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

• William P. Doyle – Commissioner, Federal Maritime Commission
• Richard A. Lidinsky, Jr. – Chairman, Federal Maritime Commission
• James M. Demers – Member, Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation 
• Naomi A. Walker – Member, Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation
• Katrina McFarland – Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Department of Defense
• Kenneth Merten – Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia, Department of State

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

• David Kotelchuck – Member, Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health
• Loretta R. Valerio – Member, Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health
• Karen L. Jefferson – Member, National Historical Publications and Records Commission
• Martin C. Faga – Member, Public Interest Declassification Board
• William H. Leary – Member, Public Interest Declassification Board

President Obama  said, “It gives me great confidence that such dedicated and capable individuals have agreed to join this Administration to serve the American people. I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come.”

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

William P. Doyle, Nominee for Commissioner, Federal Maritime Commission  
William P. Doyle is the Chief of Staff at the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA). Since April 2008, he has also served as the Director of Permits, Scheduling , and Compliance at the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects. From 2002 to 2008, Mr. Doyle was the Deputy General Counsel and the Director of Government and Legislative Affairs of MEBA.  Prior to joining MEBA, he served as a U.S. Coast Guard Licensed Marine Engineer from 1992 to 2001. Mr. Doyle received his J.D. from the Widener University School of Law and his B.S. in Marine Engineering from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

Richard A. Lidinsky, Jr., Nominee for Chairman, Federal Maritime Commission
Richard A. Lidinsky, Jr., is the Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), having been appointed by the President in September 2009.  Prior to joining FMC, Mr. Lidinsky worked in the maritime trade industry for nearly 40 years, holding a number of positions in both business and government.  From 1986 to 2006, he worked at the global maritime company Sea Container Ltd., where he established its Washington D.C. office and served as Vice President for Governmental Affairs.   From 1975 to 1986, he served as Director of Tariffs and national Port Affairs at the Maryland Port Administration.  Mr. Lidinsky also served as a member of the Sealift Transportation Committee of the National Defense Transportation Association; as Board Director on the Defense, Transportation and Port Security Committee of the British-American Business Association; and as a High-Level Expert to the U.S. NATO Delegation on the Ports and Intermodal Transportation Committee from 1995-2005.  He received his J.D. from the University of Maryland and his B.A. from the School of Government and Public Administration of American University.

James M. Demers, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation
James M. Demers is the President of Demers & Blaisdell, formerly known as The Demers Group, which he founded in 1996.  Previously, he served as Vice President for Government Affairs at The Associates Corporation in Dallas, TX (1991-1996) and Marine Midland Bank in New York, NY (1990-1991). Before that, Mr. Demers worked as a stockbroker at Dean Witter in Portsmouth, NH (1989-1990).  In 2008, the Secretary of State for New Hampshire appointed Mr. Demers to the New Hampshire International Trade Advisory Committee.  He received an M.B.A. from Southern New Hampshire University and a B.A. from the University of Miami.

Naomi A. Walker, Nominee for Member, Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation
Naomi A. Walker is the Deputy Director of Government Affairs, Director of State Government Relations at American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). In 2009 she served as the Associate Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Labor and before that, the Director of State Government Affairs at the AFL-CIO.  She also established the National Labor Caucus of State Legislators in 2001. Before joining the AFL-CIO in 1997, Ms. Walker served as the Field Director of the Preamble Center for Public Policy.  From 1993 until 1996, she was the Midwestern Regional Organizer for the Children’s Defense Fund. Ms. Walker received her B.A. in Public Policy Studies from Duke University.

Katrina McFarland, Nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Department of Defense
Katrina McFarland has served as the President of Defense Acquisition University (DAU) since December 2010.  Before joining DAU, she was the Director for Acquisition for the Missile Defense Agency, from 2006 to 2010.  From 1992 to 2005, she worked for the U.S. Marine Corps System Command, holding several positions including Director of Management and Air Defense Systems.  From 1990 to 1992, Ms. McFarland worked for the Department of National Defense in Ottawa, Ontario, where she carried out Procurement Head of Electronics duties.  She began her career in 1986 as a general engineer at Marine Corps Headquarters.  Ms. McFarland received her B.S. from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada.

