Jump to main content

This is historical material “frozen in time”. The website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work.

Search form

Briefing Room

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
September 12, 2013

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

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

  • Cynthia H. Akuetteh – Ambassador to the Gabonese Republic and the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Department of State
  • Eric T. Schultz – Ambassador to the Republic of Zambia, Department of State
  • David J. Arroyo – Member, Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
  • Camilla C. Feibelman – Member, Board of Trustees of the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation 

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

  • Leslie Greene Bowman – Member, Committee for the Preservation of the White House
  • Wendy A. Cooper – Member, Committee for the Preservation of the White House 

President Obama said, “These dedicated and accomplished individuals will be valued additions to my Administration as we tackle the important challenges facing America. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

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

Cynthia H. Akuetteh, Nominee for Ambassador to the Gabonese Republic and the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Department of State

Cynthia H. Akuetteh, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, is the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs at the Department of State (DOS), a position she has held since 2012.  From 2011 to 2012, Ms. Akuetteh was the Director in the Office of Europe, Middle East and Africa in the Bureau of Energy Resources at DOS.  From 2009 to 2011, she was the Director in the Office of Central African Affairs at DOS.  Ms. Akuetteh served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 2007 to 2009 and the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from 2005 to 2007.  Prior to this, from 2004 to 2005, Ms. Akuetteh was the Deputy Director in the Office of Economic Policy Staff for the Bureau of African Affairs at DOS.  Other notable positions held by Ms. Akuetteh include: Deputy Division Chief and Economic/Commercial Officer in the Bureau of Economic Affairs; Senior Venezuela Desk Officer in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs; and Trade Policy Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada.  Prior to serving at DOS, Ms. Akuetteh was the Deputy Director of the Peace Corps program in Ghana.  Ms. Akuetteh received a B.A. from C.W. Post College of Long Island University and an M.A. from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University. 

Eric T. Schultz, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Zambia, Department of State

Eric T. Schultz, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, most recently served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, from 2010 to 2013.  Previously, Mr. Schultz was the Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia from 2007 to 2009.  From 2004 to 2007, he was the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Harare, Zimbabwe.  Prior to this, from 2002 to 2004, Mr. Schultz was the Deputy Director in the Office of European Security Policy at the Department of State.  From 2000 to 2002, Mr. Schultz served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.  He was the Deputy Director for Ukrainian, Moldovan, and Belarusian Affairs from 1998 to 2000 and the Political Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia from 1996 to 1998.  Mr. Schultz received a B.A. from Macalester College and an M.A. from the University of Denver.

David J. Arroyo, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

David J. Arroyo is Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs at Scripps Networks Interactive, where he has worked since 2004.  Previously, from 2000 to 2004, Mr. Arroyo was an associate at the firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.  He served as Chairman of the Board of Latino Justice (formerly the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund) from 2008 to 2012.  He was recognized in 2012 by the Imagen Foundation as among the most influential Latinos in entertainment, and in 2010, he received the Luminary Award from the National Association of Multi-Ethnicity in Communications.  Mr. Arroyo received a B.A. from Duke University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

Camilla C. Feibelman, Nominee for Member, Board of Trustees of the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation

Camilla C. Feibelman is Director of the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club, a position she has held since May 2013.  Since first joining the Sierra Club in 2001, she has held various positions including Field Organizer in the Puerto Rico Office, Deputy Press Secretary for Diversity Programs, and Spanish Language/Environmental Justice Media Coordinator.  From 2000 to 2001, she was the National Director of the Sierra Club’s Sierra Student Coalition.  She was a Fulbright Scholar in 1998 and a Morris K. Udall Scholar in 1997.  Ms. Feibelman received a B.A. in Environmental Biology from Columbia University and an M.P. in Urban Planning from the University of Puerto Rico.   

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

Leslie Greene Bowman, Appointee for Member, Committee for the Preservation of the White House

Leslie Greene Bowman is President and CEO of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello in Charlottesville, VA, a position she has held since 2008.  Previously, she was Director and CEO of the Winterthur Museum in Winterthur, DE.  From 1981 to 1997, she served in various curatorial and management positions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  Ms. Bowman is a Member of the Board of Trustees of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  She previously served on the Committee for the Preservation of the White House from 1995 to 2009, and from 2002 to 2008 she served on the Board of the Association of Art Museum Directors.  She was awarded the Gold Good Citizenship Medal from the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution in 2012.  Ms. Bowman received a B.Phil. from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and an M.A. from the Winterthur Program of the University of Delaware.

Wendy A. Cooper, Appointee for Member, Committee for the Preservation of the White House

Wendy A. Cooper is Curator Emerita of Furniture at the Winterthur Museum in Winterthur, Delaware, and was Curator of Furniture there from 1995 to 1999, and the Lois F. and Henry S. McNeil Senior Curator of Furniture from 1999 to 2013.  Previously, she was Curator of Decorative Arts at The Baltimore Museum of Art from 1987 to 1995.  She was a guest curator for the permanent installation of Masterpieces of American Furniture from the Kaufman Collection at the National Gallery of Art.  She previously served as a Member of the Committee for the Preservation of the White House from 1990 to 2009.  She has also held positions at The Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Colonial Williamsburg.  Ms. Cooper received a B.A. from Pembroke College in Brown University and an M.A. from the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture at the University of Delaware.