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:

•      Robert Califf – Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Department of Health and Human Services

•      Eduardo Castell – Member, Board of Trustees of the Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation

•      Ambassador Deborah R. Malac – Ambassador to the Republic of Uganda, Department of State

•      Lisa J. Peterson – Ambassador to the Kingdom of Swaziland, Department of State

•      H. Dean Pittman – Ambassador to the Republic of Mozambique, Department of State

•      Linda A. Puchala – Member, National Mediation Board

•      Eric Seth Rubin – Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria, Department of State

•      Kyle R. Scott – Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia, Department of State

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

•      Octaviana Trujillo – Member, Join Public Advisory Committee of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation

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:

Dr. Rob Califf, Nominee for Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Department of Health and Human Services

Dr. Robert Califf is Deputy Commissioner for Medical Products and Tobacco at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a position he has held since March 2015. Dr. Califf has served in various capacities at Duke University School of Medicine and the Duke University Medical Center between 1982 and 2015. At Duke University School of Medicine, he served as Vice Chancellor, Director of the Duke Translational Medicine Institute, which he founded in 2006, and as Professor of Medicine. He also served as the Director of the Cardiac Care Unit at the Duke University Medical Center. He founded the Duke University Clinical Research Institute in 2006 and served as its Director. Dr. Califf also served on the Executive Committee of the Duke Health System. He has served in a number professional organizations, including committees of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (IOM), the IOM Clinical Research Roundtable, the IOM Committee on Medication Errors, and the IOM Board on Health Sciences Policy. He served on the FDA's Cardio renal Advisory Committee from 1996 to 2000 and on the FDA's Science Board Working Group from 2007 to 2008. Dr. Califf received a B.S. and an M.D. from Duke University.

Eduardo Castell, Nominee for Member, Board of Trustees of the Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation

Eduardo Castell is a Partner at the MirRam Group, a position he has held since 2010. Mr. Castell was Executive Deputy Comptroller for New York City from 2001 to 2009. He was a Special Assistant to the President at the New York City Board of Education from 1997 to 2000. Mr. Castell served as Chief of Staff, Legislative Director, and District Manager for Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez from 1993 to 1997. He was Legislative Director and Legislative Assistant to the late Congressman Ted Weiss from 1989 to 1992. Mr. Castell is Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Connecticut College, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, and a member of the Board of Directors of Math4Science. He is former President of the Congressional Hispanic Staff Association, former Co-Chair of the Board of Neighbors Helping Neighbors, and a former member of the Advisory Board of the Robert Toigo Foundation. Mr. Castell received a B.A. from Connecticut College.

Ambassador Deborah R. Malac, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Uganda, Department of State

Ambassador Deborah R. Malac, a career member of the Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, currently serves as U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, a position she has held since 2012. Previously, Ambassador Malac served as Director of the Office of East African Affairs from 2011 to 2012, Director in the Office of Career Development and Assignments from 2009 to 2011, and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 2007 to 2009. Prior to that, she was Deputy Director of the Office of East African Affairs from 2005 to 2007 and Deputy Director of the Office of Agricultural, Biotechnology, and Textiles Trade Affairs from 2002 to 2005. Ambassador Malac has also served at posts in Cameroon, Senegal, South Africa, and Thailand. She received a B.A. from Furman University, an M.A. from the University of Virginia, and an M.S. from the National Defense University.

Lisa J. Peterson, Nominee for Ambassador to the Kingdom of Swaziland, Department of State

Lisa J. Peterson, a career member of the Foreign Service, class of Counselor, currently serves as Director of the Office of Multilateral and Global Affairs in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the Department of State, a position she has held since 2012. Previously, Ms. Peterson served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon from 2009 to 2012, Cultural Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria from 2007 to 2009, and Deputy Director of the Office of Central African Affairs from 2006 to 2007. Prior to that, she served as Political Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya from 2002 to 2006, the U.S. Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia from 1998 to 2002, and the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1996 to 1998. Ms. Peterson's previous assignments with the Department of State include postings in South Africa and the Central African Republic. Ms. Peterson received a B.A. from the University of Rochester.

