President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

• Brad Carson – General Counsel of the Army, Department of Defense
• Alastair Fitzpayne - Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, Department of the Treasury
• Michael A. McFaul - Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Department of State
• Kevin A. Ohlson - Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

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

• H. Fisk Johnson - Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations
• Thomas L. McKiernan - Member, Board of Visitors to the United States Air Force Academy

President Obamasaid, “I am pleased to announce that these experienced and committed individuals have agreed to join this Administration, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

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

Brad Carson, Nominee for General Counsel of the Army, Department of Defense

Brad Carsonis an associate professor of business law at the University of Tulsa, where he is also Director of the National Energy Policy Institute.  From 2009 to 2010, Mr. Carson served in Iraq on active military duty, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star.  Prior to his deployment, Mr. Carson was the President, CEO and Business Development Director for Cherokee Nation Businesses, L.L.C. (CNB)  He joined CNB in 2005, following a one year fellowship at the Harvard University Institute of Politics.  Mr. Carson served as the U.S. Representative for the 2nd District of Oklahoma during the 107th and 108th Congresses.  From 1997 to 1998, Mr. Carson was a White House Fellow and worked as a Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Special Projects at the Department of Defense.  Mr. Carson’s legal career began in 1994 at Crowe & Dunlevy where he worked as an antitrust attorney.  Mr. Carson is a Rhodes Scholar and an Officer in the United States Navy Reserve.  He holds a B.A. from Baylor University, an M.A. from Trinity College at Oxford University, and a J.D. from University of Oklahoma College of Law.

Alastair Fitzpayne, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, Department of the Treasury

Alastair MacLennan Fitzpayne has served as the Department of the Treasury's Deputy Chief of Staff since January 2009.  He has also served as the Department’s Executive Secretary since April 2010.  Prior to joining the Department of the Treasury, Mr. Fitzpayne spent 8 years working on Capitol Hill in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.  From 2001 to 2006, Mr. Fitzpayne served as legislative assistant for Sen. Evan Bayh advising him on tax and budget, small business, and technology issues.  From 2007 through 2009, Mr. Fitzpayne served as senior policy advisor for Representative Rahm Emanuel and advised him on tax, budget, and financial services issues in his capacity as Democratic Caucus Chair and member of the Ways and Means Committee. Prior to his service on Capitol Hill, Mr. Fitzpayne worked as a Presidential Management Intern at the Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Fitzpayne holds a B.A. from Vassar College and Masters of Public Policy from the University of California-Berkeley.   

Michael A. McFaul, Nominee for Ambassador of the United States to the Russian Federation, Department of State

Michael A. McFaul is a Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director, Russia and Eurasia Affairs for the White House National Security Staff.  Previously, McFaul was a professor in the Political Science Department at Stanford University, a position he held from 1995 to 2009. While at Stanford, McFaul served from 2003 to 2009 as the Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and the co-director of the Iran Democracy Project at the Institution. He was also a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, serving as the Deputy Director of the Institute from 2006 to 2009. From 2005-2009, he also was the director of Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development, and Rule of Law.  From 1994 to 2009, McFaul was a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and served as the Director of the Russian Domestic Politics Program. He holds a B.A. in International Relations and Slavic Languages and an M.A. in Russian and East European Studies, both from Stanford University.  McFaul received a Ph.D. in International Relations from Oxford in 1991, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. 

Kevin A. Ohlson, Nominee for Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

Kevin A. Ohlson is the Chief of the Professional Misconduct Review Unit in the Department of Justice.  From 2009 to January 2011, he was Chief of Staff and Counselor to United States Attorney General Eric Holder.  From 2007 to 2009, he was the Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), where he had previously served as Deputy Director from 2002 to 2007.  From 2001 to 2002, he was a member of the Board of Immigration Appeals.  From 1997 to 2001, Mr. Ohlson was Chief of Staff to the Deputy Attorney General.  Prior to that, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.  In 1990, while serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, he was recalled to active duty service in the United States Army and was awarded the Bronze Star for his actions during the Persian Gulf War.  At the conclusion of his military service, Mr. Ohlson resumed his duties as an Assistant U.S. Attorney.  Mr. Ohlson was commissioned as an officer in the United States Army in 1986 and served as a judge advocate and paratrooper.  He holds a B.A. from Washington and Jefferson College and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.

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

H. Fisk Johnson, Appointee for Member, Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations

H. Fisk Johnson is Chairman of the Board, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc.  He was first appointed to the President’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiation in 2002.   Dr. Johnson is a Director of The Consumer Goods Forum, and Trustee Emeritus of Cornell University.   In addition, he has served as a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and a Director of Conservation International.  Dr. Johnson holds a Bachelor degree in Chemistry and Physics, a Masters degree in Engineering,an M.S. and Ph.D. in Applied Physics, and a Masters in Business Administration, all from Cornell University.

Thomas L. McKiernan, Appointee forMember, Board of Visitors to the United States Air Force Academy

Dr. Thomas L. McKiernan is a professor of medicine in cardiology at Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine and an alumnus of the United States Air Force Academy.  At Loyola, he is also the Director of the Cardiac Care Unit and the Medical Director of the Center for Heart and Vascular Medicine.  Earlier in his career, Dr. McKiernan was the Director of the Cardiac Care Unit at Foster McGaw Hospital.  He served for 14 years in the Air Force, including periods as Chief of Internal Medicine at Scott United States Air Force (USAF) Medical Center and Chief of Cardiology at Keesler USAF Medical Center.  Dr. McKiernan resigned from the Air Force in 1984 as a Lieutenant Colonel.  He was a member of the Board of Directors of Loyola University Physicians Foundation from 1989 until 2003 and served on the Board of Directors of the Chicago American Heart Association from 1996 to 1997.  Dr. McKiernan has a B.S. from the United States Air Force Academy and a M.D. from the Stritch School of Medicine at the Loyola University Chicago.