nominee for Chief Financial Officer, Department of Housing and Urban Development
Brad Huther served as Senior Advisor in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) from 2010 until 2013. From 2005 to 2010, Mr. Huther worked at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as a Director, Consultant, and Senior Director. In addition, Mr. Huther was President and CEO of the International Intellectual Property Institute from 2004 to 2009. From 2002 to 2005, Mr. Huther was a Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Commerce. From 1999 to 2002, he was Consultant and then Special Attaché for the World Intellectual Property Organization. From 1997 to 1999, Mr. Huther was the Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Bureau of the Census. Mr. Huther previously held roles at the PTO as Associate Commissioner and Chief Financial Officer from 1994 to 1997 and as Assistant Commissioner for Finance and Planning from 1981 to 1993. He is a recipient of three Presidential Meritorious Rank Awards and a Presidential Distinguished Rank Award. He was elected in 1996 as a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Mr. Huther received a B.B.A. from the University of Miami and an M.P.A from American University.
President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:
Peter C. Groff, Appointee for Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
Peter C. Groff is the Principal of MCG2 Consulting, a position he has held since 2011. Mr. Groff served as a Visiting Fellow for the Johns Hopkins University School of Education from 2011 to 2012. From 2010 to 2011, Mr. Groff was President and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and from 2009 to 2010, he served as Director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Mr. Groff served in the Colorado General Assembly as a member of the House of Representatives from 2001 to 2003, as a Senator from 2003 to 2009, and as President of the Senate from 2008 to 2009. Mr. Groff served as a Lecturer in the Institute for Public Policy at the University of Denver from 1998 to 2009. He also served as Director of the Center for African-American Policy at the University of Denver from 1997 to 2009. Mr. Groff received a B.A. from the University of Redlands and a J.D. from the University of Denver College of Law.
Joyce A. Mader, Appointee for Member, Advisory Committee to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Joyce A. Mader is currently a partner at O’Donoghue & O’Donoghue LLP, where she has represented multi-employer pension, health, and other employee benefit plans for more than 30 years. Ms. Mader served as a Member of the Advisory Committee to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation from April 2011 to February 2014. She is a member of the American Bar Association’s Council of the Section of Labor and Employment Law and serves as the Council’s Liaison to the Section’s Employee Benefits Committee. In 2000, she was inducted as a Charter Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. Ms. Mader received a B.A. from Dickinson College and a J.D. from the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America.
Dr. Horacio Rodiles, Appointee for Member, United States Section of the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission
Dr. Horacio Rodiles is a physician at the Balboa Nephrology Medical Group, a position he has held since 2006. Previously, he was Chairman of the Acute Hemodialysis Committee at El Centro Regional Medical Center. He was President of Kidney Medical Associates of Imperial County, Inc. from 2003 to 2006, and worked in private practice from 1988 to 2002. From 1971 to 1987, he was a Physician Partner at Nephrology Specialists Medical Group, Inc. He served as Chairman for the Imperial Valley Community Health Resources Organization from 1998 to 2006. Earlier in his career, Dr. Rodiles held teaching positions at the University of California, Irvine from 1968 to 1998. In 2007, he received the Frederick K.M. Plessner Memorial Award from the California Medical Association for his outstanding achievements in medicine in a rural community. Dr. Rodiles received a B.S.A. and an M.D. from the University of Buenos Aires.
John E. Huerta, Appointee for Member, Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
John E. Huerta served as a consultant to the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of the American Latino from 2009 to 2011. Previously, he was General Counsel of the Smithsonian Institution from 1995 to 2008. From 1990 to 1995, he was counsel at the Western Center on Law & Poverty in Los Angeles, and was a Partner at Gronemeier, Barker & Huerta from 1985 to 1990. He served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice from 1977 to 1980, and was acting Law Professor at the University of California, Davis from 1973 to 1977. He is a member of the boards of the National Park Conservation Association and Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino. Mr. Huerta received a B.A. from California State University, Los Angeles and a J.D. from the University of California School of Law.
Barry W. Karas, Appointee for Member, Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Barry W. Karas is the founder of three retail apparel businesses, which he operated from 1974 to 2000. Mr. Karas served on the Board of Directors of the Human Rights Campaign from 1991 to 2011 and the Board of Directors of Sarasota AIDS Support from 1980 to 1990. From 1971 to 1972, he served as a Vista Volunteer at the San Francisco Neighborhood Legal Assistance Foundation. From 2010 to 2012, he was a member of the Obama for America National Finance Committee and the LGBT Leadership Council of the Democratic National Committee. He served on the Board of Directors of Project Angel Food and Congregation Kol Ami, and served on the Mid-City West Community Council in Los Angeles. Mr. Karas received a B.A. in Sociology and Political Science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a J.D. from the Boston University School of Law.
Ronnie Planalp, Appointee for Member, Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Ronnie Planalp is a producer and co-founder of Clear Eye Productions. She is also an officer of the board of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, where she chairs the Governance Committee. She produced Shakespeare High in 2011 and They Came to Play in 2008. As a theater producer on Broadway, Ms. Planalp produced The Old Man and the Old Moon in 2013 and The Mountaintop in 2012. Previously, she worked in London, England as the Director of Film for Europe for the Producers Alliance of Cinema and Television from 2003 to 2004. Ms. Planalp was Senior Vice President at EMI Recorded Music from 2001 to 2002, and Senior Director at Excite Europe from 2000 to 2001. From 1996 to 1999, she was Vice President of Business Development at Time Inc., Asia. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the Social Enterprise Program at Columbia Business School. Ms. Planalp received a B.S. from Boston University and an M.B.A. from the Columbia Business School.