Press Release - President Bush to Nominate Thirteen Individuals to Serve in His Administration

President George W. Bush today announced his intention to nominate thirteen individuals to serve in his administration.

The President intends to nominate Nancy Jo Powell to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Ghana. A career member of the Foreign Service, she is currently the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and has served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs since 1999. She served as Ambassador to Uganda from 1997 to 1999. Ambassador Powell has served extensively overseas in Dhaka, Lome, New Delhi, Islamabad, Calcutta, Kathmandu and Ottawa. She has served in Washington, D.C. as a refugee officer in the Bureau of Refugee Affairs and as a political/economic officer in the Office of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives Affairs. Originally from Iowa, she is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa.

The President intends to nominate Thomas J. Miller to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Greece. Ambassador Miller currently serves as Chief of Mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina and served as Special Coordinator for Cyprus from 1997 to 1999. Miller held the post of Deputy Chief of Mission in Athens from 1994 to 1997. He has served at the Department of State as the Director of the Office of Israeli and Arab-Israeli Affairs from 1992 to 1994 and the Director of the Office of Maghreb Affairs from 1989 to 1992 among other assignments. He received Superior Honor Awards for his service in 1994, 1992, 1989, 1983 and 1979 and a Meritorious Honor Award in 1981. Miller received a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan as well as a M.A. in Asian Studies from the University of Michigan.

The President intends to nominate Michael E. Guest to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Romania. As a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, he is presently the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs. From 1996 to 1999, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Prague. Guest has held several posts in Washington including as Deputy Executive Secretary of the Department of State and Political-Military Officer in the Office of European Security and Political Affairs and has completed overseas assignments in Paris, Moscow and Hong Kong. Originally from South Carolina, he is a graduate of Furman University and received a Master's degree from the University of Virginia.

The President intends to nominate Laura E. Kennedy to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Turkmenistan. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, she is currently the Charge d'Affairs at the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Vienna and has served as Deputy Chief of Mission there since 1998. She was Director of the Office of Central European Affairs from 1995 to 1997 and was the Deputy Director of the Office of Jordan, Lebanon, Syrain and Palestinian Affairs from 1993 to 1995. She has served in a variety of other posts both at the Department of State and abroad and has twice received Meritorious Honor Awards and is a three time recipient of Superior Honor Awards. Originally from New York, she is a graduate of Vassar College and has received degrees from American University and Stanford University.

The President intends to nominate Michael Parker to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. Parker is a former Congressman from the 4th District of the State of Mississippi serving from 1989 to 1999 and holding positions on the Budget, Appropriations, Transportation, Education and Workforce and Veteran's Affairs Committees. He is curently the President and Owner of Parker-Malvaney Consulting, Inc., a government affairs consulting firm in Brookhaven, Mississippi. A Mississippi native, he is a graduate of William Carey College.

The President intends to nominate Reginald Jude Brown to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. He is currently the President of Meridian International, Inc., a security consulting firm, and was previously a Principle with Brown and Lowe International. From 1989 to 1993, Brown served at the U.S. Agency for International Development as Assistant Administrator for the Near East from 1991 to 1993 and as Assistant Administrator for Program Policy and Coordination from 1989 to 1991. Brown was a senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies from 1982 to 1989 and was Executive Vice President of DECA Group, Inc., in Miami, Florida, from 1979 to 1982. From 1974 to 1979, Brown held a variety of positions within the federal government and served in the U.S. Army from 1961 to 1971. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and the Kennedy School of Government.

The President intends to nominate John P. Stenbit to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence. Most recently he was Executive Vice President for special assignments of TRW Aerospace and Information Systems and had been with TRW since 1984. Mr. Stenbit formerly served at the Department of Defense as the Deputy Director of Telecommunications and Command and Control Systems and as a staff specialist for Worldwide Military Command and Control Systems. Stenbit is the a member of the National Academy of Engineering, served as Chairman of the Science and Technology Advisory Panel to the Director of the CIA and was a member of the Science Advisory Group to the directors fo the Naval Intelligence and Defense Communications Agency. He also chaired the Research, Engineering and Development Advisory Committee for the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. He received both an undergraduate and Master's degree from the California Institute of Technology.

The President intends to nominate Ronald M. Sega to be Director of Defense Research and Engineering. He has served since 1996 as Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and has served as an Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor at the University since 1982. He is a Brigadier General with the United States Air Force and from 1991 to 1996 he was an Astronaut, participating in two Space Chuttle Missions. Sega is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, received a Master's from Ohio State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado.

The President intends to nominate Judith Elizabeth Ayres to be Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for International Activities. Currently, Ayers is Principal of the Environmental Group and was formerly with William D. Ruckelshaus Associates. From 1983 to 1988, she served as Regional Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for Region 9, which includes Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and the American protectorates in the Pacific. Ayres served with the Department of the Interior under Rogers Morton and has held positions on several Environmental boards and commissions including the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council Advisory Committee and the San Francisco Bay Conservation Development Commission. She is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and received a Master's degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government.

The President intends to nominate Josefina Carbonell to be Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Aging. She is one of the founders and is President and CEO of the Little Havana Activities and Nutrition Centers of Dade County, and serves as part of the national technical assistance team to the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Carbonell served on the Board of Directors of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare in Washington, D.C., and he held positions on numerous national, state and local commissions and boards. She is a graduate of Florida International University received the Kellogg Fellowship in Health Management from the Kennedy School of Government.

The President intends to nominate Jo Anne Barnhart to be a Commissioner of Social Security for a term of six years. She is currently the President of JAB and Associates. She served at the Department of Health and Human Services from 1990 to 1992 as Assistant Secretary for Children and Families and Assistant Secretary for Family Support. She served as Minority Staff Director for the Government Affairs Committee from 1986 to 1990 and served as Associate Commissioner for Family Assistance at the Social Security Administration from 1983 to 1986. She was appointed to the Advisory Board on Welfare Indicators in 1994 and was appointed and confirmed as a Member of the Social Security Advisory Board in 1997. A Delaware Native, she is a graduate of the University of Delaware.

The President intends to nominate Kevin Kennedy to be Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development for the Bureau of Humanitarian Response. He is presently the Chief of the Humanitarian Emergency Branch in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs at the United Nations and has served in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs since 1994. From 1993 to 1994, he served as UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for the UN Operation in Somalia. Kennedy was a member of the United States Marine Corps from 1969 to 1993 receiving 27 decorations and campaign ribbons including the Legion of Merit, Navy Commendation Medal and Purple Heart. He is a graduate of West Chester State College, received a M.S.A. from George Washington University and an M.A. from the U.S. Naval Warfare College.

The President intends to nominate Claude M. Kicklighter to be Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Policy and Planning. Mr. Kicklighter joined the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2000, as Deputy Under Secretary for Memorial Activities and also serves as Director of Special Events. He is a Veteran of the U.S. Army and served as Commander of US Army Pacific from 1989 to 1991 and was then named Director of the 50th Anniversary commemoration of World War II. He served as Deputy Under Secretary of the Army for International Affairs from 1995 to 1999. Kicklighter presently serves as Chair of the Board of Habitat for Humanity International. Originally from Gelnnville, Georgia, he is a graduate of Mercer University and received a Master's degree in Management Resources from George Washington University.