President Biden Announces Key Nominees

WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to serve as key leaders in his administration:

• Tonya P. Wilkerson, Nominee to be Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security
• Abigail L. Dressel, Nominee to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Angola, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
• James Holtsnider, Nominee to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Independent State of Samoa
• Elaine Marie Clegg, Nominee to be a Member of the AMTRAK Board of Directors
• Ronald L. Batory, Nominee to be a Member of the AMTRAK Board of Directors
• Marcus D. Graham, Nominee to be a Member of the Farm Credit Administration
• Matthew Kaplan, Nominee to be Federal Cochairperson of the Great Lakes Authority

Tonya P. Wilkerson, Nominee to be Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security

Tonya P. Wilkerson serves as the ninth Deputy Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Wilkerson brings a wealth of knowledge and over three decades of experience across the intelligence community, including leadership skills, experience across multiple mission areas, and deep expertise in the space sector.

Wilkerson previously served as the Associate Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency for Science and Technology. She also held many prominent positions within the National Reconnaissance Office, spanning a range of activities including research and development, acquisition, and operations.

Wilkerson has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a Master of Engineering Management from George Washington University.

Abigail L. Dressel, Nominee to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Angola, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe

Abigail L. Dressel, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, is currently the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Previously, she served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique. Prior to that, she was Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassies in Colombia and Brazil. As the Director of the Office of International Media Engagement in the Bureau of Public Affairs, Dressel led the U.S. Department of State’s outreach to major international media outlets. Previous assignments include tours at the U.S. Embassies in Lisbon, Portugal; Luanda, Angola; Lima, Peru; and San Salvador; El Salvador. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Dressel worked in international development. A native of Connecticut, Dressel holds a bachelor’s degree from the George Washington University. She speaks fluent Spanish and Portuguese.

James Holtsnider, Nominee to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Independent State of Samoa

James Holtsnider is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Counselor. He currently serves as Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Previously he was the Deputy Director of the Office of Iranian Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Earlier, Holtsnider was the Management Officer of the U.S. Mission in Somalia. He also served in Afghanistan as a Political Advisor to the U.S. military’s Regional Command East in Bagram and in Iraq as a Provincial Action Officer on U.S. Provincial Reconstruction Team Ninewa, Mosul, Iraq. Holtsnider has also had assignments at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Italy as a General Services Officer, at the U.S. Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia as a Consular Officer, and as a Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. Prior to joining the State Department, Holtsnider served for six years in the U.S. Marine Corps.  Holtsnider received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado and his master’s degree from Princeton University. He speaks Italian and French.

Elaine Marie Clegg, Nominee to be a Member of the AMTRAK Board of Directors

As the CEO of Valley Regional Transit, Elaine Marie Clegg provides leadership, strategic direction, and operational oversight for Treasure Valley’s public transportation authority ensuring the directives of the Board of Directors are achieved. Clegg has been a public servant focused on transportation and land use for over 25 years, with nearly 20 years on the Boise City Council where she led many initiatives, including the Elaine Clegg City of Trees Challenge and an effort to reestablish passenger rail in Idaho and the greater Northwest.

As a city council member Clegg served on numerous boards, executive boards, advisory committees, and councils. She has held the Chair or President position on the boards of Valley Regional Transit, COMPASS, the Association of Idaho Cities at the state level, and the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations, and National League of Cities Transportation Infrastructure Services Committee nationally.

Clegg also led the statewide non-profit Idaho Smart Growth, serving on national non-profit boards while advocating and planning better transportation and land use policy and implementation, assisting over 50 Idaho communities directly to improve transportation plans, networks and programs. Since 1998 Clegg has worked to improve access and mobility across modes in the policies of the reauthorizations of the Surface Transportation Bill, including gaining support for establishing the Safe Routes to School Program and enhancing the rail portion of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Born and raised in Boise, Idaho, Clegg lives in Boise with her husband, where she frequently walks, bikes, rides the bus, and, drives when she must. She loves spending time with her five children, their spouses, and her 14 grandchildren.

Ronald L. Batory, Nominee to be a Member of the AMTRAK Board of Directors

Ronald L. Batory is a career professional with more than 45 years of field and system experience in the railroad industry. He spent the first 23 years of his career working for both eastern and western Class 1 railroads in addition to serving along with a court appointed Trustee’s successful oversight of a regional railroad bankruptcy. In 1994 he was appointed President of The Belt Railway Company of Chicago, a multiple owned subsidiary of then nine competing Class 1 carriers. His leadership success of serving their needs in Chicago Gateway led to CSX and Norfolk Southern Corporation later recruiting him to Consolidated Rail Corporation in preparation of their STB approved partitioning of the eastern carrier and establishing the Shared Assets Areas. He was later appointed President & Chief Operating Officer for the entire corporate entity. Upon his retirement in 2017, he pursued public service in Washington, District of Columbia, Batory was nominated and appointed as Administrator of The Federal Railroad Administration.

Batory is a graduate of Adrian College, with a bachelor’s degree along with a master’s degree from Eastern Michigan University. He serves on various governing and advisory boards associated within the sectors of both industry and education. Batory resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife, Barbara.

Marcus D. Graham, Nominee to be a Member of the Farm Credit Administration

Marcus D. Graham has served as Deputy Administrator for Field Operations since January 2021, leading the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency-Field Operations. He is responsible for the supervision and oversight of agency’s network of over 2,100 state and county offices and provides leadership to more than 18,000 employees. Graham has efficiently delivered agency programs, administrative operations, and the use of agency resources to all states and Puerto Rico. He has successfully onboarded 50 diverse regional appointed State Executive Directors that provide effective program delivery and customer service to all producers, farmers, and ranchers. Additionally, Graham has created retention and recruitment incentives and hiring programs to support existing and future agency employees.

Before joining USDA as Deputy Administrator, Graham served at USDA for more than two decades. He has worked on the county, state, and national levels with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) in various positions, including Legislative Director-Office of External Affairs, Senior Policy Advisor to the FSA Administrator, and Senior Loan Specialist in the Farm Loan Division. In addition to his FSA employment, Graham served on the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry under Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) where he assisted on legislation for the Farm Bill’s Title V-Credit Title.

Graham graduated from Tennessee State University with a Master of Science in Agribusiness and a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness and Economics. He also is a graduate of the President’s Management Council Interagency Rotation Program and Graduate School USA’s Executive Leadership Program.

Matthew Kaplan, Nominee to be Federal Cochairperson of the Great Lakes Authority

Matthew Kaplan has a deep knowledge of the Great Lakes region’s economic development, infrastructure and environmental needs, and the opportunities for the newly created Great Lakes Authority. As a longtime member of Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur’s (D-OH-09) staff, Kaplan worked extensively on advancing the interests of the entire Great Lakes region in Congress and throughout the federal government. Kaplan was a key advisor to Congresswoman Kaptur in her leadership of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, the Bipartisan and Bicameral Great Lakes Task Force, and in drafting the legislation to create the Great Lakes Authority. In that role, he worked with stakeholders from industry, labor, academia, and communities across the Great Lakes on issues such as managing invasive species, marshaling federal resources for economic development and developing alternative energy opportunities. Kaplan also taught and mentored undergraduate students in a politics course at Oberlin College. 

Kaplan currently serves as a Senior Attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council where he coordinates federal strategy on regenerative agriculture. He previously served as an Honors Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, and as a law clerk for the senior judges of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. He is a graduate of the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law and Oberlin College.

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