Press Release - President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

•      Susan Beard – Inspector General, Department of Energy

•      Susan S. Gibson – Inspector General, National Reconnaissance Office

•      Mary Beth Leonard – Representative of the United States of America to the African Union, with the rank of Ambassador, Department of State

•      Lawrence Robert Silverman – Ambassador to the State of Kuwait, Department of State

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

•      Rosemary Freitas Williams –Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs

•      Jordan Goodman – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

•      Howard Konar – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

President Obama said, "I am confident that these experienced and hardworking individuals will help us tackle the important challenges facing America, and I am grateful for their service. I look forward to working with them."

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

Susan Beard, Nominee for Inspector General, Department of Energy

Susan Beard is the Assistant General Counsel for General Law at the Department of Energy (DOE), a position she has held since 2004. She previously served in multiple positions at DOE, including Acting Assistant General Counsel for General Law from 2002 to 2004, Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel from 2000 to 2004, Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Standards of Conduct and Information Law from 1998 to 2000, Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Standards of Conduct from 1994 to 1998, and Attorney-Adviser from 1989 to 1994. Prior to this role, she worked as an attorney for the Federal Election Commission from 1987 to 1989, and as an attorney for Litt & Stormer from 1986 to 1987. Ms. Beard also served as an Instructor for American University Washington College of Law from 1988 to 1989. Ms. Beard received a B.A. from Pomona College and a J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law.

Susan S. Gibson, Nominee for Inspector General, National Reconnaissance Office

Susan S. Gibson is Principal Deputy General Counsel at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), a position she has held since 2012. From 2007 to 2012 she was Deputy General Counsel for Management. Ms. Gibson served in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps from 1985 to 2007, retiring as a Colonel. She served as Senior Associate General Counsel at ODNI from 2005 to 2007, Assistant General Counsel for Operations at the Defense Intelligence Agency from 2003 to 2005, and Staff Judge Advocate for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command from 2001 to 2003. Ms. Gibson received a B.A. from Monmouth College, a J.D. from the Seattle University School of Law, an LL.M. from the Army Judge Advocate General's School, and an LL.M. from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Mary Beth Leonard, Nominee for Representative of the United States of America to the African Union, with the rank of Ambassador, Department of State

Mary Beth Leonard, a career member of the Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, is the Department of State Faculty Advisor at the U.S. Naval War College, a position she has held since 2015. Previously, Ms. Leonard served as the Department's Diplomat in Residence at Tufts University from 2014 to 2015, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Mali from 2011 to 2014, and Director of the Office of West African Affairs from 2009 to 2011. She was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Bamako, Mali from 2006 to 2009 and at the U.S. Embassy in Paramaribo, Suriname from 2004 to 2006. She served as Deputy Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Cape Town, South Africa from 1999 to 2003. Ms. Leonard has also held positions at posts in Cameroon, Namibia, and Togo. Before joining the Foreign Service in 1998, she was an Analyst at the Department of Defense. Ms. Leonard received a B.A. from Boston University, an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and an M.A. from the U.S. Naval War College.

Lawrence Robert Silverman, Nominee for Ambassador to the State of Kuwait, Department of State

Lawrence Robert Silverman, a career member of the Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, is Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the Department of State, a position he has held since 2014. Previously, he served as Director of the Office of Israel and Palestine Affairs and Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs from 2012 to 2014 and as Special Advisor to the Vice President from 2011 to 2012. Prior to that, Mr. Silverman served in the Bureau of European Affairs as Director of the Office of Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus Affairs from 2009 to 2011 and as Deputy Director in the Office of Assistance to Europe and Eurasia from 2008 to 2009. Mr. Silverman was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Bratislava, Slovakia from 2005 to 2008, Deputy Director of the Office of Southern European Affairs from 2002 to 2004, and Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs from 2001 to 2002. His earlier assignments with the Department of State include service in Syria, Jordan and South Africa, and Turkey. Mr. Silverman received a B.A. from Brandeis University and an M.A. from Duke University.

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

Rosemary Freitas Williams, Appointee for Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs

Rosemary Freitas Williams is Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy at the Department of Defense, a position she has held since 2013. Ms. Williams served as Communications Director at the Office of Personnel Management from 2011 to 2012 and as Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications at the Department of Veterans Affairs from 2009 to 2011. She served as Director of Communications for Blue Star Families in 2009. From 1982 to 2007, Ms. Williams had a journalism career that included assignments at PBS, MSNBC, NBC News, and in the Boston television market. She has received numerous journalism awards including a National Emmy Award for Team Coverage of the attacks on September 11th and the Edward R. Murrow Award for a documentary on apartheid in South Africa.

Jordan T. Goodman, Appointee for Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

Jordan T. Goodman is the co-Owner and Operator of Casterline|Goodman Gallery, a position he has held since 2012. He has also served as Owner and Designer at JG Custom Design, a custom furniture design firm, since 2008. Mr. Goodman co-founded the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Next Generation Associate Board, which engages young adults in the museum's work through social and educational events. He serves on the boards of the Covenant Foundation and River North Dance Chicago, and is a trustee of The Washington Institute. Mr. Goodman received a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis.

Howard Konar, Appointee for Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

Howard Konar is President of Konar Properties, a position he has held since 1999. Mr. Konar was previously a partner at Boylan Code LLP from 1989 to 1998. He serves as a Trustee of Monroe Community College, a board member and past Chair of the Monroe Community College Foundation, and chair of the College's Holocaust Genocide and Human Rights Project. He also serves as a Trustee of the Farash Foundation, board chair of Rochester Mangement, Inc., and board member of the Jewish Community Federation of Rochester. Mr. Konar was appointed to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council in 2008. Mr. Konar received a B.A. from Cornell University and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law.