Press Release - President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:

•      Althemese Pemberton Barnes – Member, National Museum and Library Services Board

•      William M. Brown - Member, President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee

•      Vishakha N. Desai – Member, National Museum and Library Services Board

•      Darryl J. Ford – Member, Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences

•      Kris D. Gutiérrez – Member, Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences

•      Sue Hoppin – Member, Board of Visitors to the United States Air Force Academy

•      Bridget Terry Long – Member, Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences

•      Margaret R. (Peggy) McLeod – Member, Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences

•      Brigadier General Paula G. Thornhill (Ret) – Member, Board of Visitors to the United States Air Force Academy

•      Robert A. Underwood – Member, Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences

President Obama said, "I am pleased to announce that these experienced and committed individuals have agreed to join this Administration, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead."

President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Althemese Pemberton Barnes, Appointee for Member, National Museum and Library Services Board

Althemese Pemberton Barnes is the Executive Director of the John G. Riley Museum, which she founded in 1996. In 1997, she established The Florida African American Heritage Preservation Network, a statewide professional museum association. She served in Florida's Departments of Education and Labor as an Employment Counselor and Program Specialist, retiring in 1995. From 1965 to 1970, she was a music instructor in the Leon County Schools in Tallahassee, Florida. She has worked as a consultant on several oral history and cultural development projects, and directed the publication of historical books, heritage trail maps, guides, and documentaries. She is a member of the American Association of Museums, the Florida Heritage Foundation, the Florida Association of Museums, the Association of African American Museums, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Ms. Barnes received a B.S. and an M.S. from Florida A&M University.

William M. Brown, Appointee for Member, President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee

William M. Brown is the President and CEO of Harris Corporation, an international communications and information technology company based in Melbourne, Florida. Before joining the Harris Corporation, he was Senior Vice President for Corporate Strategy and Development at the United Technologies Corporation (UTC). Mr. Brown joined UTC in 1997, prior to which he was a Senior Engagement Manager at McKinsey and Company. He began his career at Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., where he worked as a Project Engineer. Mr. Brown serves on the Board of the Fire Department of New York Foundation and the Florida Polytechnic Board of Trustees. He received a B.S. and an M.S. from Villanova University, and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Vishakha N. Desai, Appointee for Member, National Museum and Library Services Board

Dr. Vishakha N. Desai is President Emerita of Asia Society, an organization she led as President and CEO from 2004 to 2012. From 1977 to 1990, Dr. Desai worked at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in a variety of roles, ultimately serving as Assistant Curator of Indian, Southeast Asia, and Islamic collections from 1981 to 1990, and, simultaneously serving as the Head of Academic Programs from 1981 to 1988. Dr. Desai has been a visiting professor at numerous universities, and was an assistant and associate professor at the University of Massachusetts from 1988 to 1990. Dr. Desai is on the board of The Brookings Institution, and is an advisor and reviewer for the New York City Advisory Commission for Cultural Affairs. She served as the President of the Association of Art Museum Directors from 1998 to 1999, and was on the boards of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc., Asian University for Women, and the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities. Dr. Desai received a B.A. from Bombay University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Darryl J. Ford, Appointee for Member, Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences

Dr. Darryl J. Ford currently serves as the Head of School for William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a position he has held since 2007. Prior to this, he was the Middle School Director at William Penn Charter School from 1997 to 2007. From 1992 to 1997, Dr. Ford was Headmaster and Executive Director of St. Gregory Episcopal School in Chicago. He serves on the boards of the Friends Council on Education and the Villanova University Board of Trustees. Dr. Ford received his B.A. and B.S. from Villanova University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago Department of Education.

