WASHINGTON - Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following leaders to serve as key leaders in his administration:
- Anjali Chaturvedi, Nominee for General Counsel, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Patrice H. Kunesh, Nominee for Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Kristina A. Kvien, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Armenia
- Robert William Forden, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Cambodia
- Lucy Tamlyn, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Randy W. Berry, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Namibia
- Pamela M. Tremont, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Zimbabwe
- Manuel P. Micaller, Jr., Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Tajikistan
- Kimberly McClain, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Rolfe Michael Schiffer, Nominee for Assistant Administrator for Asia, United States Agency for International Development
- Moshe Marvit, Nominee for Member of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission
- Robert E. Primus, Nominee for Member of the Surface Transportation Board
- Thomas E. Harvey, Nominee for Member of the Veterans Affairs Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission
Anjali Chaturvedi, Nominee for General Counsel, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Anjali Chaturvedi is a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. During her career, Chaturvedi has worked in all three branches of the government and in private practice. Prior to returning to government service, Chaturvedi was the Assistant General Counsel and Director of Investigations for Northrop Grumman Corporation, leading the company's global investigations team. She earlier served as an Assistant General Counsel at British Petroleum and as a partner at the Washington, DC law firm of Nixon Peabody. Before entering private practice, Chaturvedi was a federal prosecutor. During her time at the Justice Department, she served both in the District of Columbia and the Northern District of California US Attorneys' Offices, including as Deputy Chief of the Felony Trial Section and Chief of the Organized Crime Strike Force, and a detail as Counsel to Senator Dianne Feinstein on the Senate Judiciary Committee. She began her legal career clerking for the Honorable Gregory E. Mize of the District of Columbia Superior Court. Chaturvedi also taught trial advocacy and criminal procedure as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and Hastings College of Law.
Born in Cortland, New York, Chaturvedi is a first-generation American. She is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law School and Cornell University. She is also a certified yoga teacher and leadership coach. She lives in Chevy Chase, MD with her husband and son.
Patrice H. Kunesh, Nominee for Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Patrice H. Kunesh, of Standing Rock Lakota descent, has committed her career to public service, including several positions at the tribal, state, and federal level. Kunesh recently returned to the Native American Rights Fund, where she began her legal career. Since then, she has served as in-house Counsel to the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and on the faculty at the University of South Dakota School of Law. Kunesh also held appointments as the Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and as the Deputy Solicitor for Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior. In addition, she established the Center for Indian Country Development, an economic policy research initiative, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
Kunesh recently founded Pe?í? Haha Consulting, a social enterprise committed to fostering culturally-centered Native economic development, and she was appointed to the US Treasury Community Development Advisory Board (CDFI Fund) as the representative for Native communities. She holds a JD from the University of Colorado School of Law and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Kristina A. Kvien, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Armenia
Kristina A. Kvien, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, serves as Deputy Chief of Mission at U.S. Embassy Kyiv. She was previously Chargé d'Affaires ad interim from 2020-2022. Prior to that, Kvien served as Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France and as Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. In both Paris and Bangkok, she served more than one year as Acting Deputy Chief of Mission. She also served as Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in London. Earlier in her career, Kvien was detailed to the National Security Council in Washington, D.C. as Director for EU, Ukraine and Belarus affairs. Other overseas assignments include the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia; the U.S. Mission to the EU in Brussels; and the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Republic of the Philippines. Domestic assignments include the Office of European and Regional Affairs, and the Office of Central European Affairs, both in the Bureau of Europe and Eurasian Affairs. Kvien, a native of California, holds a BA from Occidental College and an MS from the U.S. Army War College. She is a recipient of multiple State Department performance awards and speaks Russian and French.
Robert William Forden, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Cambodia
Robert Forden is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor. He currently serves as a Senior Advisor in the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau at the Department of State in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, he was the Deputy Chief of Mission and also Chargé d'Affaires, ad interim of the U.S. Embassy in the People's Republic of China. Earlier, Forden was the Deputy Director of the American Institute in Taiwan and before that the Economic Counselor of the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel. He was also Deputy Economic Counselor of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and, in Washington, the Deputy Director of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs in the State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Among his other assignments, Forden was Chief of the Kaohsiung Branch of the American Institute in Taiwan and an Economic Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam. Forden earned his Bachelor's degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He speaks Chinese (Mandarin) and Vietnamese.
