Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key administration posts:

–          David Michaels, Assistant Secretary for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Department of Labor

–          Benjamin B. Tucker, Deputy Director for State, Local and Tribal Affairs, Office of National Drug Control Policy

–          Mary Jo Wills, Ambassador to the Republic of Mauritius and to the Republic of Seychelles

–          David S. Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, National Archives and Records Administration

President Obama said, “I am confident that this group will bring tremendous dedication and expertise to my administration during this important time for our nation. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals today:

David Michaels, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Department of Labor

David Michaels, PhD, MPH, is an epidemiologist and is currently Research Professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.  He has conducted numerous studies of the health effects of occupational exposure to toxic chemicals, including asbestos, metals and solvents, and has written extensively on science and regulatory policy.  From 1998 to 2001, Dr. Michaels served as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environment, Safety and Health, responsible for protecting the health and safety of workers, neighboring communities and the environment surrounding the nation’s nuclear weapons facilities.  In that position, he was the chief architect of the historic initiative to compensate nuclear weapons workers who developed occupational illnesses as a result of exposure to radiation, beryllium and other hazards.  In 2006, Dr. Michaels received the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award for his work on behalf of nuclear weapons workers and for his advocacy for scientific integrity. He is also the recipient of the 2009 John P. McGovern Science and Society Award given by Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society.

Benjamin B. Tucker, Nominee for Deputy Director for State, Local and Tribal Affairs, Office of National Drug Control Policy

Benjamin B. Tucker currently serves as a professor of criminal justice at Pace University.  With 40 years of experience in the fields of law enforcement and criminal justice, he is a recognized expert in community policing.  He has worked as a consultant to the Urban Institute and as Director of Field Operations and Senior Research Associate at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.  Within government, Mr. Tucker served as Deputy Director for Operations at the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services; Executive Director of the New York City Commission on Human Rights; Deputy Assistant Director for Law Enforcement Services in the Office of the Mayor of New York City; and Chief Executive for School Safety and Planning at the New York City Department of Education.  He began his career with the New York City Police Department in 1969, and prior to being assigned as beat cop, was one of a select group of new precinct service officers educated by medical and other substance abuse experts to conduct innovative drug prevention and education programs in city schools and colleges.  Mr. Tucker was born and raised in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn; he received his Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, and his JD from the Fordham University School of Law.

Mary Jo Wills, Ambassador to the Republic of Mauritius and to the Republic of Seychelles
Mary Jo Wills is currently the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs since January 2009.  Prior to that, she was Country Director for Southern Africa Affairs from August 2007 until January 2009. A career member of the foreign service since 1980, Ms. Wills has also been the Office Director of the Africa Bureau’s Economic Policy Staff from 2004-2007, an Economic Advisor in the Economic, Energy and Business Bureau from 2003-2004, and Deputy Principal Officer in the Milan Consulate from 1999-2002.  Ms. Wills has also held positions in Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Mexico and Niger.   Ms. Wills received her bachelor’s degree from Chatham College, a Master’s degree from the National Defense University—National War College and a Masters in Business Administration from Virginia Tech.  She is currently a doctoral candidate at Virginia Tech.

David S. Ferriero, Nominee for Archivist of the United States, National Archives and Records Administration

Mr. Ferriero serves as the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the New York Public Libraries, one of the largest public library systems in the United States and one of the largest research library systems in the world.  Mr. Ferriero is responsible for collection strategy; conservation; digital experience; reference and research services; and education, programming, and exhibitions.  The NYPL has 2600 full-time employees and a budget of $273 million. Prior to taking the Director position in June 2007, Mr. Ferriero served as the Chief Executive of NYPL’s Research Libraries for three years and as the University Librarian and Vice Provost for Library affairs at Duke University.  He began his career as a Junior Library Assistant at the MIT Libraries, where he spent 31 years, leaving in 1996 as the Acting Co-Director of the MIT Libraries.