President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

• Mary B. DeRosa, Representative of the United States of America to the Sixty-sixth Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations
• Frank E. Loy, Representative of the United States of America to the Sixty-sixth Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations
• Kendrick B. Meek, Representative of the United States of America to the Sixty-sixth Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations

The President also announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:

• Jack Baylis, Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council
• David J. Grain, Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council
• Donald R. Knauss, Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council
• Constance H. Lau, Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council
• Beverly A. Scott, Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council

President Obama said, “These fine public servants both bring a depth of experience and tremendous dedication to their new roles.  Our nation will be well-served by these men and women, 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:

Mary B. DeRosa, Nominee for Representative of the United States of America to the Sixty-sixth Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations
Mary B. DeRosa served as Deputy Counsel to the President and National Security Council Legal Adviser from January 2009 until June 2011. Before joining the Administration, Ms. DeRosa was a staff member on the Obama Biden Transition Team.  Ms. DeRosa was Chief Counsel for National Security for the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2007 to 2008 and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies from 2002 to 2007. From 1994 to 2001, Ms. DeRosa held a number of positions in the Clinton administration, including serving as Special Counsel to the General Counsel at the Department of Defense, Deputy Legal Advisor to the National Security Council, and Special Assistant to the President and Legal Advisor. Prior to joining the government, Ms. DeRosa was in private practice at Arnold & Porter. She holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the George Washington School of Law.

Frank E. Loy, Nominee for Representative of the United States of America to the Sixty-sixth Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations
Frank E. Loy was the Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs at the Department of State from 1998 to 2001.  From 1981 to 1995, Mr. Loy was President of The German Marshall Fund of the U.S.  Prior to that, Mr. Loy served at the Department of State as Director of the Bureau of Refugee Programs, with personal rank of Ambassador, from 1979 to 1981 and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs from 1965 to 1970.  Mr. Loy also held a number of positions in the business sector including roles as President of Penn Central Company and as Senior Vice President for International Affairs of Pan American World Airways.  Mr. Loy currently serves on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations such as the Environmental Defense Fund, the Nature Conservancy, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Washington Ballet, Resources for the Future, and the Pew Center for Global Climate Change.  Mr. Loy holds a B.A. from UCLA and L.L.B. from Harvard.

Kendrick B. Meek, Nominee for Representative of the United States of America to the Sixty-sixth Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations
Kendrick B. Meek is the President of KBM Solutions LLC, a consulting firm focusing on disaster recovery, humanitarian assistance, emergency medical relief, and Chairman of the Editorial Board of Politic365, an online news source for policy and politics affecting communities of color.  From 2002 to 2010, Mr. Meek represented the 17th Congressional District of Florida.   During his time in Congress, Mr. Meek served on the House Armed Services and Ways and Means Committees.  He also served as co-chairman of the 30-Something Working Group, and was appointed to the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee.  Mr. Meek began his career as a Trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol.  He later became a Captain and was assigned to the security detail traveling with Democratic Lt. Gov. Buddy MacKay.  Mr. Meek served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1995 to 1998 and in the Florida Senate from 1999 to 2002.   Mr. Meek graduated from Florida A&M University in 1989 with a Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to  key Administration posts:

Jack Baylis, Appointee for Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council
Jack Baylis is the Executive Vice President of Global Water for AECOM Technology Corporation, a global provider of professional, technical and management support services for a range of markets, including transportation, facilities, environmental, energy, water, and government.  Previously, he was the U.S. Group Executive for Strategic Development at AECOM.  Prior to joining AECOM, Mr. Baylis was Senior Vice President at CH2M Hill, a global provider for full-service engineering, construction, and operations.  He also served as  Vice President at Brown and Caldwell and as President and Chief Operating Officer of the manufacturing firm Linabond.  Mr. Baylis holds a B.S. from the University of California at Davis.

David J. Grain, Appointee for Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council
David J. Grain is the Founder and Managing Partner of Grain Management, LLC, a private equity firm that invests in the telecommunications sector, primarily focused on Federal and state government wireless systems.  Grain Management’s investments include towers, spectrum, and backhaul.  Prior to founding Grain Management, Mr. Grain served as President of Global Signal Inc. from 2002 to 2005.  Before joining Global Signal, Mr. Grain was Senior Vice President of AT&T Broadband's New England Region and was an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley.   He is the Vice Chair of the Investment Advisory Council for the Florida State Board of Administration.  Mr. Grain holds a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross and an M.B.A. from The Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College.

Donald R. Knauss, Appointee for Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council
Donald R. Knauss is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Clorox Company.  Prior to joining Clorox, Mr. Knauss worked for The Coca-Cola Company from 1994 to 2006.  His executive leadership there included President and Chief Executive Officer of The Minute Maid Company from 2000 to 2003 and President and Chief Operating Officer of Coca-Cola North America from 2004 to 2006. Mr. Knauss previously held a variety of positions in marketing and sales with the Frito-Lay and Tropicana divisions of PepsiCo, Inc.  He began his business career as a brand manager in the paper products division at Procter & Gamble. Prior to that, he served as an officer of the United States Marine Corps.  Mr. Knauss holds a B.A. from Indiana University.

Constance H. Lau, Appointee for Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council
Constance H. Lau currently serves as Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer for Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (HEI).  She is also Chairman of the Board for Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., an HEI subsidiary.  Since joining HEI in 1984, Ms. Lau has served in various leadership capacities including Assistant Corporate Counsel for the Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., Assistant Treasurer and Treasurer of HEI, and Financial Vice President and Treasurer of HEI Power Corp., a former HEI subsidiary.  In addition to her current role at HEI, Ms. Lau has also been serving as the President and Chief Executive of American Savings Bank since 2001.  She previously served as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of American Savings Bank from 1999 to 2001.  Ms. Lau began her career as a corporate attorney in San Francisco and has been involved in finance, law, real estate development, investments, and international business.  She holds a B.S. from Yale University, a J.D. from the University of California’s Hastings College of Law, and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.

 Beverly A. Scott, Appointee for Member, National Infrastructure Advisory Council 
 Beverly A. Scott is the Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.  She was appointed to this position in 2007, becoming the first female Chief Executive Officer of MARTA.  Prior to her current position, she served as General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of the Sacramento Regional Transit District.  Prior to that, she served as the General Manager of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, one of four statewide public transit systems in the United States.  Ms. Scott has also held senior-level positions with the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New Jersey Transit Corporation, the Washington Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and Dallas Area Rapid Transit.  Ms. Scott began her career with the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority. Ms. Scott holds a B.A. from Fisk University and a Ph.D. from Howard University.