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 The website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work.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

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 individuals to key Administration posts:

  •          Brad R. Carson – Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Department of Defense  
  •          Peter William Bodde – Ambassador to Libya, Department of State
  •          Catherine Ebert-Gray – Ambassador to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and the Republic of Vanuatu, Department of State
  •          Dennis B. Hankins – Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea, Department of State
  •          Elisabeth I. Millard – Ambassador to the Republic of Tajikistan, Department of State

President Obama said, “I am grateful that these talented and dedicated individuals have agreed to take on these important roles and devote their talents to serving the American people.  I look forward to working with them.”

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

Brad R. Carson, Nominee for Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Department of Defense

Brad R. Carson is the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and has served as Under Secretary of the Army since March 2014.  Previously, Mr. Carson served as General Counsel of the Army from 2012 to 2014.  He was a Professor of Business Law at the University of Tulsa from 2009 to 2012 and the Director of the National Energy Policy Institute at the University of Tulsa from 2010 to 2012.  Mr. Carson served on active military duty as a U.S. Navy officer deployed to Iraq, embedded with the U.S. Army's 84th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Battalion from 2008 to 2009.  Mr. Carson was the CEO of Cherokee Nation Businesses, L.L.C. from 2006 to 2008 and a fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 2005.  From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Carson represented the 2nd District of Oklahoma in the United States House of Representatives.  Mr. Carson received a B.A. from Baylor University, an M.A. from Trinity College at Oxford University, and a J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

Ambassador Peter William Bodde, Nominee for Ambassador to Libya, Department of State

Ambassador Peter William Bodde, a career member of the Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, currently serves as U.S. Ambassador to Nepal, a position he has held since 2012.  Ambassador Bodde served as Assistant Chief of Mission for Assistance Transition at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq from 2010 to 2012 and as U.S. Ambassador to Malawi from 2008 to 2010.  He served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan from 2006 to 2008.  From 2002 to 2006, Ambassador Bodde was Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Frankfurt, Germany.  Prior to this, he served as Director of the State Department’s Office of Management Policy from 2000 to 2002 and as Administrative Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India from 1997 to 2000.  Ambassador Bodde served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal from 1994 to 1997.  His earlier assignments include postings in Denmark, Bulgaria, and Guyana.  Ambassador Bodde received a B.A. from the University of Maryland.

Catherine Ebert-Gray, Nominee for Ambassador to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and the Republic of Vanuatu, Department of State

Catherine Ebert-Gray, a career member of the Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, currently serves as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Administration, a position she has held since 2011.  Previously, Ms. Ebert-Gray served as the Director of the Office of Overseas Employment from 2009 to 2011, as a Management Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines from 2006 to 2009, and the U.S. Embassy in Rabat, Morocco from 2005 to 2006.  Prior to that, she served in the Department as a Supervisory Post Management Officer in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs from 2002 to 2004 and a Program Analysis Officer in the Bureau of Administration from 2001 to 2002.  She also served as a Management Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Bamako, Mali from 1999 to 2001, as a Management/Contracting Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Frankfurt, Germany and at the U.S. Embassy in Bonn, Germany from 1998 to 1999, and as a Management Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Lome, Togo from 1995 to 1997.  Earlier in her career, Ms. Ebert-Gray served as a General Services Officer in Australia, Egypt, and Papua New Guinea.  Ms. Ebert-Gray received a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin and an M.S. from the Eisenhower School at the National Defense University.

Dennis B. Hankins, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea, Department of State

Dennis B. Hankins, a career member of the Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, is Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Sao Paulo, Brazil, a position he has held since 2012.  Previously, Mr. Hankins served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan from 2010 to 2012 and at the U.S. Embassy in Nouakchott, Mauritania from 2007 to 2010.  He also served as the Deputy Director at the Department of State’s Office of Peacekeeping in the Bureau of International Organizations from 2005 to 2007, as Consul General at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 2004 to 2005, and as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique from 2001 to 2004.  Prior to this, he was a Political/Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal from 1999 to 2001 and a Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1996 to 1998.  His earlier assignments with the Department of State include postings in Brazil, Haiti, Sudan, and Thailand.  Mr. Hankins received a B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University and an M.A. from the National War College.

Elisabeth I. Millard, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Tajikistan, Department of State

Elisabeth I. Millard, a career member of the Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, currently serves as Deputy Executive Secretary at the Department of State, a position she has held since 2013.  Previously, Ms. Millard served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Astana, Kazakhstan from 2011 to 2013, as Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Casablanca, Morocco from 2008 to 2011, and as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for South and Central Asian Affairs on the National Security Council staff from 2006 to 2008.  Prior to that, she served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal from 2004 to 2006, as Director for South and Central Asian Affairs on the National Security Council staff from 2002 to 2004, and as Political Officer at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India from 2000 to 2002.  Ms. Millard also served as a Desk Officer in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and a Watch Officer in the Executive Secretariat at the Department of State.  She began her career in the Foreign Service with assignments in the Czech Republic and Denmark.  Earlier in her career, Ms. Millard worked for Delphi International, the United States Agency for International Development in New Delhi, India, and for Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company in Manama, Bahrain.  Ms. Millard received a B.S. from the London School of Economics and an M.A. from The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.