President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

Daniel L. Shields III, Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam, Department of State
Joseph M. Torsella,  United States Representative to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform
Andrew Traver, Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives at the Department of Justice

President Obama also announced his intent to appoint Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel as a Member of the American Battle Monuments Commission.

President Obama said, “These outstanding men and women are welcomed and valued additions to this Administration.  I am confident that they will greatly serve the American people in their new 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 individuals to key Administration posts:

Daniel L. Shields III, Nominee for Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam, Department of State
Daniel L. Shields III is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. He is currently the Director of the Office of Mainland Southeast Asia. Previously Mr. Shields served as the Deputy Chief of Mission to U.S. Embassy Singapore. Other overseas assignments include Beijing, Tokyo, Nagoya and Manila. In Washington, Mr. Shields served as Economic Deputy in the Office of China and Mongolia, Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs and Cambodia Desk Officer. Mr. Shields received an M.S. from the National War College and a B.S. from Georgetown University.

Joseph M. Torsella, Nominee for United States Representative to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform
Joseph M. Torsella currently serves as Chairman of the Pennsylvania State Board of Education.  He was the founding President and CEO of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, a non-profit museum and education center dedicated to explaining and celebrating American ideas and ideals. He has also been a small business owner and served as Deputy Mayor for Policy and Planning in Philadelphia.  Mr. Torsella is a former Rhodes Scholar and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate with a B.A. in History and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.  

Andrew Traver, Nominee for Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Department of Justice
Andrew Traver is currently the Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATFE) in the U.S. Department of Justice.  Since 2004, Mr. Traver has overseen all investigations of the illicit use and trafficking of firearms and explosives and the commission of arson, and directed all ATF law enforcement programs within the state of Illinois.  From 2001 to 2004, he served as an Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the San Francisco Field Division of ATFE, where he supervised criminal enforcement offices in the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, California.  From 2000 to 2001, Mr. Traver served as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the New Orleans Field Division of ATFE, where he coordinated all criminal enforcement efforts throughout the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas.  From 1998 to 2000, he was a criminal investigator in the Office of Inspection in ATF Headquarters in Washington, DC.  From 1993 to 1998, Mr. Traver served as a Group Supervisor in the Philadelphia Field Division of ATF.  In 1987, he joined ATF and began his career as a special agent in the Chicago Field Division.  Mr. Traver served as a board member of the Illinois Drug Enforcement Officers Association and the Great Lakes Law Enforcement Executives Advisory Committee.  He was also a member of the Returning Combat Veterans Research Project.  Mr. Traver holds a B.A. degree from Northern Illinois University, where he graduated summa cum laude.  He is also a Naval Officer Candidate School graduate and served aboard the USS Benjamin Stoddert in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

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

Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, Appointee as Member, American Battle Monuments Commission
Dr. Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel is the Vice Chair of the New York State Council on the Arts and has served as Chair of the Historic Landmarks Preservation Center since 1995.  Dr. Diamonstein-Spielvogel was the first Director of Cultural Affairs for New York City and was also the longest-serving Landmarks Commissioner in the city's history, spanning four mayoral administrations from 1972 to 1987.  In addition, she is a former chair of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Foundation, and a former member of the New York City Art Commission and the New York City Cultural Commission. Dr. Diamonstein-Spielvogel was appointed by President Reagan to the board of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council and by President Clinton to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, where she was the first woman vice chair in its 100-year history. She is the author of 19 books, producer of nine television series, and curator of seven international museum exhibitions—one of which traveled to 82 countries under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State.  In addition, Dr. Diamonstein-Spielvogel sits on a broad array of boards, including the boards of The Trust for the National Mall, the Fresh Air Fund, and the New York State Board for Travel and Tourism.