President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

• John Conger – Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), Department of Defense
• Gregory T. Delawie – Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo, Department of State
• Peter Levine – Deputy Chief Management Officer, Department of Defense
• Vanessa Allen Sutherland – Chairperson and Member, Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

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

• Robert Teranishi – Member, Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences

President Obama said, “I am confident that these experienced and hardworking individuals will help us tackle the important challenges facing America, and I am grateful for their service.  I look forward to working with them.”

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

John Conger, Nominee for Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), Department of Defense

John Conger is currently the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Installations and Environment at the Department of Defense, a position he has held since 2009.  Mr. Conger has concurrently performed the duties of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations and Environment since December 2014, and served as Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations and Environment from 2012 to 2014.  Prior to this, Mr. Conger worked in the Office of Rep. Chet Edwards as his Legislative Director from 2001 to 2009, and concurrently as his Associate Appropriations Committee Staff from 2007 to 2009.  From 2000 to 2001 he was a Professional Staff Member on the House International Relations Committee.  Mr. Conger served as a Legislative Assistant for Rep. Sam Gejdenson from 1999 to 2000, and as a Legislative Assistant for Rep. Jane Harman from 1997 to 1999.  Mr. Conger worked at Adroit Systems as a Legislative Affairs Analyst from 1995 to 1997 and as an Airborne Reconnaissance Systems Analyst from 1993 to 1995.  He was a Research Assistant at the MIT Space Power and Propulsion Laboratory from 1991 to 1993.  Mr. Conger received a B.S. and M.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an M.A. from The George Washington University.

Gregory T. Delawie, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo, Department of State

Gregory T. Delawie, a career member of the Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, currently serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance in the Department of State, a position he has held since 2012.  Previously, Mr. Delawie served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, Germany from 2009 to 2012, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs from 2008 to 2009, Office Director in the Bilateral Trade Affairs Office of the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs from 2007 to 2008, and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Zagreb, Croatia from 2004 to 2007.  Mr. Delawie was Office Director in the Policy Coordination Office of the Bureau of Human Resources from 2001 to 2003, Mid-Level Career Development Officer in the Bureau of Human Resources from 2000 to 2001, Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Italy from 1996 to 2000, and Deputy Division Chief of the Developed Country Trade Division in the Bilateral Trade Affairs Office of the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs from 1994 to 1996.  He also served at U.S. missions in Ankara, Turkey and Frankfurt, Germany, and in the Regional Political-Economic Affairs Office of the Bureau of European and Canadian Affairs, the State Department Operations Center, and the Aviation Policy Office of the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.  Mr. Delawie received a A.B. from Harvard College.

Peter Levine, Nominee for Deputy Chief Management Officer, Department of Defense

Peter Levine most recently served as Staff Director of the Senate Armed Services Committee, a position he held from 2013 to January 2015.  From 1996 to 2012 he served as General Counsel and Minority Counsel of the Senate Armed Services Committee.  Mr. Levine was Counsel for Senator Carl Levin from 1995 to 1996, and Counsel on the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management from 1987 to 1994.  From 1983 to 1987 he was an Associate at Crowell and Moring.  Mr. Levine received an A.B. from Harvard College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Vanessa Allen Sutherland, Nominee for Chairperson and Member, Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

Vanessa Allen Sutherland serves as the Chief Counsel for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration at the Department of Transportation, a position she has held since 2011.  Prior to this, she served as Senior Counsel to Altria Client Services from 2008 to 2011.  From 2004 to 2008, Ms. Sutherland served as Counsel to Philip Morris USA.  From 1998 to 2004, she held multiple roles at Digex, Inc., MCI (WORLDCOM) Subsidiary, including Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Senior Corporate Counsel, and Corporate Counsel.  From 1997 to 1998, Ms. Sutherland was a Legal Associate at MCI Telecommunications Corporation.  In 1996, Ms. Sutherland was a Law Clerk at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and from 1994 to 1995, she was a Law Clerk at Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP.  Ms. Sutherland received a B.A. from Drew University and a J.D. and M.B.A. from American University.

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

Dr. Robert Teranishi, Appointee for Member, Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences

Dr. Robert Teranishi is a Professor of Social Science and Comparative Education, the Morgan and Helen Chu Endowed Chair in Asian American Studies, and Co-Director of the Institute for Immigration, Globalization, and Education at the University of California, Los Angeles positions he has held since 2013.  Since 2004, he has concurrently served as a Senior Faculty Fellow at the Steinhardt Institute for Higher Education Policy at New York University (NYU).  From 2002 to 2014, he was an Assistant Professor and then an Associate Professor of Higher Education in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at NYU.  From 2011 to 2013, Dr. Teranishi served as a Member of the Equity and Excellence Commission at the Department of Education.  From 2010 to 2012, he was a strategic planning and restructuring consultant for the Educational Opportunity and Scholarship division of the Ford Foundation.  Dr. Teranishi was a senior research associate at NYU’s Alliance for International Higher Education Policy Studies from 2002 to 2005 and from 2001 to 2002, he was the National Institute of Mental Health Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s W.E.B. DuBois Collective Research Institute.  Dr. Teranishi received a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.