Press Release - Personnel Announcement

President George W. Bush today announced his intention to nominate three individuals and appoint fourteen individuals to serve in his Administration:

The President intends to nominate James Caldwell Cason, of Florida, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Paraguay. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Mr. Cason currently serves as Chief of Mission in Havana, Cuba. He recently served as Director of the Office of Policy Planning and Coordination for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the Department of State. Prior to that, Mr. Cason was Deputy Chief of Mission in Kingston, Jamaica and Tegucigalpa, Honduras. He also served as the Political Advisor to the U.S. Atlantic Command and to NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic. Mr. Cason received his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and his master's degree from Johns Hopkins University.

The President intends to nominate Rebecca F. Dye, of North Carolina, to be a Commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission, for the remainder of a five-year term expiring June 30, 2010. Mrs. Dye has served as a Commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission since 2002. Prior to her appointment, she served as Counsel to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. Earlier in her career, she served as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Coast Guard. Mrs. Dye received her bachelor's degree and her J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The President intends to nominate Keith A. Nelson, of Texas, to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Administration). Mr. Nelson currently serves as Associate Deputy Secretary for Management at the Department of Labor. Prior to joining the Administration, he worked in business development for the technology divisions of media firms, including Dow Jones & Co., CNN and the Los Angeles Times. Mr. Nelson received his bachelor's degree from the University of Texas, a master's degree from the University of California at Los Angeles and a master's degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

The President intends to appoint Gordon Charles Brenner, of Illinois, to be a Member of the National Veterans Business Development Corporation, for the remainder of a six-year term expiring December 4, 2010.

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations for terms of two years:

Craig Radford Barrett of Arizona

Jose Behar of California

Michael E. Campbell of Connecticut

Stephanie Harkness of California

Maria Guadalupe Taxman of Missouri

The President intends to appoint the following individuals to be Members of the American Battle Monuments Commission:

Leslie Gromis Baker of Pennsylvania

Chester L. Berryhill, Jr. of Mississippi

Donald T. Bollinger of Louisiana

James Culbertson of North Carolina

Brigadier General Jerry L. Laws, USA, Ret., of New Mexico

Rear Admiral Thomas E. Morris, USN, Ret., of Florida

General Carol Ann Mutter, USMC, Ret., of Indiana

James Reynolds of Georgia