WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:
- Tom Frieden – Representative of the United States on the Executive Board of the World Health Organization
- Perry L. Holloway – Ambassador to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, Department of State
- Willie E. May – Under Secretary for Standards and Technology, Department of Commerce
- Therese W. McMillan – Federal Transit Administrator, Department of Transportation
- Pamela Leora Spratlen – Ambassador to the Republic of Uzbekistan, Department of State
President Obama also announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:
- Betsaida Alcantara – Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Karen K. Narasaki – Commissioner, United States Commission on Civil Rights
- Patricia Timmons-Goodson – Commissioner, United States Commission on Civil Rights
- Michael P. Ross – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
President Obama said, “I am proud that such experienced and committed individuals have agreed to serve the American people in these important roles. 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:
Dr. Tom Frieden, Nominee for Representative of the United States on the Executive Board of the World Health Organization
Dr. Tom Frieden is currently the Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a position he has held since 2009. He served as the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene from 2002 to 2009. Previously, Dr. Frieden served at the CDC, where he was a Supervisory Medical Officer from 1995 to 2002 and a Medical Officer from 1992 to 1995. While at the CDC, he received a secondment as a Medical Officer in the Southeast Asia Regional Office of the World Health Organization from 1996 to 2002, and from 1992 to 1996, he was on secondment as the Assistant Commissioner of Health and Director of the Bureau of Tuberculosis Control at the New York City Department of Health. During his tenure at the CDC, Dr. Frieden also taught as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Public Health (Epidemiology) at the Columbia University School of Public Health from 1993 to 2002, and served as a Technical Advisor to the Health and Population Offices of the World Bank on missions between 1995 and 2001. Dr. Frieden received a B.A. from Oberlin College and an M.P.H. and M.D. from Columbia University.
Perry L. Holloway, Nominee for Ambassador to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, Department of State
Perry L. Holloway, a career member of the Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, served most recently as the Political-Military Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan from 2013 to 2014. From 2010 to 2013, Mr. Holloway was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, and from 2009 to 2010 he served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Asuncion, Paraguay. Previously, he served as the Director of the Narcotics Affairs Section at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota from 2007 to 2009, and as Deputy Director from 2005 to 2007. From 2004 to 2005, Mr. Holloway was the Andean Counterdrug Initiative Coordinator at the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs at the Department of State. He also served as the Director of the Narcotics Affairs Section at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City, Guatemala from 2000 to 2003, as a General Services Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Quito, Ecuador from 1997 to 2000, and as an Administrative Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana, Mexico from 1994 to 1997. From 1992 to 1994, Mr. Holloway was a General Services Officer at the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador, El Salvador, and from 1990 to 1991 he served as Staff Assistant to the Ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota. He began his career as a Consular Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota from 1989 to 1990. Mr. Holloway received a B.A. from Wofford College, an M.A. from the University of South Carolina, and an M.A. from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.
Dr. Willie E. May, Nominee for Under Secretary for Standards and Technology, Department of Commerce
Dr. Willie E. May currently serves as the Associate Director for Laboratory Programs at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the Department of Commerce, a position he has held since 2011. Since 1982, Dr. May has led research and measurement service programs in chemistry and biology related areas and served in various leadership positions at NIST, including Director of the Material Measurement Laboratory, Director of the Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory, and Chief of the Analytical Chemistry Division. Dr. May is the Vice President of the International Committee on Weights and Measures (CIPM) and President of CIPM’s Consultative Committee on Metrology in Chemistry and Biology. He is a Member of the Executive Board for the Joint Committee on Traceability in Laboratory Medicine and a Member of the Board of Visitors for the University of Maryland, College Park’s College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. Dr. May received a B.S. from Knoxville College and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Therese W. McMillan, Nominee for Federal Transit Administrator, Department of Transportation
Therese W. McMillan is currently Deputy Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), a position she has held since 2009. Prior to joining the FTA, Ms. McMillan worked at the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) in Oakland, California from 1984 to 2009. At MTC, Ms. McMillan served in a variety of roles, including Deputy Executive Director from 2001 to 2009. She also served as Manager for Finance and External Affairs from 1999 to 2000, Manager for Finance from 1993 to 1998, Senior Planner from 1988 to 1993, and Associate Planner from 1984 to 1988. From 1981 to 1983, she was a Research Analyst with Angus McDonald and Associates. Ms. McMillan received a B.S. from the University of California, Davis and an M.C.P. and M.S. from the University of California, Berkeley.
