President Biden Announces Key Appointments to Boards and Commissions

WASHINGTON – Today, President Biden announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to serve in key roles:

• Mark A. Milley, to be Member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council
• Martin L. Adams, to be Member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council
• David J. Grain, to be Member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council
• Kurt A. Summers, Jr., to be Member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council
• Gina Kay Abercrombie-Winstanley, to be Member of the National Security Education Board
• Karl Eikenberry, to be Member of the National Security Education Board
• M. Osman Siddique, to be Member of the National Security Education Board
• Rory M. Brosius, to be Member of the National Security Education Board
• Jeffrey L. Bleich, to be Member of the National Security Education Board
• Patrick Mendis, to be Member of the National Security Education Board

National Infrastructure Advisory Council

The National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) advises the White House on how to reduce physical and cyber risks and improve the security and resilience of the nation’s critical infrastructure sectors. The four new members will join 26 members previously announced by the President in August 2022. Since its establishment in 2001, the NIAC has conducted dozens of studies to address issues such as improving intelligence information sharing across government and industry, identifying and reducing complex cyber risks, better preparing for and responding to disruptions that can ripple across multiple infrastructure systems, facilitating cooperative decision-making among senior executives and federal leaders during imminent threats and disaster responses, and addressing the skill gaps and loss of institutional knowledge in key national workforces.

Mark A. Milley, to be Member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council

General Mark A. Milley, U.S. Army, Retired, served as the 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 2019 to September 2023. Prior to becoming Chairman, Milley served as the 39th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. Milley has held multiple command and staff positions in six divisions and a Special Forces Group throughout the last 44 years to include command of the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division; the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division; Deputy Commanding General, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault); Commanding General, 10th Mountain Division; Commanding General, III Corps; and Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces Command.

While serving as the Commanding General, III Corps, Milley deployed as the Commanding General, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command and Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Forces Afghanistan. Milley’s joint assignments also include the Joint Staff operations directorate and as Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense. His operational deployments include the Multi-National Force and Observers Task Force, Sinai, Egypt; Operation JUST CAUSE, Panama; Operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY, Haiti; Operation JOINT FORGE, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, Iraq; and three tours during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, Afghanistan. He also deployed to Colombia, Somalia, and served two years on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the Republic of Korea.

In addition to his bachelor’s degree in political science from Princeton University, Milley has a master’s degree in international relations from Columbia University and a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He is also a graduate of the MIT Seminar XXI National Security Studies Program. A native of Massachusetts, Milley graduated from Princeton University in 1980, where he received his commission from Army ROTC.

Martin Lewis Adams, to be Member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council

Martin L. Adams is the General Manager and Chief Engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the nation’s largest municipally-owned water and power utility. Beginning his LADWP career in 1984, Adams served as both the Senior Assistant General Manager of Water and as Chief Operating Officer overseeing the Water and Power systems before taking the helm at LADWP in July 2019. A seasoned engineer and recognized industry leader, Adams brings a wealth of practical, hands-on experience spanning 40 years, centering on a unique combination of creative planning and problem solving combined with years of direct operational experience.

Adams currently oversees a $7+ billion annual budget and a workforce of more than 11,000 employees dedicated to delivering water and power to the four million residents of Los Angeles. He has spearheaded the infrastructure investments needed to meet the agency’s ambitious transition to a carbon-free energy future and led the planning and implementation of sweeping changes to the city’s water storage, conveyance, and treatment facilities to meet evolving water quality regulations and post-911 security concerns. Adams has been a driving force behind Los Angeles’s investment in a green hydrogen future.

A native of the greater Los Angeles area, Adams resides in Burbank, California, with his family, where he previously served for nine years on that city’s Water and Power board. He continues to serve on a number of industry-related and community boards. Adams earned his degree in Civil Engineering from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.

David J. Grain, to be Member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council

David J. Grain is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Grain Management, LLC. Prior to founding Grain Management in 2007, Grain led Pinnacle Towers (later renamed Global Signal), transforming it into one of the largest independent wireless communication tower companies in the world. Grain previously served as Senior Vice President of AT&T Broadband’s New England Region and was an Executive Director in the High Yield Finance Department at Morgan Stanley.

Grain is the Lead Independent Director of Southern Company’s Board of Directors, Independent Director of Dell Technologies, Director of New Fortress Energy, Fiduciary Trustee of the Brookings Institution, a member of the Advisory Council of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and Vice Chair of the Board of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. He is also a Lifetime Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the Dartmouth Board of Trustees.

