Press Release - President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

•      Ranee Ramaswamy – Member, National Council on the Arts

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

•      Tom A. Bernstein – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

•      Amy Friedkin – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

•      Susan E. Lowenberg – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

•      Deborah A. Oppenheimer – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

•      Cheryl Peisach – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

•      Richard S. Price – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

•      Elliot J. Schrage – Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

President Obama said, "These dedicated and accomplished individuals will be valued additions to my Administration as we tackle the important challenges facing America. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead."

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

Ranee Ramaswamy, Nominee for Member, National Council on the Arts

Ranee Ramaswamy is Founder and Co-Artistic Director of the Ragamala Dance Company. She has been a master choreographer, performer, and teacher of Bharatanatyam dance since 1978. Her work has been commissioned by the Walker Art Center, American Composers Forum, and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and has been supported by the National Dance Project and the Joyce Foundation. Ms. Ramaswamy's tours have been highlighted by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the American Dance Festival, and the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai, India. Among her numerous grants and awards are 14 McKnight Fellowships, a Bush Foundation Choreography Fellowship, and an Artist Exploration Fund grant from Arts International. She is the recipient of the 2011 McKnight Distinguished Artist Award and was named "2011 Artist of the Year" (with co-director Aparna Ramaswamy) by the Minneapolis StarTribune. Ms. Ramaswamy earned a B.A. in Fine Arts from the University of Madras, India.

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

Tom A. Bernstein, Appointee for Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

Tom A. Bernstein is President and Co-Founder of Chelsea Piers, L.P., which was formed in 1992 to develop and operate the Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment Complex along Manhattan's Hudson River. Mr. Bernstein was first appointed to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council in 2002 and was designated Chairperson by President Obama in 2010. From 1983 to 1998, he was a principal of Silver Screen Management, Inc. and the affiliated Silver Screen companies. He has been a Board member of Human Rights First (formerly Lawyers Committee for Human Rights) since 1983, serving as Vice Chair since 2006. In 2010, Mr. Bernstein was appointed Chair of the Board of Directors of the Fund for Cities of Service in New York City. He also serves as Chair of the Partnership for Public Service, and he is a member of the Yale University Council and the Board and Executive Committee of the Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. Mr. Bernstein received a B.A. from Yale College and a J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal.

Amy Friedkin, Appointee for Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

Amy Friedkin is currently the President of the Board of Directors of ISRAEL21c, an online news and educational magazine. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Community Foundation of the East Bay and the Hadassah Foundation. She served as the National Chair of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's (AIPAC) Board of Directors from 2004 to 2006 and was AIPAC's first female president from 2002 to 2004. Previously, Ms. Friedkin was president of the Jewish Federation of the Greater East Bay from 1988 to 1990. She received a B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Susan E. Lowenberg, Appointee for Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

Susan E. Lowenberg is President of Lowenberg Corporation, an industrial real estate investment firm. Currently, she serves on several philanthropic boards, including the American Jewish World Service; the Holocaust Memorial Education Fund; the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco; and the Horizons Foundation Advisory Board. In addition, she has been a director of the Bank of San Francisco since 2007. Ms. Lowenberg served on the City and County of San Francisco Planning Commission from 1991 to 1997, serving as President from 1996 to 1997. In 1993, she received the Harry S. Rosen Young Leadership Award from the Jewish Agency for Israel. Ms. Lowenberg is the child of a Holocaust survivor. She holds a B.S. from the University of Oregon.

Deborah A. Oppenheimer, Appointee for Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

Deborah A. Oppenheimer is Executive Vice President of NBCUniversal International Television Production. She created and produced the critically-acclaimed documentary, "Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport,"for which she won an Academy Award in 2000. Ms. Oppenheimer co-authored the film's companion book and oversaw the writing of the teachers' Study Guide. She has judged documentaries for the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust and the Producers Guild of America. In addition, Ms. Oppenheimer has volunteered in various capacities with the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education, the Children's Hospital Los Angeles, the Hollygrove Orphans Home Society, and the Los Angeles Unified School District. Ms. Oppenheimer is the daughter of two Holocaust survivors. She received a B.S. and an honorary D.F.A. from the State University College of New York at Buffalo.

Cheryl Peisach, Appointee for Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

Cheryl Peisach is the founder and CFO of Passion Growers, LLC, an importer and distributor of fresh cut roses founded in 2002. From 1998 to 2001, she was the Manager of the Premium Rose Division of Dole Fresh Flowers. Previously, Ms. Peisach was a partner, CFO, and Director of Procurement of Finesse Farms. Ms. Peisach is a board member of the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Foundation and Memorial Foundation and serves on the University of Pennsylvania's Trustee's Council of Penn Women. Ms. Peisach is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. She graduated with a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Richard S. Price, Appointee for Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

Richard S. Price is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mesirow Financial, a diversified financial services firm. He was named President of the company in 2006. Mr. Price joined Mesirow Financial in 1972, serving in various capacities, including President of the firm's insurance agency. Since 1987, Mr. Price has been a member of Mesirow Financial's Board of Directors and he joined the Executive Committee in 1997. He is on the Board of Directors of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, The Executives' Club of Chicago, and the Big Shoulders Fund. Mr. Price also sits on the Board of Trustees for Rush University Medical Center and is a national board member of the American Friends of the Israel Sport Center for the Disabled.

Elliot J. Schrage, Appointee for Member, United States Holocaust Memorial Council

Elliot J. Schrage is the Vice President of Communications and Public Policy at Facebook. From 2005 to 2008, he was the Vice President of Global Communications and Public Affairs at Google, Inc. Prior to joining Google, Mr. Schrage was the Bernard L. Schwarz Senior Fellow in Business and Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations from 2002 to 2006, the Senior Vice President of Global Affairs for Gap, Inc. from 2000 to 2001 and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School from 1990 to 2002. He has served on the board of the International League for Human Rights and was a trustee for the Harvard Law School Association of New York. He received a B.A. from Harvard University, an M.P.P. from the Kennedy School of Government, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.