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The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individual to a key Administration post:

  • Jane D. Hartley – Ambassador to the French Republic, Department of State

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

  • Mia Guttfreund Lehrer – Member, Commission of Fine Arts

President Obama said, “These dedicated individuals bring a wealth of experience and talent to their new roles and I am proud to have them serve in this Administration.  I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.”

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

Jane D. Hartley, Nominee for Ambassador to the French Republic, Department of State

Jane D. Hartley is the Chief Executive Officer of Observatory Group, LLC, a position she has held since 2007.  From 1994 to 2007, Ms. Hartley worked for the G7 Group, serving as its Chief Executive Officer from 1995 until her departure. From 1987 to 1989, Ms. Hartley served as Vice President and Station Manager at WWOR-TV in Secaucus, New Jersey. From 1985 to 1987, Ms. Hartley was Vice President of Marketing of MCA Broadcasting (Universal). She was Vice President of Corporate Communications at Westinghouse Broadcasting from 1983 to 1985, and Vice President of New Markets Development at Group W Cable from 1981 to 1983. From 1978 to 1981, Ms. Hartley served as Associate Assistant to the President in the Office of Public Liaison at the White House, and was Director of Congressional Relations at the Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1977 to 1978. Ms. Hartley was the Executive Director of the Democratic Mayors’ Conference for the Democratic National Committee from 1974 to 1977. She has served as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service since 2012. She is a Member of the Board of Directors of Heidrick and Struggles and a member of the Board of Directors and Overseers of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Ms. Hartley is also on the Executive Committee of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She is a former Vice Chairman and member of the Executive Committee of the Economic Club of New York, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Ms. Hartley received a B.A. from Boston College (Newton College).

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

Mia Guttfreund Lehrer, Appointee for Member, Commission of Fine Arts

Mia Guttfreund Lehrer is President of Mia Lehrer & Associates, a landscape architecture firm, which she founded in 1996. Previously, she was a partner in the architecture and urban design firm of Peter Walker and Partners from 1994 to 1996. Ms. Lehrer also helped create the World Bank Coastal Zone Project in El Salvador in 1976. She is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects Council of Fellows, the Landscape Architecture Foundation Board, and the City of Los Angeles Zoning Advisory Committee. Additionally, Ms. Lehrer served on several Committees for the City of Los Angeles, including the Mayor’s Design Advisory Panel, the Cultural Affairs Commission, the Landscape Architecture Guidelines Committee, as well as the Los Angeles Unified Schools Sustainable Practices Guidelines Committee. She previously served on the TreePeople Board of Directors, the National Gardening Association, and the Josep Lluís Sert Council of Harvard Graduate School of Design. Ms. Lehrer received a B.A. from Tufts University and an M.L.A. from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.