President Biden Announces Key Nominees

WASHINGTON – Nowadays, President Biden announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to provide in essential roles in his administration:

• Donald R. Cravins Jr., Nominee for Below Secretary for Minority Business enterprise Progress, Office of Commerce
• David P. Pekoske, Nominee for Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, Division of Homeland Safety
• Hugo F. Rodriguez Jr., Nominee for Ambassador to Nicaragua
• Rosie Hidalgo, Nominee for Place of work on Violence From Females Director, U.S. Division of Justice
• Jonathan W. Burks, Nominee for Member, United States Institute of Peace
• Michael K. Singh, Nominee for Member, United States Institute of Peace
• Kathryn Wheelbarger, Nominee for Member, United States Institute of Peace

Donald R. Cravins Jr., Nominee for Undersecretary of Commerce for Minority Small business Growth

Donald R. Cravins, Jr. serves as the Government Vice President and Chief Running Officer at the National Urban League. Cravins graduated from LSU in 1994. Upon graduation, he attended the Southern University Regulation Center and obtained a juris doctorate in 1998. In 2004, he was elected to the Louisiana Home of Associates and inn 2006, he was elected to the Louisiana Senate. Throughout his tenure in the Louisiana Senate, Cravins was seriously concerned in article-Hurricanes Katrina and Rita small business recovery troubles as the Chair of the Insurance coverage Committee.

In January 2009, Cravins left the Louisiana Legislature to provide as Personnel Director and Main Counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Tiny Enterprise and Entrepreneurship. In that part, he was instrumental in the passage of the Compact Business Employment Act of 2010. In January 2013, he commenced serving as Chief of Employees for U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana. In addition to his obligations at the National Urban League, Cravins is an adjunct professor at The George Washington College. He also serves as an officer in the District of Columbia Army National Guard. He is a Lifetime Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and a member of the 100 Black Men of Prince George’s County. Cravins’ honors contain currently being inducted into the Southern University Regulation School Corridor of Fame in 2018 and becoming named a Distinguished Alumnus of LSU in 2015. He and his spouse and children reside in Maryland.

David P. Pekoske, Nominee for Administrator of the Transportation Safety Administration, U.S. Section of Homeland Safety

David Pekoske was verified by the U.S. Senate as the Transportation Stability Administration’s seventh administrator in August 2017.  He leads a workforce of above 60,000 workforce and is liable for stability operations at nearly 440 airports all through the United States.  Though serving as TSA Administrator, Pekoske also served at the Division of Homeland Protection as Acting Secretary from January 20 to February 2, 2021, and as the Senior Formal Accomplishing the Responsibilities of Deputy Secretary from April to November 2019 and yet again from February to June 2021.  He was also a Commissioner on the Cyberspace Solarium Commission that created a consensus on a strategic approach to defending the United States in cyberspace against assaults of substantial consequence.

Ahead of joining TSA, Pekoske was an government in the govt services business, in which he led groups that furnished counterterrorism, safety and intelligence guidance companies to govt companies. Pekoske served as the 26th Vice Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, culminating a Coast Guard occupation that integrated comprehensive operational and command working experience. As the Vice Commandant, Pekoske was 2nd in command, also serving as Main Operating Officer and Element Acquisition Govt of the Coastline Guard. He is a identified expert in crisis administration, strategic preparing, innovation and aviation, surface area transportation and maritime stability. In addition, he has been 2 times awarded the Homeland Security Distinguished Support Medal. Pekoske retains a Master of Company Administration degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technological innovation, a Learn of Public Administration diploma from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Hugo F. Rodriguez, Jr., Nominee to be Ambassador Remarkable and Plenipotentiary of the United States of The united states to the Republic of Nicaragua

Hugo F. Rodriguez, Jr., a vocation member of the Senior Overseas Support with the rank of Minister-Counselor, at the moment serves as a Senior Advisor in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.  He was formerly Deputy Assistant Secretary of Point out for Western Hemisphere Affairs, and in 2021 assumed the purpose of Performing Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the bureau.  Right before that, Rodriguez served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Asunción, Paraguay and as the Embassy’s Demand d’ Affaires a.i. from 2017 to 2018.  Previously, Rodriguez served as Consul Standard at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and as the Mission’s Acting Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs.  He beforehand served as Deputy Director of the Office environment of Mexican Affairs, as Division Chief for the Western Hemisphere in the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ Abroad Citizen Providers business office, and as a Look at Officer and Senior View Officer in the Executive Secretariat’s Operations Heart.  Other overseas assignments contain U.S. Embassies in Lima, Peru and Rome, Italy. 

A native of Pennsylvania, Rodriguez holds a Master’s degree in Organization Administration from the Darden Faculty of Business at the University of Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts diploma in Economics from Hampden-Sydney Higher education. The receiver of numerous Condition Division efficiency awards, Rodriguez speaks Italian and Spanish. 

