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:

• Katharine G. Abraham – Member and Chairperson, Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking
• Rand Beers – Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council
• Diana Bolt Perreiah – Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council
• W. Carl Lineberger – Member, National Science Board
• Anneila I. Sargent – Member, National Science Board

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 appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Dr. Katharine G. Abraham, Appointee for Member and Chairperson, Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking

Dr. Katharine G. Abraham is a professor at the Department of Economics and at the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland, positions she has held since 2013 and 2002, respectively. Dr. Abraham joined the University of Maryland faculty in 1987 after holding prior positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management from 1980 to 1985 and the Brookings Institution from 1985 to 1987. From 2011 to 2013, Dr. Abraham served as a Member of the Council of Economic Advisers and from 1993 to 2001, she served as Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Dr. Abraham is a Fellow of the Society of Labor Economists and of the American Statistical Association and has served as a Vice President of the American Economic Association. From 2002 to 2004, she chaired a National Academy of Sciences panel on accounting for nonmarket activity. Dr. Abraham received a B.S. from Iowa State University and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Rand Beers, Appointee for Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council 

Rand Beers most recently served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Homeland Security Advisor from 2014 to 2015. As a Senior Advisor at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Mr. Beers was Acting Secretary of Homeland Security from September to December 2013 and Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from May to September 2013. From 2009 to 2013, he was Under Secretary for National Protection Programs at DHS. Mr. Beers founded the National Security Network in 2006 and served as its President until 2008. Mr. Beers previously served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Combating Terrorism on the National Security Council staff from 2002 to 2003 and as Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs at the Department of State from 1998 to 2002. He served as a Foreign Service officer from 1971 until joining the civil service in 1983. Mr. Beers began his career as a Marine Corps officer in 1964. Mr. Beers received a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.A. from the University of Michigan.

Diana Bolt Perreiah, Appointee for Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council

Diana Bolt Perreiah is President of Alcoa Building and Construction Systems (BCS), a position she has held since 2015. She served as Vice President and General Manager of Alcoa BCS North America from 2010 to 2015. Ms. Perreiah joined Alcoa in 1986 and has held several leadership positions, including General Manager and Plant Manager from 2005 to 2010. She has held corporate roles with Alcoa's Global Information Services and Alcoa Operations Management Consulting. Ms. Perreiah received a B.A. from Hollins University.

Dr. W. Carl Lineberger, Appointee for Member, National Science Board

Dr. W. Carl Lineberger is the E.U. Condon Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and a Fellow of JILA, a joint institute of the University of Colorado at Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and currently serves on the National Research Council's Committee on Responsible Science and Laboratory Assessments Board, as well as the Ethics Advisory Committee of the National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Lineberger has chaired or co-chaired the National Science Foundation Advisory Committees on Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Science and Technology Centers, the Department of Energy Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee, and the National Research Council Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Applications. He recently received the 2015 National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemical Sciences. Dr. Lineberger earned a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Dr. Anneila I. Sargent, Appointee for Member, National Science Board

Dr. Anneila I. Sargent is the Ira S. Bowen Professor of Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology. From 2007 to 2015, she served as Vice President for Student Affairs at Caltech. Dr. Sargent is an astronomer and has served as President of the American Astronomical Society, Chair of NASA's Space Science Advisory Committee, and Chair of the National Research Council's Board on Physics and Astronomy. Dr. Sargent led two research operations as Director of the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy and the Owens Valley Radio Observatory. She was awarded the NASA Public Service Medal in 1998 and is a Fellow of the American Academy for Arts and Sciences. Dr. Sargent received a B.Sc. from the University of Edinburgh and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Caltech.