H. Dean Pittman, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Mozambique, Department of State

H. Dean Pittman, a career member of the Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, currently serves as Senior Advisor in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, a position he has held since 2014. Previously, Mr. Pittman served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 2010 to 2014 and served concurrently as Acting Assistant Secretary from 2013 to 2014. Prior to that, he was Senior Diplomacy Advisor to the Department's Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review from 2009 to 2010, Member of the Office of Policy Planning from 2007 to 2009, and Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Belfast, United Kingdom from 2004 to 2007. He also served as Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of State from 2002 to 2003. Mr. Pittman was Director for Balkan Affairs on the National Security Council staff from 2000 to 2002, Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1999 to 2000, and Legislative Management Officer for East Asia and Pacific Affairs from 1997 to 1999. Mr. Pittman received a B.A. from Millsaps College and an M.A. from John Hopkins University.

Linda A. Puchala, Nominee for Member, National Mediation Board

Linda A. Puchala serves as a Member of the National Mediation Board, a position she has held since 2009. She served as Chairman of the National Mediation Board from July 2011 to June 2012. Previously, Ms. Puchala served as a Mediator, Senior Mediator, and Associate Director of Alternative Dispute Resolution Services at the National Mediation Board from 1999 to 2009. Ms. Puchala served as the Staff Director of the Michigan State Employees Association from 1990 to 1999. From 1970 to 1986, she held various roles with the Association of Flight Attendants, including International President, Master Executive Council President, Local Council President, and Member of the Negotiating Committee. Ms. Puchala received a B.A. from Cleary University.

Eric Seth Rubin, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria, Department of State

Eric Seth Rubin, a career member of the Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, most recently served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, a position he held from 2011 to August 2015. Mr. Rubin previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia from 2008 to 2011, Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2006 to 2008, and Director of the Office of Policy and Coordination from 2004 to 2006. Prior to that, he was Consul General and Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 2001 to 2004, Resident Associate and Rusk Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University from 1999 to 2000, and Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 1998 to 1999. He also served as Assistant White House Press Secretary for Foreign Affairs and National Security Council Director for Public Affairs from 1997 to 1998, Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs from 1996 to 1997, and Deputy Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine from 1994 to 1996. Mr. Rubin received a B.A. from Yale University.

Kyle R. Scott, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia, Department of State

Kyle R. Scott, a career member of the Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, currently serves as a Department of State Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund, a position he has held since 2014. Previously, Mr. Scott served as Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Milan, Italy from 2011 to 2014 and as Director of the Office of Russian Affairs from 2009 to 2011. He also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe from 2005 to 2009, Political Minister Counselor at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium from 2003 to 2005, Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, Hungary from 1999 to 2003, and Political Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia from 1996 to 1998. Prior to that, Mr. Scott was a National Security Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution from 1994 to 1995. His earlier assignments with the Department of State included postings in Croatia, Israel, and Switzerland. Mr. Scott received a B.A. from Arizona State University.

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

Octaviana Trujillo, Appointee for Member, Joint Public Advisory Committee of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation

Octaviana Trujillo is a Professor of Applied Indigenous Studies at Northern Arizona University (NAU), a position she has held since 2002. In 2011, she served as a Visiting Fellow at the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society at the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, Germany. From 2002 to 2010, Dr. Trujillo concurrently served as Chair of the Department of Applied Indigenous Studies at NAU. Previously, from 1997 to 2001, Dr. Trujillo served as the Director of the Center for Indian Education at Arizona State University and from 1992 to1996 she served as Tribal Council Member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. Dr. Trujillo was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Reading, Learning and Culture at the University of Arizona from 1991 to 1995, and Director of the American Indian Graduate Center from 1989 to 1991. She was the Tucson Unified School District's Director of Native American Studies from 1985 to 1989. Dr. Trujillo received a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from Arizona State University.