Lucy Tamlyn, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Lucy Tamlyn, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, is currently the Chargé d'Affaires, ad interim at the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan. Previously, she served as U.S. Ambassador to the Central African Republic, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, and as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassies in Portugal and in Chad. Earlier she had assignments as Economic Counselor at the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, as a Provincial Reconstruction Team Leader in Erbil, Iraq, and as Director of the Office of the Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan in the State Department's Bureau of African Affairs. Among other postings during her four decades of diplomatic service, Tamlyn has worked as Alternate Permanent Representative, Deputy Director, Economic and Social Council Section at the U.S. Mission to the UN, New York and as Alternate Permanent Representative, U.S. Mission to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture in Rome, Italy. She earned a Bachelor's degree from St. John's College, Annapolis, Maryland and a Master's degree from Columbia University School of International Affairs. Tamlyn is the recipient of numerous State Department awards, including the Secretary's Award for Expeditionary Service. She speaks French and Portuguese.
Randy W. Berry, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Namibia
Randy Berry is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Career Minister. He currently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to Nepal. Prior to that, Berry was Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and, before that, the State Department's first Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons. Berry served as Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy, Kathmandu, and was twice a Principal Officer and Consul General - first at the U.S. Consulate General in Auckland, New Zealand and then at the U.S. Consulate General in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. His other assignments include service as Deputy Principal Officer, U.S. Consulate General, Cape Town, South Africa; Senior Desk Officer for South Africa, Bureau of African Affairs, Department of State; and as Political Section Chief, and then Regional Refugee Coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Kampala, Uganda. Early in his career Berry was Vice Consul at the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and then at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt. Berry earned his B.A. from Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas.
Pamela M. Tremont, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Zimbabwe
Pamela Tremont is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor. She currently is assigned as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden and had the additional responsibility of serving as Chargé d'Affaires, ad interim for 18 months. Previously, Tremont was assigned first as Assistance Coordinator and then as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine. Prior to that, she served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus. Among her other roles, Tremont has been Deputy Director for NATO Policy in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the State Department, the Political/Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia, and a Political Military Officer in the U.S. Embassy in London, United Kingdom. Tremont also served as Political Military Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, as a Desk Officer for South Africa in the Bureau of African Affairs, and as a Watch Officer in the State Department's Operations Center. Tremont earned B.A. and M.A. degrees from Baylor University and a Master's degree from the Dwight D. Eisenhower School at the National Defense University. She speaks French and Turkish.
Manuel P. Micaller, Jr., Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Tajikistan
Manuel P. Micaller, Jr. is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor. He currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal. Prior to that, Micaller was Deputy Chief of Mission (and Chargé d'Affaires, ad interim) at the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Micaller also served as the Deputy Director of the Office of India Affairs in the State Department's Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs in Washington, D.C and held assignments as the Political - Economic Section Chief at the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe, Tajikistan and as an Economic Officer in the South and Central Asian Affairs Bureau's Office of Regional Affairs. Earlier, Micaller was an Economic Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Rabat, Morocco, worked in the State Department Executive Secretariat and Operations Center, and was posted to positions in Russia and Tajikistan. Micaller earned his Bachelor's degree from The Johns Hopkins University and his Master's in Business Administration from George Washington University. He also received a Master's degree from the National Defense University. His foreign languages include Russian and Tajik.
Kimberly McClain, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Dr. Kimberly McClain currently serves in the Biden-Harris Administration as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this position she advises the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Under Secretaries and Assistant Secretaries on matters involving congressional and legislative affairs. Throughout her 30-year career, McClain has served in a variety of legislative affairs, international affairs, and policy positions in the public and private sectors. Prior to being appointed to the Biden-Harris Administration, McClain served as Director for Congressional Strategy for the Department of the Air Force, where she led teams charged with planning, execution, and management of the Department's congressional engagement strategy. Her public service career includes several legislative roles in the Air Force, including Legislative Advisor to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and also several roles in the Department of Defense, including serving as Director of the Defense Senior Leader Program in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.
