WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals for key administration posts: Daniel B. Poneman, Deputy Secretary, Department of Energy; Fred P. Hochberg, President and Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States; Francisco “Frank” J. Sánchez, Under Secretary for International Trade, Department of Commerce; Miriam E. Sapiro, Deputy Trade Representative; Judith A. McHale, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Department of State; Philip J. “P.J.” Crowley, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, Department of State; Bonnie D. Jenkins, Coordinator for Threat Reduction Programs (with the Rank of Ambassador), Department of State; Thomasina Rogers, Chairman, Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; Lorelei Boylan, Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor; David F. Heyman, Assistant Secretary for Policy, Department of Homeland Security; Andrew C. Weber, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense (Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs), Department of Defense; Stephen W. Preston, General Counsel, Central Intelligence Agency; and Laurie Mikva, Board Member, Legal Services Corporation.
President Obama said, “Our nation will be well-served by these fine individuals, who all bring dedication to our country and impressive expertise in their fields. I am confident that they will be effective advocates on behalf of the American people as we work to strengthen the economy, keep Americans safe at home and abroad, and make America work for our families. I look forward to working with them in the coming months and years.”
President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals today:
Fred P. Hochberg, Nominee for President and Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States
Mr. Hochberg, formerly the Dean of the New School for Management and Urban Policy has more than 30 years of experience in business, government, civil rights, and philanthropy. From 1998 through 2001, he served as deputy then acting administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), an agency elevated to cabinet rank by President Bill Clinton, with more than 4,000 employees and 100 offices across the country. At the SBA, he directed the delivery of a comprehensive set of financial and business development programs for entrepreneurs, with particular outreach to women and minorities. He also served on President Clinton’s Management Council. Prior to that, he was president and chief operating officer of the Lillian Vernon Corporation, where he led the transformation of a small family mail order company into a publicly traded direct marketing corporation, one of the great success stories of American entrepreneurship. He has served on numerous civic and corporate boards of directors including the Human Rights Campaign, where he was co-chair and is currently on the boards of the Citizens Budget Commission, FINCA International Microfinance, Fusion TELECommunications, the Howard Gilman Foundation, Seedco, and the Port Authority of New Jersey.
Francisco “Frank” J. Sánchez, Nominee for Under Secretary for International Trade, Department of Commerce
Francisco J. Sánchez served as a Policy Advisor on Latin America to the Obama For America Campaign. He was also the Chairman of the National Hispanic Leadership Council for the Obama Campaign. In 1999, Sanchez became a Special Assistant to the President of the United States working in the Office of the Special Envoy for the Americas. While at the White House, Sanchez worked with the National Security Council, the State Department and the U.S. Trade Representative. President Clinton later appointed Sánchez as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Transportation where he developed aviation policy and oversaw international negotiations. Prior to his work in the federal government, Sánchez practiced corporate and administrative law with the firm of Steel, Hector and Davis in Miami, Florida. Before practicing law, he served in the administration of former Florida Governor (now U.S. Senator) Bob Graham, as the first director of the state’s Caribbean Basin Initiative Program. For the last fifteen years, Sanchez has worked with several consulting companies on projects involving complex transactions, labor-management negotiations, litigation settlement, negotiation strategy, alliance management, facilitation and training, most recently as a partner with CM Partners. Among his public-sector engagements, Sánchez headed a team in Medellín, Colombia as part of a “Teaching Tolerance” program. He also advised the president of Ecuador in negotiations to settle the 56-year-old border dispute with Peru. He is a contributing author to Negociación 2000, a collection of essays on negotiation published by McGraw-Hill. A Florida native, Mr. Sánchez attended the University of Florida, received his undergraduate and law degrees from Florida State University and holds a master’s degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Miriam E. Sapiro, Nominee for Deputy Trade Representative
Miriam E. Sapiro is President of Summit Strategies International, which advises non-profit organizations and companies on international Internet and telecommunications policy issues. She has more than twenty years of experience as an executive in the private sector and as an official in the government during the administrations of Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton. Over the course of her career Sapiro has represented the United States in numerous complex multilateral and bilateral negotiations. In 1999, President Clinton appointed her Special Assistant to the President for Southeast European Stabilization & Reconstruction. Sapiro supervised efforts to revitalize the region, working with USTR and other agencies, as well as other governments and international financial institutions. From 1997 to 1999 she served at the National Security Council as Director for European Affairs, developing and coordinating implementation of security and economic policies. Previously she was a member of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff and worked in the Office of the Legal Adviser. Sapiro received her B.A. from Williams College and her J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she was an editor of the Law Review. She has taught international law as an Adjunct Professor at New York University School of Law, Georgetown University Law Center and Columbia University.