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:

•      Derek J. Mitchell – Ambassador to the Union of Burma, Department of State

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

•      Anhlan P. Nguyen – Member, Board of Directors of the Vietnam Education Foundation

•      Quyen N. Vuong – Member, Board of Directors of the Vietnam Education Foundation

President Obama said, "These individuals have demonstrated knowledge and dedication throughout their careers. I am grateful they have chosen to take on these important roles, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come."

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

Ambassador Derek J. Mitchell, Nominee for Ambassador to the Union of Burma, Department of State

Ambassador Derek J. Mitchell is Special Representative and Policy Coordinator for Burma, with the rank of Ambassador, having been appointed by President Obama in August 2011. Previously, he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs. Before joining the Administration in 2009, Ambassador Mitchell served as Senior Fellow and Director for Asia in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He concurrently served as founding Director of the CSIS Southeast Asia Initiative, which was inaugurated in 2008. From 1997 to 2001, Ambassador Mitchell was Special Assistant for Asian and Pacific Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. During this time, his roles included Senior Country Director for China, Taiwan, Mongolia, and Hong Kong (2000-2001), Director for Regional Security Affairs (1998-2000), Senior Country Director for the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore (1998-1999), and Country Director for Japan (1997-1998). Before joining the Department of Defense, he worked at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs as Senior Program Officer for Asia and the Former Soviet Union (1996-1997), and as Program Officer for Asia (1993-1996). He began his career as Assistant to the Senior Foreign Policy Adviser to Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Ambassador Mitchell received a B.A. from the University of Virginia and an M.A. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

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

Anhlan P. Nguyen, Appointee for Member, Board of Directors of the Vietnam Education Foundation

Anhlan P. Nguyen is currently an IT project portfolio manager at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Chair of the Board of Directors for the Vietnamese Culture and Science Association. In 1998, Ms. Nguyen established the National Youth Leadership Development Camp in 1998, and in 1990 she helped found the Vietnamese Youth Center of Toronto. Ms. Nguyen won the Women's Leadership Empowerment Award by the Texas Women Empowerment Foundation in 2011 and was named one of the "Top 25 Women of Houston" by Comerica Bank and the Steed Society in 2010 for her leadership and community involvement. In addition, she won the Outstanding Community Leader Award from the Youth Leadership Council of Houston in 2004 and was selected as one of five outstanding young Houstonians by the Junior Chamber of Commerce in 2000. Ms. Nguyen has a B.S. and an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Toronto, Canada.

Quyen N. Vuong, Appointee for Member, Board of Directors of the Vietnam Education Foundation

Quyen N. Vuong is the Executive Director of the International Children Assistance Network in San Jose, CA, an organization she co-founded in 2000. She is also a board member of the Pacific Links Foundation, an organization she co-founded in 2001, and a founding member of the Vietnamese American Non-Governmental Network, created in 2004. Ms. Vuong serves on the Board of Directors of the Santa Clara Family Health Foundation, the Community Advisory Committee for San Jose Children's Discovery Museum, and the Advisory Board for the Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution for Mission College. She received a Fulbright in 1989 and worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Hong Kong. Ms. Vuong holds a B.A. in Economics from Yale University, and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.