Rosie Hidalgo, Nominee for the Director of the Place of work on Violence Against Ladies, U.S. Division of Justice

Rosie Hidalgo now serves as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor on Gender-Based Violence at the White Residence Gender Policy Council. She has worked in the movement to conclude gender-centered violence for in excess of 25 years as a general public curiosity attorney and as a countrywide coverage advocate. Most not long ago, she was the Senior Director of General public Plan for Esperanza United, a countrywide useful resource centre with a concentrate on giving teaching, investigation, and policy advocacy to avert and conclusion domestic violence and sexual assault.  Hidalgo earlier served as the Deputy Director for Coverage at the Office on Violence In opposition to Ladies at the U.S. Division of Justice throughout the Obama-Biden Administration, and served on a depth to the Place of work of the Vice President, functioning with the White Home Advisor on Violence Towards Females.  After regulation faculty, she labored as a Skadden Fellow providing immediate lawful products and services by means of non-income businesses in New York and Virginia.  Hidalgo also served on the Biden Foundation’s Advisory Council for Ending Violence From Women, and on the American Bar Association’s Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence. 

Hidalgo gained her Bachelor’s diploma in Govt and Global Relations from Georgetown University and holds a J.D. from New York University University of Legislation, where by she was a Root-Tilden Scholar.  She is married and has a few small children.

Jonathan W. Burks, Nominee for Member of the Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace

Jonathan W. Burks is Vice President for World-wide General public Plan at Walmart, the place he potential customers the world wide retailer’s endeavours to analyze and build positions on urgent general public plan concerns. Prior to signing up for Walmart, he was a lover at the international consultancy the Brunswick Team wherever he was the co-guide for the U.S. general public affairs office environment. In advance of shifting to the private sector, Burks served as the Main of Employees to Speaker of the Household Paul Ryan, a Coverage Advisor on budget and appropriations challenges to Senate Majority Chief Mitch McConnell, Plan Director of the Residence Budget Committee, Director of Legislative Affairs at the Securities and Exchange Commission, Senior Advisor to the Underneath Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, and Coverage Advisor in the changeover office of the freshly created Director of Nationwide Intelligence. 

Burks was the Deputy Coverage Director on the 2012 Romney for President marketing campaign. Earlier in his job, he served for 4 a long time at the White Dwelling, doing work initially for Vice President Cheney and then for President Bush in a assortment of positions, which includes as the Vice President’s Personnel Secretary, Affiliate Staff members Secretary to the President, and Particular Assistant to the President for Policy in the Main of Staff’s office.

Michael K. Singh, Nominee for Member of the Board of Administrators of the United States Institute of Peace

Michael K. Singh currently serves as Taking care of Director and Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Around East Plan, and Interim Director of the Institute’s Glazer Plan on Good Energy Opposition and the Center East.  Singh was Senior Director for Middle East Affairs at the National Security Council from 2007-2008, and a Director on the NSC staff members from 2005-2007.  Previously, he served as Exclusive Assistant to Secretaries of Point out Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, and at the US Embassy in Tel Aviv.  He co-chaired the Congressionally-mandated Syria Examine Team, and served on the Congressional Undertaking Drive on Extremism in Fragile States. In addition, Singh co-chaired Mitt Romney’s Point out Office transition workforce in 2012, and served as Center East advisor to the Romney marketing campaign.  Singh also serves on the “Welcome Council” of Welcome.US, a bipartisan initiative to empower Us citizens to welcome refugees.  Singh has been an adjunct fellow at the Belfer Heart at Harvard’s Kennedy College of Government and an economics teacher at Harvard College or university. 

Singh earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and Around Eastern reports from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Small business School.  He life in Virginia with his wife, Kellie, and their two sons.

Kathryn Wheelbarger, Nominee for Member of the Board of Administrators of the United States Institute of Peace

Kathryn Wheelbarger is presently Vice President for Upcoming Ideas at Lockheed Martin Government Affairs, where by she sales opportunities a workforce targeted on encouraging superior technological solutions to worldwide stability problems.  She beforehand served as Performing Assistant Secretary of Protection for Global Security Affairs at the U.S. Department of Defense.  In that job, she was dependable for producing and advising the Secretary of Defense on protection policies connected to the Center East, Europe/NATO, Africa, the Western Hemisphere, and Russia and Eurasia.  For her provider, she was awarded the Defense Distinguished Public Company Medal, the Defense Department’s optimum civilian award.  Promptly prior to joining Lockheed Martin, she was a fellow with The Washington Institute. 

From 2009 to 2017, Wheelbarger held many senior roles on Capitol Hill to include things like Policy Director on the Senate Armed Services Committee for Chairman McCain (R-AZ), Deputy Employees Director on the Dwelling Permanent Decide on Committee on Intelligence for Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI), and Deputy Workers Director on the Energy and Commerce Committee for Ranking Member Joe Barton (R-TX).  Before in her job, she served as Counsel to Vice President Dick Cheney and Affiliate Basic Counsel and Counselor to the Secretary at the Office of Homeland Protection. Kathryn started her occupation clerking on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and litigating with two nationally identified legislation firms.  Elevated in California, Wheelbarger  graduated Summa Cum Laude from UCLA with a BA in Political Science and Cum Laude with a J.D. from Harvard Regulation College.  

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