Press Release - President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

•      Sylvia M. Becker – Member, Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States

•      Bibiana Boerio – Director of the Mint, Department of the Treasury

•      Robert F. Godec – Ambassador to the Republic of Kenya, Department of State

•      Keith Kelly – Assistant Secretary for Veterans' Employment and Training, Department of Labor

•      Beth J. Rosenberg – Member, Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

•      Cheryl Saban – Representative of the United States to the Sixty-seventh Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations,

•      Frederick Vollrath – Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness and Force Management, Department of Defense

•      Tony West – Associate Attorney General, Department of Justice

•      Joe Eldridge – Member, Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace

•      George E. Moose – Member, Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace

President Obama said, "Our nation will be greatly served by the talent and expertise these men and women bring to their new roles. I am grateful they have agreed to serve in this Administration, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead."

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

Sylvia M. Becker, Nominee for Member, Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States

Sylvia M. Becker is a Partner at Kaye Scholer, LLP. She joined the firm in 1988 as an Associate and was named Partner in 1999. In 1990, Ms. Becker was awarded a Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship, during which she worked at the German Foreign Ministry and at German trial and appellate courts responsible for intellectual property and competition cases. From 1987 to 1988, she was a Women's Law and Public Policy Fellow and served at the Women's Legal Defense Fund, now known as the National Partnership for Women and Families. Ms. Becker received a B.S.F.S. and a J.D./M.S.F.S. joint degree in Law and International Affairs from Georgetown University.

Bibiana Boerio, Nominee for Director of the Mint, Department of the Treasury

Bibiana Boerio served as Special Advisor to the President and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce from March 2011 to February 2012. From 2008 to 2010, Ms. Boerio was the Chief of Staff for Congressman Joe Sestak. Previously, Ms. Boerio worked at Ford Motor Company for over 30 years, including as Managing Director for Jaguar Cars, Ltd. from 2004 to 2007, Director of Finance and Strategy for Ford International Operations from 2003 to 2004, and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Ford Motor Credit Company from 2000 to 2003. She received a B.S. from Seton Hill College and an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Business.

Ambassador Robert F. Godec, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Kenya, Department of State

Ambassador Robert F. Godec, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, is currently Chargé d'affaires at the United States Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. From 2009 to 2012, he was Principal Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the Department of State, and from 2006 to 2009, he served as the U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia. Ambassador Godec served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs from 2005 to 2006 and as Deputy Coordinator for Iraq from 2004 to 2005. Ambassador Godec's overseas posts include: Acting Deputy Chief of Mission (2002), Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa (1999-2002), and Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya (1996 -1999). Additional posts in Washington include: Assistant Office Director for Thailand and Burma in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (1994-1996), and Director for Southeast Asian Affairs at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (1992-1994). Ambassador Godec received a B.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.A. from Yale University.

Keith Kelly, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Veterans' Employment and Training, Department of Labor

Keith Kelly is the Commissioner of the Montana Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), a position he has held since January 2005. Mr. Kelly previously worked at DLI as the Administrator for the Unemployment Insurance Division from 2002 to 2004. From 2001 to 2002, Mr. Kelly was President of Kelly & Associates, LLC. From 1997 to 2001, Mr. Kelly served as Administrator of the Farm Service Agency and Executive Vice President of the Commodity Credit Corporation at the United States Department of Agriculture. He was Director of the Arizona Department of Agriculture from 1990 to 1997, and Director of the Montana Department of Agriculture from 1983 to 1989. Mr. Kelly served as Chair and Vice Chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies from 2009 to 2010. He was awarded a Bronze Star and the Combat Infantryman's Badge for his service with the Army's 101st Airborne Division. Mr. Kelly received a B.S. in Agriculture Business and an M.S. in Economics and Agriculture Economics from Montana State University.

Dr. Beth J. Rosenberg, Nominee for Member, Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

Dr. Beth J. Rosenberg is an Assistant Professor in the Public Health Program at Tufts University School of Medicine, a position she has held since 1996. Since 2005, she has researched the safety systems and health and safety conditions at former nuclear weapons production sites. From 2000 to 2008, Dr. Rosenberg served as a member of the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Rosenberg received a B.A. in Anthropology from Wellesley College, an M.P.H. in Health Law from Boston University School of Public Health, and a Sc.D. in Work Environment Policy from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Cheryl Saban, Nominee for Representative of the United States of America to the Sixty-seventh Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations

Cheryl Saban is an author, philanthropist, and advocate for women and children. As an author, her work focuses predominantly on family, women's empowerment, and healthcare. In 2009, she founded the non-profit organization Women's Self Worth Foundation. Ms. Saban serves on the boards of The Saban Research Institute, Girls Inc., and Children's Hospital Los Angeles. She is a member of the American Psychological Association. Previously, she served on the Board of Overseers at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (2008-2011), the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Universal Preschool (2004-2007), and as a Commissioner for the City of Los Angeles Commission for Children, Youth, and Their Families (2002-2003). She received a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from California Coast University.

Frederick Vollrath, Nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness and Force Management, Department of Defense

Frederick Vollrath is Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness and Force Management. Prior to his appointment in March 2012, he had been the President of Vollrath Consulting since 2006. Previously, from 1999 to 2006, he was Corporate Vice President of Human Resources for the Computer Sciences Corporation. After 35 years of military service, Mr. Vollrath retired from the Army in 1998 with the rank of Lieutenant General as the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, a role that he held from 1996 to 1998. Prior to this position, he served as the U.S. Army Europe Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel in Heidelberg, Germany (1994-1995), the Director of Enlisted Personnel Management (1989-1992), and as the Commanding General for the Personnel Information Systems Command in Alexandria, Virginia (1988-1989). He received a B.A. from the University of Miami and an M.A. from Central Michigan University.

Tony West, Nominee for Associate Attorney General, Department of Justice

Tony West is Acting Associate Attorney General and Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division at the United States Department of Justice. Previously, Mr. West was a partner at the law firm of Morrison & Foerster, LLP from 2001 to 2009, and served as a state Special Assistant Attorney General in California from 1999 to 2001. From 1994 to 1999, he was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of California, and from 1993 to 1994, he served as Special Assistant to the Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. West received a B.A. from Harvard College and a J.D. from Stanford Law School, where he was elected President of the Stanford Law Review.

Rev. Joe Eldridge, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace

Rev. Joe Eldridge is University Chaplain and Adjunct Faculty in the School of International Service at American University, a position he has held since 1997. Prior to joining American University, he helped establish the Washington D.C. office for the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, now known as Human Rights First, serving as the office's Director from 1991 to 1997. Prior to his work at the office for the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, he spent the early part of his career working on international human rights and humanitarian issues. Rev. Eldridge received a B.A. from Tennessee Wesleyan College, an M.T.S. from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, an M.A. from American University, and a D.Min. from Wesley Theological Seminary.

Ambassador George E. Moose, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace

Ambassador George E. Moose is an adjunct professor of practice at the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University. He has also been a Member of the Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace since 2007, and currently serves as the Board's Vice Chairman. Ambassador Moose served as a career member of the Foreign Service for over 30 years. His assignments included posts in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe. From 1998 to 2001, he served as Representative of the United States of America to the European Office of the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador, in Geneva. From 1993 to 1997, he was Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, before which he served as Alternate Representative to the United Nations Security Council from 1991 to 1992. From 1988 to 1991, he was the United States Ambassador to Senegal, and from 1983 to 1986, he was the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Benin. Ambassador Moose received a B.A. and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Grinnell College.