Press Release - President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individual to a key Administration post:

•      Vicki Miles-LaGrange – Member, Board of Trustees of the Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation

The President also announced his intent to appoint the following individual to a key Administration post:

•      James Wright Willis – Member, Cultural Property Advisory Committee

President Obama said, "I am confident that these outstanding individuals will greatly serve the American people in their new roles, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come."

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individual to a key Administration post:

Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange, Nominee for Member, Board of Trustees of the Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation

Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange is Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, a position she has held since 2008. She was appointed to the bench in 1994 and was the first African-American federal judge in the six states that make up the 10th Circuit. Prior to this, Judge Miles-LaGrange was the first female U.S. Attorney in Oklahoma, serving as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. From 1986 until 1993, she served in the Oklahoma State Senate, where she chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee. Judge Miles-LaGrange is a former Trustee of Vassar College, Oklahoma City University, and a former member of the U.S. Judicial Conference of the International Judicial Relations Committee. She received her B.A. from Vassar College and her J.D. from the Howard University School of Law.

President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individual to a key Administration post:

James Wright Willis, Appointee for Member, Cultural Property Advisory Committee

James Wright Willis is the founder of James Willis Tribal Art in San Francisco, which he has owned and operated since 1972. He is a member of the San Francisco Art Dealers Association and Friends of Ethnic Art in San Francisco. Mr. Willis has been a member of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee since 2003. In addition, he served on the boards of the Museum for African Art, the San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum, and the Ancient and Tribal Arts Study Committee of the M. H. De Young Museum. Mr. Willis received his B.A. from Pomona College and his M.A. from San Francisco State.