Ambassador Kenneth Merten, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia, Department of State
Ambassador Kenneth Merten currently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Haiti.  Prior to serving as Ambassador in Haiti, he was the Deputy Executive Secretary at the Department of State.  A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Ambassador Merten joined the Foreign Service in 1987.  His previous overseas assignments have included Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, Economic Section Chief at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Economic Officer at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels, Economic Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bonn, Germany, and Vice Consul in Port-au-Prince.  Ambassador Merten’s Washington assignments have included two tours in the State Department Operations Center, Executive Assistant in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, and Cuba Desk Officer.  Ambassador Merten holds a B.A. from Miami University in Ohio, an M.P.A. from American University, and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Miami University.

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

Dr. David Kotelchuck, Appointee for Member, Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health
Dr. David Kotelchuck is Professor Emeritus at Hunter College of the City University of New York.  From 1989 to 2010, Dr. Kotelchuck was Director of the graduate Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences program at Hunter College, and Deputy Director of the New York/New Jersey Education and Research Center. He was also an associate professor at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine from 1992 to 2011, a lecturer in physiology and physics at the Harvard School of Public Health from 1979 to 1980, and Assistant Professor of Physics at Vanderbilt University from 1962 until 1967.  In 2008, he received the Alice Hamilton award from the Occupational Health and Safety section of the American Public Health Association.  Dr. Kotelchuck received his B.A. in Physics from Johns Hopkins University, a Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell University. and an M.P.H in Occupational Health and Safety from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Loretta R. Valerio, Appointee for Member, Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health
Loretta R. Valerio has served as an Ombudsman assisting New Mexico claimants under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) since 2007.  Appointed by Governor Bill Richardson, Ms. Valerio has intervened to expedite and improve the claims adjudication for hundreds of EEOICPA claimants.  Ms. Valerio was appointed to this position after seven years of contractor work as a local caseworker and outreach staff for the U.S. Department of Labor administering EEOICPA.  Earlier in her career, Ms. Valerio was a contractor employee at Los Alamos National Laboratory, one of the major Department of Energy nuclear weapons sites, where she was involved in the administration of safety related operations, training and communications at the site.

Karen L. Jefferson, Appointee for Member, National Historical Publications and Records Commission
Karen L. Jefferson is the Records Manager at the Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center.  She has over 35 years of experience as an archivist working at Howard University, Duke University, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.  Ms. Jefferson is an active member and Fellow of the Society of American Archivists and a founding member of the Academy of Certified Archivists.   Ms. Jefferson received a B.A. in History from Howard University and an M.S. in Library Science from Clark Atlanta University.

Martin C. Faga, Appointee for Member, Public Interest Declassification Board
Martin C. Faga was the President and Chief Executive Officer of The MITRE Corporation for six years, retiring in 2006.  Before joining MITRE, Mr. Faga served from 1989 until 1993 as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space.  At the same time, he served as director of the National Reconnaissance Office, responsible to the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence for the development, acquisition, and operation of all U.S. satellite reconnaissance programs.  Mr. Faga has been awarded the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal, the Air Force Exceptional Civilian Service Medal, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.  In 2004, he was awarded the Intelligence Community Seal Medallion.  He was first appointed to the Public Interest Declassification Board in October 2004, and again in January 2009.  He has also served on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board.  Mr. Faga graduated from Lehigh University with a B.S. and an M.S. in electrical engineering.

William H. Leary, Appointee for Member, Public Interest Declassification Board
William H. Leary was Special Adviser to the National Security Advisor and Senior Director for Records and Access Management on the National Security Staff until the beginning of 2011.  In that capacity, he had served as Chair of the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel and Chair of the Records Access and Information Security Interagency Policy Committee.  A strong proponent of governmental transparency, Mr. Leary was one of the primary executive branch officials behind the creation of the Public Interest Declassification Board in 2000 and the development of President Obama’s Executive Order 13526 on Classified National Security Information.  Prior to joining the National Security Council staff, he served as the Deputy Director of the Agency Services Division at the National Archives and Records Administration for five years.  From 1968 until 1973, Mr. Leary taught American history at the University of Virginia, the College of William and Mary, and the University of South Alabama.  He received his B.A. in Foreign Affairs and M.A. and A.B.D. in history, all from the University of Virginia.