President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

• Madelyn R. Creedon, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs, Department of Defense
• Alan F. Estevez, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness, Department of Defense
• Lewis A. Lukens, Ambassador to the Republic of Senegal and the Republic of Bissau, Department of State
• Paul Wohlers, Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia, Department of State
• Rear Admiral Jonathan W. Bailey, Commissioner, Mississippi River Commission
• Major General Michael J. Walsh, President, Mississippi River Commission

President Obama said, “The extraordinary dedication these individuals bring to their new roles will greatly serve the American people.  I am grateful they have agreed to serve in this Administration, 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:

Madelyn R. Creedon, Nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs, Department of Defense
Madelyn R. Creedon is currently a counsel on the staff of the Senate Committee on Armed Services where she is responsible for the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces as well as threat reduction and nuclear nonproliferation issues. Ms. Creedon first joined the staff of the Senate Committee on Armed Services in 1990 serving until 1995 and then returned to the Committee from 1997 to 2000.   In 2000 she became the first Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration at the Department of Energy.  From 1995 to 1997 she served as the General Counsel of the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission and then returned to the Department of Energy to be the Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy for National Security Programs. Prior to joining the Armed Services Committee in 1990, she spent 10 years in the General Counsel’s office at the Department of Energy. Ms. Creedon holds a B.A. from the University of Evansville and a J.D. from St. Louis University.

Alan F. Estevez, Nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness, Department of Defense
Alan F. Estevez is currently the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Logistics & Materiel Readiness). From October 2002 to November 2006, Mr. Estevez was the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Supply Chain Integrations) responsible for development of global supply chain management and distribution policies. Prior to assuming this position, Mr. Estevez held key positions within the Office of the Secretary of Defense and prior to his time at the Department of Defense, held numerous positions with Military Traffic Management Command in Bayonne, New Jersey, Oakland, California, and Falls Church, Virginia. He is the recipient of the Presidential Rank Meritorious Executive Award, the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service, and the 2005 Service to America Medal awarded by the Partnership for Public Service. Mr. Estevez received an M.A. in National Security Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in 1995 and a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University in 1979.

Lewis A.  Lukens, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Senegal and the Republic of Bissau, Department of State
Lewis A. Lukens is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service.  He currently serves as Executive Director of the State Department’s Executive Secretariat.  Prior to this assignment he served as Consul General in Vancouver, BC, from 2005 to 2008, and as Executive Secretary at the US Embassy in Baghdad from 2004 to 2005.  His other overseas assignments include Dublin, Sydney, Abidjan, and Guangzhou.  In Washington, he worked twice previously in the State Department’s Executive Secretariat; as Special Assistant to the Director General of the Foreign Service; and as Senior Director for Administration at the National Security Council in the White House.  He received his A.B. in History and Masters in Public Policy, both from Princeton University.

Paul Wohlers, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia, Department of State
Paul Wohlers is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and currently serves as Deputy Executive Secretary at the U.S. Department of State.  Mr. Wohlers previously served as Director of the Office of Caucasus Affairs and Regional Conflicts in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Skopje, Deputy Director of the Executive Secretariat Staff, and Senior Watch Officer in the Operations Center.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Wohlers held diplomatic postings at U.S. embassies in Bucharest, Moscow, and Nicosia.  In Washington, Mr. Wohlers worked on arms control issues in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and was Desk Officer for Bangladesh in the Bureau of South Asian Affairs.  He also served on the Executive Secretariat Staff.  He also served as a Naval Flight Officer. Mr. Wohlers is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, and earned a J.D. from the University of Washington.

Rear Admiral Jonathan W. Bailey, Nominee for Commissioner, Mississippi River Commission
Rear Admiral Jonathan W. Bailey is the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commissioned Officer Corps and NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations.    A commissioned officer for nearly 31 years, Rear Admiral Bailey completed seven years of sea duty serving aboard three different hydrographic survey vessels,  and has nine years of flight duty piloting three NOAA aircraft in support of NOAA’s remote sensing program.  He has served as Executive Director to the Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Chief of NOAA’s National Ocean Service Remote Sensing Division.  At the time of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Rear Admiral Bailey oversaw NOAA’s aerial and ground based mapping operations, which aided search and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center and Pentagon.  He was awarded the Commerce Gold Medal group award for technical skill and coordination for his efforts during this critical time.  Rear Admiral Bailey has a M.S. in aeronautical science and a B.S. in natural resources.

Major General Michael J. Walsh, Nominee for President, Mississippi River Commission
Major General Michael J. Walsh is Commander of the Mississippi Valley Division (MVD) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg, Mississippi.  Major General Walsh joined the MVD after serving in Baghdad, Iraq, where he was the Commander for the Corps Gulf Region Division responsible for a $7.5 billion program.  He is also Commander of Task Force Hope, the designation given to the Corps effort in support of the national response plan to Hurricane Katrina.   Major General Walsh graduated from the Polytechnic Institute of New York in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering.  He also earned a master's degree in construction management from the University of Florida.