WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:
Karl Brooks – Assistant Administrator for Administration and Resources Management, Environmental Protection Agency
Laura Farnsworth Dogu – Ambassador to the Republic of Nicaragua, Department of State
Samuel D. Heins – Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway, Department of State
Thomas O. Melia – Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia, United States Agency for International Development
President Obama also announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:
Fran Ulmer – Chairperson, Arctic Research Commission
James J. Zogby – Member, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
President Obama said, “The talent and expertise these individuals bring to their roles will serve our nation well. I am grateful for their service, and look forward to working with them.”
President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:
Dr. Karl Brooks, Nominee for Assistant Administrator for Administration and Resources Management, Environmental Protection Agency
Dr. Karl Brooks is the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Administration and Resources Management for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a position he has held since February 2015. Prior to that, he was the Regional Administrator for EPA Region 7 from 2010 to 2015. From 2000 to 2010, Dr. Brooks was a Professor at the University of Kansas. He served as a consultant for the Idaho Attorney General’s Office in the Natural Resources Division from 2007 to 2009. From 2001 to 2002, Dr. Brooks was a United States Supreme Court Fellow. Prior to that, he was the Executive and Legislative Director for the Idaho Conservation League from 1993 to 1996. From 1986 to 1992, Dr. Brooks served as an Idaho State Senator for District 20 in Boise. He was an Associate attorney for Holland & Hart from 1990 to 1993. From 1983 to 1990, Dr. Brooks was the Associate General Counsel for Boise Cascade Corporation. Dr. Brooks received a B.A. from Yale University, an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas.
Laura Farnsworth Dogu, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Nicaragua, Department of State
Laura Farnsworth Dogu, a career member of the Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, currently serves as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico, a position she has held since 2012. Prior to that, Ms. Dogu was Deputy Executive Director in the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the Department of State from 2010 to 2012. She served as a Consular Section Chief and Consular Officer in Mexico, Turkey, and Egypt from 1999 to 2010. Ms. Dogu was a Staff Assistant in the Bureau of Consular Affairs from 1997 to 1998 and Watch Officer in the State Department Operations Center from 1996 to 1997. She also served as Consular and Political Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey from 1994 to 1996 and Consular Officer at the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador, El Salvador from 1991 to 1993. Ms. Dogu received a B.A., B.B.A., and M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University and an M.S. from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.
Samuel D. Heins, Nominee for Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway, Department of State
Samuel D. Heins most recently served as a Partner at Heins Mills & Olson in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from 1994 to 2013. Mr. Heins was a Partner at Opperman Heins and Paquin from 1989 to 1994, a Partner at Tanick and Heins from 1976 to 1989, and an Associate Attorney at the Firestone Law Firm from 1973 to 1976. In 1983, Mr. Heins founded Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, where he served as First Chair and continues to serve as a member. He is a Board Member of the Ploughshares Fund, Trustee of the PEN American Center, and Board Member and Vice Chair of the Center for Victims of Torture, which he co-founded. He previously served as a Board Member and Vice President of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota. Mr. Heins received a B.A. and J.D. from the University of Minnesota.
Thomas O. Melia, Nominee for Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia, United States Agency for International Development
Thomas O. Melia is Executive Director of Democracy International, a position he has held since March 2015. From 2010 to 2015, he was a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the Department of State. Mr. Melia was Deputy Executive Director at Freedom House from 2005 to 2010. He served at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University as Director of Research from 2003 to 2005 and Research Associate from 2002 to 2003. He was a Senior Associate at Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, Inc. from 2001 to 2002. Mr. Melia served in a number of roles at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs from 1988 to 2001, including Vice President for Programs from 1998 to 2001. Mr. Melia also taught in Master’s degree programs at Georgetown University and The Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies from 1999 to 2010. Earlier in his career, he worked as a Legislative Assistant to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Mr. Melia received a B.A. and M.A. from The Johns Hopkins University.
President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:
Fran Ulmer, Appointee for Chairperson, Artic Research Commission
Fran Ulmer serves as a fellow at the Center for Arctic Policy Studies (CAPS) and Chairperson of the Arctic Research Commission, positions she has held since May 2015 and since 2011, respectively. In 2014, Secretary John Kerry appointed her Advisor for Arctic Science and Policy from 2015 to 2017. Ms. Ulmer was appointed to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling in 2010. She served as Chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) from 2007 to 2011. Prior to this, Ms. Ulmer was Director of the Institute of Social and Economic Research at UAA from 2005 to 2007 and was Distinguished Visiting Professor of Public Policy in 2004. In 2003, she was a Fellow at the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. From 1994 to 2002, Ms. Ulmer served as Lieutenant Governor of Alaska. Before that, she was a state representative for Alaska from 1986 to 1994 and served as Mayor of Juneau, Alaska from 1983 to 1985. She was Director of Policy Development in the Office of the Governor from 1977 to 1981 and from 1975 to 1977, Ms. Ulmer was a Legislative Assistant to Governor Jay Hammond. Ms. Ulmer received a B.A. and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin.
Dr. James J. Zogby, Appointee for Member, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
Dr. James J. Zogby is President of the Arab American Institute, which he founded in 1985. He is also Managing Director of Zogby Research Services, which he founded in 2011. In 1982, he co-founded Save Lebanon, Inc., a non-profit relief organization which funds social welfare projects in Lebanon. Earlier in his career, Dr. Zogby co-founded the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in 1980 and the Palestine Human Rights Campaign in 1976. He has hosted various television programs, including A Capital View on Middle East Broadcasting Center from 1993 to 2001 and Viewpoint with James Zogby on Abu Dhabi Television from 2001 to 2011. His column, “Washington Watch,”is currently published internationally in 12 countries. He serves as Chair of the Democratic National Committee’s Ethnic Council, Chairman of the Editorial Advisory Committee for SkyNewsArabia, and he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Zogby received a B.A. from Le Moyne College and a Ph.D. from Temple University