Ambassador Pamela Leora Spratlen, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Uzbekistan, Department of State
Ambassador Pamela Leora Spratlen, a career member of the Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, is Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic, a position she has held since 2011. Previously, she served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Astana, Kazakhstan from 2009 to 2011, and as Office Director for Western European Affairs in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the Department of State (DOS) from 2008 to 2009. Ambassador Spratlen also served as Office Director for Central Asian Affairs in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs at DOS from 2006 to 2008, as Special Assistant to the Counselor at DOS from 2005 to 2006, and as Diplomat-in-Residence at the East West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii from 2004 to 2005. She served as Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Vladivostok, Russia from 2002 to 2004, as Assistance Coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia from 2000 to 2002, as Staff Officer in the Executive Secretariat from 1998 to 1999, and as Special Assistant to the Ambassador of the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, France from 1995 to 1998. From 1992 to 1994, she was a Special Assistant to the Ambassador/Trade Officer at the U.S. Mission to the Organization of American States from 1992 to 1994, and served as an Entry-Level Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City, Guatemala from 1990 to 1992. Earlier in her career, she was a Principal Consultant for the California Assembly Committee on Ways and Means in Sacramento, California from 1984 to 1989 and a Program Budget Analyst on the Joint Legislative Budget Committee in Sacramento, California from 1981 to 1984. Ambassador Spratlen received an A.B. from Wellesley College, an M.P.P. from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.S.S. from the U.S. Army War College.
President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:
Betsaida Alcantara, Appointee for Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Department of Housing and Urban Development
Betsaida Alcantara is the Associate Administrator for Communications and Marketing at the General Services Administration (GSA), a position she has held since June 2013. She previously served as Communications Director at GSA from 2012 to 2013. From 2009 to 2012, Ms. Alcantara served at the Environmental Protection Agency as Press Secretary from 2011 to 2012 and as Deputy Press Secretary and Director of Specialty Media from 2009 to 2011. Prior to joining the Administration, she was a Deputy Press Secretary for Obama for America in Florida from August to November 2008. Ms. Alcantara moved to Washington, D.C. in 2006 to work in the Office of U.S. Senator Charles Schumer as a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Public Policy Fellow. Ms. Alcantara received a B.A. from Bard College.
Karen K. Narasaki, Appointee for Commissioner, United States Commission on Civil Rights
Karen K. Narasaki is an independent civil and human rights consultant. Ms. Narasaki was previously the President and Executive Director of the Asian American Justice Center from 1995 to 2012. She was the Washington Representative for the Japanese American Citizens League from 1992 to 1994 and was a corporate attorney at Perkins Coie from 1986 to 1991. Ms. Narasaki began her career as a law clerk for Judge Harry Pregerson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1985 to 1986. Ms. Narasaki is currently Chair of the Asian American Diversity Advisory Council for Comcast/NBCU and Co-Chair of the Asian American Advisory Council for Nielsen. She also manages the Shelby Response Fund for Public Interest Projects. She has served on many boards and commissions throughout her career, including Vice Chair of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and Chair of the Rights Working Group. She is a board member for Common Cause, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Independent Sector, and the National Immigration Law Center. Ms. Narasaki received a B.A. from Yale College and a J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson, Appointee for Commissioner, United States Commission on Civil Rights
Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson was most recently an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina from 2006 to 2012. She served as an Associate Judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals from 1997 to 2005 and a District Court Judge for the Twelfth District of North Carolina from 1984 to 1997. Prior to her appointment to the District Court, Justice Timmons-Goodson was a Staff Attorney at Lumbee River Legal Services from 1983 to 1984 and was an Assistant District Attorney for the Twelfth Prosecutorial District of North Carolina from 1981 to 1983. She began her career as a District Manager for the United States Census Bureau in the Department of Commerce from 1979 to 1980. Justice Timmons-Goodson has served in several leadership positions with the American Bar Association, and is a member of the Guilford College Board of Trustees and the Advisory Committee of the North Carolina Judicial College. Justice Timmons-Goodson received a B.A. and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an L.L.M. from Duke University School of Law.
Michael P. Ross, Appointee for Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council
Michael P. Ross is Of Counsel at the law firm of Prince Lobel Tye LLP. He is also an opinion columnist for the Boston Globe. Previously, he served as a Member of the Boston City Council from 2000 to 2014, serving as its President from 2009 to 2010. Mr. Ross is the son of Holocaust survivor Stephan Ross, whom he assisted in founding the New England Holocaust Memorial in 1995. In 2012, Mr. Ross was named one of “Ten Outstanding Young Leaders” by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Ross received a B.A. from Clark University, an M.B.A. from Boston University, and a J.D. from Suffolk University.