Dr. Kris D. Gutiérrez, Appointee for Member, Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences

Dr. Kris D. Gutiérrez is Professor of Literacy and Learning Sciences and holds the Inaugural Provost's Chair at the University of Colorado Boulder, a position she has held since 2009. In addition, Dr. Gutiérrez currently serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences, a position she has held since 2011. She has been Associate Faculty of the Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition at the University of California at San Diego since 2002 and Professor Emerita of Social Research Methodology at the Graduate School of Education and Information Sciences at the University of California at Los Angeles, where she taught from 1989 to 2009. Dr. Gutiérrez is a Member of the National Academy of Education and Past President of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the National Conference on Research on Language and Literacy. She served as a Member of the United States Department of Education's Reading First Advisory Committee and President Obama's Education Policy Transition Team. She is a recipient of numerous awards, including the AERA Scholars of Color Distinguished Scholar Award, the AERA Division C Sylvia Scribner Award, a Bernard Osher Fellowship with the Exploratorium Museum of Science, and a fellowship at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Gutiérrez received a B.A. and M.A. from Arizona State University and a Ph.D. in English and Education at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Sue Hoppin, Appointee for Member, Board of Visitors to the United States Air Force Academy

Sue Hoppin is President of the National Military Spouse Network, an organization she founded in 2010. In 2005, she joined the Military Officers Association of America as a benefits associate, and rose to become Deputy Director for Spouse Outreach. From 2009 to 2012, Ms. Hoppin was the Military Family Liaison to the Fairfax County School Superintendent's Business and Community Advisory Council. She serves on the Board of Directors of Blue Star Families, and has served on the Air Force Charity Ball Committee since 2007 and as its Publicity Chair since 2008. Ms. Hoppin received a B.A. from the University of Denver and a M.A. from the University of Oklahoma.

Dr. Bridget Terry Long, Appointee for Member, Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences
Dr. Bridget Terry Long is currently Xander Professor of Education at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, a position she has held since 2011. Dr. Long has served on the Board of Directors of the National Board of Education Sciences as a Member since 2010, and as Chair since 2011. Dr. Long has been a professor of education and economics at the Harvard Graduate School of Education since joining the school in 2000. Dr. Long is also a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Research Affiliate of the National Center for Postsecondary Research. Dr. Long received the National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship and the Robert P. Huff Golden Quill Award. Dr. Long received an A.B. in Economics from Princeton University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University.

Dr. Margaret R. (Peggy) McLeod, Appointee for Member, Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences

Dr. Margaret R. (Peggy) McLeod has been a consultant since 2011 to national advocacy and professional organizations, universities, states, and school districts on issues related to the education of English language learners, immigrant youth, and English language learners with disabilities. Dr. McLeod currently serves as a Member on the Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences, a position she has held since 2010. From 2009 to 2011, Dr. McLeod was Executive Director of Student Services at Alexandria City Public Schools. From 2007 to 2008, Dr. McLeod served as Assistant Superintendent for Special Education in the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education. From 2005 to 2007, Dr. McLeod was Executive Director of the Office of Bilingual Education for District of Columbia Public Schools. Earlier in her career, she was Deputy Director of the National Associate for Bilingual Education, a Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary at the United States Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and an English as a Second Language Teacher for D.C. Public Schools. Dr. McLeod received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Puerto Rico, an M.A. in Special Education from New York University, and an Ed.D. in Bilingual Special Education Leadership from the George Washington University.

Brigadier General Paula G. Thornhill (Ret), Appointee for Member, Board of Visitors to the United States Air Force Academy

Brigadier General Paula G. Thornhill (Ret) is a Senior Political Scientist and Director of the Strategy and Doctrine Program for Project AIR FORCE at the RAND Corporation. After 29 years of service, she retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2009 as a Brigadier General. Her last assignment was Commandant of the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base from 2006 to 2009. From 2005 to 2006, she was Principal Director for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and from 2004 to 2005, she served as Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She has taught at the Air Force Academy, and from 2001 to 2004, she was Dean of Faculty and Academic Programs at the National War College. Ms. Thornhill received a B.S. from the United States Air Force Academy, an M.A. from Stanford University, an M.S. from the National War College, and a D.Phil. from Oxford University.

Dr. Robert A. Underwood, Appointee for Member, Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences

Dr. Robert A. Underwood currently serves as the President and Professor Emeritus at the University of Guam, a position he has held since 2008. In addition, Dr. Underwood currently serves as a Member on the Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences, a position he has held since 2011. From 2004 to 2007, he served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund. From 1993 to 2003, Dr. Underwood served five terms as Guam's Congressional Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. Dr. Underwood was the Founding Member of the Guam Humanities Council, where he served from 1990 to 1993. Dr. Underwood received a B.A. and an M.A. from California State University, Los Angeles, and an Ed.D. in Policy, Planning, and Administration from the University of Southern California.