Press Release - Appointments to the White House Office of Public Liaison

The President today announced the following appointments to the Office of Public Liaison:
Red Cavaney to be Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy to Elizabeth H. Dole, Assistant to the President for Public Liaison. Formerly president and chief executive officer of Ericson Yachts, Inc., of Irvine, Calif. Mr. Cavaney served as a volunteer advance representative during the 1980 general election campaign. In 1973-77 he served as Special Assistant to the President and Director of the Advance Office. Previously he was commercial loan vice president for Security National Bank in Newport Beach, Calif. He was graduated from the University of Southern California (1964).

Mr. Cavaney is married and has two children. He resides in Balboa, Calif. He is 37 years old.
Jack Burgess to be Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director for Public Liaison, with management responsibilities for the business, labor, and agriculture sectors. He served as Peace Corps country director in Micronesia in 1975-78 and for several years prior to that was the executive assistant to the Director of ACTION. Mr. Burgess is a former assistant dean of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and was dean of freshmen of the College of Arts and Sciences. Mr. Burgess was graduated from Georgetown University (A.B., 1963; M.A., 1966). He was ethnic media liaison of the Reagan-Bush Committee's nationalities division and was director of the nationalities division of the Republican National Committee in 1968.

Diana Lozano to be Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director for Public Liaison, with management responsibility for human services. Miss Lozano was national account marketing representative with the IBM Corp. in New York. In 1973-77 she was executive assistant to the Director of the Minority Business Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. In 1972 Miss Lozano was a member of the White House staff. In 1971-72 she served as special assistant to the Chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Opportunities for Spanish-Speaking People. She was graduated from the University of California (B.A., 1970). She was born on October 30, 1947, in San Jose, Calif. Miss Lozano resides in Great Neck, N.Y.

Aram Bakshian, Jr., to be Special Assistant to the President for Public Liaison, with responsibilities including maintaining liaison with leaders in the arts, humanities, and private foundations. An author, critic, and essayist, Mr. Bakshian served as consultant to former Treasury Secretary William Simon in 1976-77. He was Deputy Special Assistant to the President in 1972-75. In 1971 Mr. Bakshian was special assistant to the chairman of the Republican National Committee. In 1966-70 he was an aide to former Representative William E. Brock (R-Tenn.). A native of Washington, D.C., Mr. Bakshian was educated in local public and private schools and in the autumn of 1975 was appointed a fellow of Harvard University's Institute of Politics.

Thelma Duggin to be Deputy Special Assistant to the President for Public Liaison. Formerly Ms. Duggin served as a field coordinator with Wright McNeill & Associates. During the 1980 general election she was a volunteer in the national black voters program as a liaison from the Republican National Committee. In 1973-77 Ms. Duggin was a senior merchandise manager with the J. C. Penney Co. in Columbus, Ga. In 1971-73 she worked with the Catholic school system in Mobile, Ala., as a teacher at Holy Family Elementary School. She has served as a member of the mayor's Community Relations Commission, Columbus, Ga., and served on the board of governors for the Georgia Health System Agency. She was graduated from Edgewood College in Madison, Wis. (1971). Ms. Duggin was born in Mobile, Ala., on December 23, 1949. She resides in Alexandria, Va.

Morton C. Blackwell to be Special Assistant to the President for Public Liaison, with responsibilities for veterans, fraternal organizations, Native Americans, religious affairs, and limited government organizations. Formerly policy director for Senator Gordon Humphrey (R-N.H.), Mr. Blackwell has also served recently as deputy director of congressional clearance in the office of the President-elect. Mr. Blackwell oversaw the Youth for Reagan effort in the 1980 campaign. He founded and was chairman of the Committee for Responsible Youth Politics in 1972-79. In 1973-79 he was editor of The New Right Report and a contributing editor of Conservative Digest in 1974-81. Mr. Blackwell has held a number of posts in Republican youth organizations, including executive director of the College Republican National Committee and national vice chairman of the Young Republican National Federation. He is married and has one child. He resides with his family in Arlington, Va. Mr. Blackwell was born in LaJara, Colo., on November 16, 1939.

Virginia H. Knauer to be Special Assistant to the President for Public Liaison, with responsibilities for consumers, aging, health care, and the disabled. Mrs. Knauer was founder and president of Virginia Knauer and Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in consumer issues. In 1969 she was appointed Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs. In addition, she was Executive Secretary of the President's Committee on Consumer Interests, Director of the U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs, and U.S. Representative and Vice Chairman of the Consumer Policy Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Mrs. Knauer has been chairman of the Council for the Advancement of Consumer Policy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization, and served as a member of the executive committee of the Board of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc., and many other consumer organizations. Mrs. Knauer was the consumer adviser to the Reagan-Bush Committee and was a transition adviser on the Federal Government's consumer programs and policies. Mrs. Knauer was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. She has two children and she resides in Washington, D.C. She was born in Philadelphia, Pa., on March 28, 1915.

Robert F. Bonitati to be Special Assistant to the President for Public Liaison, with responsibilities for labor, public services, and natural resources. Mr. Bonitati was director of public affairs for the Air Line Pilots Association, responsible for government relations and political activities of the pilot's union since 1975. He was assistant to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in 1973-74 and Associate Director of the Cost of Living Council in 1973-74. He served as campaign director for Senator Howard Baker (R-Tenn.) in 1966 and 1972 and as executive assistant to Senator Baker in 1966-67. Mr. Bonitati was assistant dean of students for the University of Tennessee in 1964-66 and assistant dean of men at Arizona State University in 1962-64. He was graduated from the University of Connecticut (B.A., 1960). Mr. Bonitati resides in Alexandria, Va. He was born in Bridgeport, Conn., on September 19, 1938.

Ernest Eugene Garcia to be Director of Resources, Office of Public Liaison, and Deputy Director, Office of Consumer Affairs. In addition, Mr. Garcia will serve as liaison with the Hispanic community. He was administrative assistant and legislative coordinator to Elizabeth H. Dole during the transition. He has previously worked for Senator Robert Dole (R-Kans.) as legislative assistant and administrative assistant in 1977-80. In 1976-77 he was a policy analyst with the division of State planning and research, policy research/intergovernmental relations section, State of Kansas. He was a research analyst with Inter-America Research Associates in 1975-76. In 1974-76 Mr. Garcia was assistant to the dean of men at the University of Kansas. He was leadership training coordinator, El Centro de Servicios Para Mexicanos, in 1973-74. Mr. Garcia is a member of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He is married and has one child. He resides with his family in Lawrence, Kans. Mr. Garcia was born in Garden City, Kans., on July 12, 1946.

Wayne H. Valis to be Special Assistant to the President for Public Liaison, with responsibilities for trade associations, corporations, small business, and chambers of commerce. Since 1977 Mr. Valis has served as special assistant to the president of the American Enterprise Institute. In 1973-77 he was first Staff Assistant to the President and then Director of Planning and Research, Office of Public Liaison. In 1976 he was director of opposition research for the President Ford Committee. Mr. Valis was assistant to the director for legislative analysis of the American Enterprise Institute in 1972-73. In 1966-72 he was editor, the Intercollegiate Review, Intercollegiate Studies Institute, Bryn Mawr, Pa. Mr. Valis has written many articles and books, including "The Future Under President Reagan." Mr. Valis was graduated from Rutgers University (B.A., 1966). He resides in Falls Church, Va., with his daughter. Mr. Valis was born in Somerville, N.J., on June 14, 1944.