President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

• Sondra Myers - Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
• Jackie Norris - Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars

President Obama said, “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 appoint the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Sondra Myers, Appointee for Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
Sondra Myers is the Senior Fellow for International, Civic and Cultural Projects at the University of Scranton, and the Director of its Schemel Forum, a non-credit continuing education program.  She is the author of numerous books, including The New Rwanda:  Prosperity and the Public Good (2008). From 2001 to 2005 Ms. Myers was a senior associate at the University of Maryland’s Democracy Collaborative, and the Rapoport Democracy Fellow at the Walt Whitman Center at Rutgers University from 2000 to 2001. Ms. Myers served as Special Assistant to the Chairman for Partnerships at the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1993 to 1995 and was Cultural Advisor to Pennsylvania Governor Robert P. Casey from 1987 to 1993.  A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Ms. Myers is a past chair of the Federation of State Humanities Councils and was appointed by President Carter to the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts in 1980. Ms. Myers received her B.A. in Philosophy from Connecticut College.

Jackie Norris, Appointee for Member, Commission on Presidential Scholars
Jackie Norris is currently the Executive Director of the Points of Light Corporate Institute, where she has led its corporate strategy and employee engagement programs since September 2011.  Ms. Norris is also an Adjunct Professor at American University’s School of Public Affairs.  Prior to this, Ms. Norris served from 2009 to 2010 as the Senior Advisor to the CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service and in 2009 as Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady.  In these roles, Ms. Norris helped to develop the Administration’s plans to address issues such as healthy eating, national service, supporting military families, and women in the workplace.  During the 2008 Presidential Campaign, Ms. Norris served as the Iowa State Director during the general election.  From 2002 to 2007, Ms. Norris served as a high school government teacher in Iowa. She is a recipient of the James Madison Fellowship which supports aspiring and experienced secondary school teachers in graduate study of American history, American government, and social studies.  Ms. Norris holds a B.A. from SUNY College at Geneseo and an M.A. in Political Science from Iowa State University.