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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 individual to a key Administration post:

  •          R. David Harden ­­– Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, United States Agency for International Development 

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

  •          Reverend Traci D. Blackmon – Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
  •          Rachel Held Evans  – Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
  •          Reverend Adam Hamilton  – Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships 

President Obama said, “I am pleased to announce that these experienced and committed individuals have decided to serve our country.  I look forward to working with them.”

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

R. David Harden, Nominee for Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, United States Agency for International Development

R. David Harden, a career member of the Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, is the Mission Director at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in the West Bank and Gaza, a position he has held since 2013.  Prior to this, he was Deputy Mission Director at the USAID Mission in Iraq from 2012 to 2013 and Senior Advisor to the Special Envoy for Middle East Peace from 2009 to 2012.  Mr. Harden also served as Senior Development Advisor in Libya in 2011.  From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Harden was Deputy Mission Director at the USAID Mission in the West Bank and Gaza.  He served as the USAID Regional Legal Advisor in Central Asia from 2003 to 2005 and in South Asia from 1999 to 2003.  Mr. Harden received a B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College, an M.A. from Columbia University, and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center. 

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

Reverend Traci D. Blackmon, Appointee for Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships

Reverend Traci D. Blackmon is the Acting Executive Minister of Justice and Witness Ministries for The United Church of Christ.  She is also a Pastor at Christ the King United Church of Christ in Florissant, Missouri, where she has served since 2009.  Reverend Blackmon previously served as Coordinator of Health, Mind, Body, and Spirit for BJC HealthCare, and as Pastor of Simpson Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Columbia, Missouri.  Reverend Blackmon has thirty years of experience in the healthcare industry and served on The Ferguson Commission.  She received a B.S. from Birmingham-Southern College and an M.Div. from Eden Theological Seminary. 

Rachel Held Evans, Appointee for Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships

Rachel Held Evans is a Christian blogger and the author of Faith Unraveled, A Year of Biblical Womanhood, and Searching for Sunday. In addition, Ms. Evans speaks at retreats, conferences, universities, and churches across the country. She has been featured on NPR, Slate, The BBC, The Washington Post,  The Huffington Post, CNN, The View, and The Today Show, and in 2012, she was named one of Christianity Today's “50 Women to Watch.”  Ms. Evans received a B.A. from Bryan College.    

Reverend Adam Hamilton, Appointee for Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships

Reverend Adam Hamilton is the founding Pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, the largest United Methodist Church in the United States.  Reverend Hamilton is the author of 23 books, including Making Sense of the Bible.  Reverend Hamilton  speaks on leadership across the country, and in 2013, he delivered the sermon at the Inaugural Prayer Service held at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.  Reverend Hamilton received a B.A. from Oral Roberts University and an M.Div from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University.