Kurt A. Summers, Jr., to be Member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council

Kurt A. Summers is a Senior Managing Director and Head of Public-Private Partnership Investments and ESG Strategy at Blackstone Infrastructure Partners. He is responsible for investment strategies in partnership with governments, public entities, civic and labor organizations, and broader stakeholders to help advance local infrastructure priorities and advancing Blackstone Infrastructure’s Environmental, Social and Governance efforts. Prior, he served as Senior Advisor to Blackstone. Summers was elected and served as Chicago’s 70th City Treasurer until 2019. He also served as both Chairman of the Chicago Infrastructure Trust, where he led the largest lighting retrofit project in North America, and Chairman of the Chicago Community Catalyst Fund, a first-of-its-kind $100 million local investment fund focused on private investments in Chicago neighborhoods. Prior to becoming Treasurer, Summers served as a Senior Vice President and member of the Office of the Chairman for GCM Grosvenor.

Summers began his career at McKinsey & Company and later worked as an investment banker in both the leveraged finance and industrials groups at Goldman Sachs. Summers received a BSBA with Management Distinction High Honors in Finance and International Business with a minor in East Asian Studies from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

National Security Education Board

The 14-member National Security Education Board (NSEB) provides strategic guidance and oversight for the National Security Education Program. The National Security Education Program administers multiple fellowships and awards including the David L. Boren Scholarships and Fellowships with the aim of increasing the national capacity to understand and interact effectively with foreign cultures and languages. The NSEB is comprised of six Presidential appointees, including experts from non-profit organizations and academia who provide valuable assistance to the National Security Education Program.

Gina Kay Abercrombie-Winstanley, to be Member of the National Security Education Board

Gina Kay Abercrombie-Winstanley, a 30-year diplomat, is the former Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer for the Department of State. Through her career, she has held a series of senior positions including Ambassador to the Republic of Malta from 2012 until 2016, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commander of U.S. Cyber Forces, and Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism where she grew counterterrorism partners and programs. Additionally, she coordinated the largest evacuation of American citizens from a war zone since WWII.

Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Abercrombie-Winstanley served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Oman. She began her formal work in teaching and leadership development as Chairwoman for Middle East Area Studies at the Foreign Service Institute where U.S. diplomats are trained. Earlier in her career, she served in Baghdad, Jakarta, and Cairo before taking on the position of Special Assistant to the Secretary of State. She is a strong proponent of excellence through inclusion across organizations and strives to break down barriers to the full participation of women and minorities. She currently serves as President of the Middle East Policy Council, the organization’s first woman and African American president.

Abercrombie-Winstanley, a Cleveland native, has degrees from George Washington University and Johns Hopkins University. She was a co-Founder of The Leadership Council for Women in National Security and an active board member for several organizations, including the International Career Advancement Program — ICAP committed to excellence in education and leadership development. In 2019, she was voted into the American Academy of Diplomacy.

Karl Eikenberry, to be Member of the National Security Education Board

Karl Eikenberry is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center. He is also Senior Advisor to the United States Institute of Peace and faculty member of Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University.

His almost four decades of national service culminated as the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2009 until 2011. Before his appointment as Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Eikenberry had a 35-year career in the United States Army, retiring in 2009 with the rank of Lieutenant General. His military operational posts included commander and staff officer with mechanized, light, airborne, and ranger infantry units in the continental U.S., Hawaii, Korea, Italy, and in Afghanistan as the Commander of the American-led Coalition Forces. He held various policy and political-military positions ranging from Deputy Chairman of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Military Committee in Brussels, Belgium, Director for Strategic Planning and Policy for U.S. Pacific Command at Camp Smith, Hawaii, U.S. Security Coordinator and Chief of the Office of Military Cooperation in Kabul, Afghanistan, Senior Country Director for China and Taiwan, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Assistant Army and later Defense Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China.

Eikenberry is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, serves on the boards of The Asia Foundation and American Councils for International Education, and is the Chair of the Alumni Advisory Council of the Regional Studies East Asia Program at Harvard University.

M. Osman Siddique, to be Member of the National Security Education Board

M. Osman Siddique served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Fiji Islands with concurrent accreditations to the Kingdom of Tonga and the Governments of Tuvalu and Nauru from 1999 until 2001. Appointed by President Bill Clinton, he was the first American Muslim U.S. Ambassador to serve as a Chief of Mission anywhere. After receiving his MBA degree from the Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, Siddique started his professional career with a fortune 500 company, but soon emerged as a successful entrepreneur and a prolific businessman in the nation’s capital. Under the tutelage of Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), he became very active in the Democratic Party and national politics.

In 2011, President Obama appointed Siddique as a trustee to the Board of Governors of the East West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Today, in addition to being a strategic advisor to several multinational organizations, Siddique serves on multiple boards including the Atlantic Council as a non-resident senior fellow. Born in Bangladesh, Siddique currently lives with his wife Catherine, in McLean, Virginia. He recently authored his memoir Leaps of Faith… an immigrant’s odyssey of struggle, success and service to his country.

Rory M. Brosius, to be Member of the National Security Education Board

Rory M. Brosius is a partner at Cicero Group, a data-driven management consulting firm, where she helps to lead social sector projects. Prior to joining Cicero, Brosius served as the Special Assistant to the President for Military Families and the Executive Director of Joining Forces at the White House, where she oversaw a policy portfolio that included economic opportunity, military child education, and health and wellbeing for the families, caregivers, and survivors of service members and veterans. A veteran of the Biden Presidential Transition Team and 2020 Presidential Campaign, she previously served as the Deputy Director of Joining Forces during the Obama-Biden Administration.

A social worker by training and a military family member, Brosius has more than a decade of public service, working in roles supporting institutions of higher education, the United States military, federal government, and two Presidential Administrations. Over the course of her career, she has worked to identify and amplify innovative solutions to pressing national security problems, specifically, retention and recruitment of the Force through the lens of personnel and family readiness. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Clemson University, and after entering the workforce, earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California. Born in Lockport, Illinois, she now resides in Washington, District of Columbia.

Jeffrey L. Bleich, to be Member of the National Security Education Board

Jeffrey L. Bleich chairs the board of the Jeff Bleich Centre on Democracy and Disruptive Technologies at Flinders University. He previously served as a Special Master for the U.S. Courts, arbitrator, and as the Chair of the boards of PG&E Co. and Nuix, Ltd. He formerly served as Special Counsel to President Obama in the White House, and as the 24th U.S. Ambassador to Australia from 2009 to 2013.

After receiving his B.A. in Political Science, magna cum laude, Bleich earned an M.P.P. from Harvard with highest honors in 1986, and a J.D. from the UC Berkeley School of Law with highest honors in 1989. At Berkeley, he served as editor-in-chief of the California Law Review. He clerked for Judge Abner Mikva on the D.C. Circuit and Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist on the U.S. Supreme Court, before clerking at the International Tribunal in the Hauge, Netherlands.

Prior to joining the Obama-Biden Administration, Bleich was a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson for 17 years where he handled significant pro bono civil rights matters. He has also served as Chief Legal Officer at Cruise, and as a partner and Group CEO at Dentons LLP. He has held several leadership positions including as Chair of the Fulbright Board, Chair of the California State University Board of Trustees, President of the California State Bar, President of the Bar Association of San Francisco, and President of the Barristers Club of San Francisco. In 1998, he was appointed by President Clinton to serve as director of the White House Commission on Youth Violence following the tragic Columbine, Colorado shootings. Bleich holds honorary degrees from San Francisco State University, Griffith University, and Flinders University in Adelaide, which in 2019 established the Jeff Bleich Centre in his honor.

Patrick Mendis, to be Member of the National Security Education Board

Patrick Mendis is a former American diplomat and military professor in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Indo-Pacific Commands during the Clinton, Bush, and Obama Administrations. Mendis has held many senior government positions in the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, and State. He is currently located in Washington, District of Columbia, while serving as a distinguished visiting professor of transatlantic relations at the University of Warsaw in Poland as well as a distinguished visiting professor of global affairs at the National Chengchi University in Taiwan.

Until recently, Mendis served two terms as a commissioner to the U.S. National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at the Department of State. Previously, he worked as the Secretariat Director of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs under Secretary of State Colin Powell, as well as the Chairman of the U.S. Interagency Policy Working Group on Science and Technology in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs under Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. He also served as a Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, an advisor to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Center for Global Security Research, and a consultant to the World Bank. Mendis also served in the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Mendis is an alumnus of the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He has authored over 200 books, journal articles, newspaper columns, and government reports. Mendis has taught at more than 25 Chinese universities and academies and worked in and travelled to more than 130 countries.

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