In the private sector, McClain served as Senior Executive Communications Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer for Accenture Federal Services and its clients. She also served for two years as a Corporate Training and Development Executive for Sonic Restaurant Industries and as Risk Operations Manager for Capital One Financial Services. A retired Air Force Reserve Officer, McClain earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Sociology from the University of Texas. McClain also earned a Master of Science in Human Relations and International Business with Latin America concentration from Amberton University and a Ph.D. in International Business with a concentration in Africa and Brazil from Northcentral University.
Rolfe Michael Schiffer, Nominee for Assistant Administrator for Asia, United States Agency for International Development
Rolfe Michael Schiffer is Senior Advisor and Counselor on the Democratic Staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He formerly served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs. Before joining the Department of Defense, he was a Program Officer at the Stanley Foundation, responsible for the Foundation`s Asia programs as well as a range of other U.S. national and global security issues and also was a Council on Foreign Relations Hitachi International Affairs Fellow in Japan. Prior to that, worked on the staff of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), including as her Senior National Security Adviser and Legislative Director. Prior to that, he was Director of International Security Programs at New York University`s Center for War, Peace, and the News Media, and Co-Manager of the Poipu Bed and Breakfast Inn in Kauai. Schiffer received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and graduate degrees from the London School of Economics and New York University.
Moshe Z. Marvit, Nominee for Member of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission
Moshe Z. Marvit has worked for the last decade with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), where he currently serves as a Supervisory Attorney Advisor. In this capacity, he manages the Pittsburgh field office, writes decisions for federal Administrative Law Judges, and mediates cases between mine operators and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. He is also a fellow at The Century Foundation, where he researches and writes on workers' rights issues. His writings have been published widely in a variety of law reviews. He has been awarded the Labor and Employment Relations Association Ken May Media Award and the Sidney Hillman Award for his writings in the field of workers' rights. Prior to coming to FMSHRC, he worked in private practice, representing the United Steelworkers, and employees in pension and discrimination matters.
Marvit has served as a member of the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, the Duquesne University School of Law, the Pennsylvania State Unemployment Compensation Advisory Council, and the Steel Valley Authority. He received his JD from Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he also earned a Certificate in Labor and Employment Law. Marvit served on the Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal, and received a Peggy Browning Fellowship to work at the National Labor Relations Board. He has an M.A. from the University of Chicago, an M.A. from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.A. from the Pennsylvania State University. He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his wife and son.
Robert E. Primus, Nominee for Member of the Surface Transportation Board
Robert E. Primus is a Member of the Surface Transportation Board. Primus previously served in the office of Congressman Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), first as his Senior Advisor and then as Chief of Staff. Prior to this, Primus served as Senior Advisor to Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Chief of Staff to Representative Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA). Primus formerly served in the Office of Representative Michael Capuano (D-MA), first as Legislative Director and then as Chief of Staff. In addition to his Chief of Staff duties, Primus advised Representative Capuano on national security, health care, transportation and Coast Guard-related matters. Primus spent four years at Van Scoyoc Associates, Inc. where he represented and advised firm clients on budgetary, appropriations, transportation, and national security matters. Primus also served on the staffs of Representative Mel Reynolds (D-IL), Representative Carrie Meek of (D-FL), and Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).
Primus is a native of Madison, New Jersey. He graduated with honors from Hampton University in 1991, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing. Additionally, Primus received a certificate from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2007 for his participation in the school's Executive Education Program. He is married and has three children.
Thomas E. Harvey, Nominee for Member of the Veterans Affairs Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission
Tom Harvey, an Army veteran who served two and a half years in the Infantry in Vietnam, is the recipient of the Silver Star, Purple Heart and a dozen other decorations for valor and service. He arrived in Washington, DC in 1977 as a White House Fellow and spent much of his career in positions caring for his fellow veterans. He served as Chief Counsel and Staff Director of the U.S. Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on two different occasions, Deputy Administrator of the Veterans Administration, and Assistant Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs for Congressional Relations. He also held a number of senior positions within the Department of Defense and the United States Information Agency. Harvey is married with two grown children. He resides in Palm Beach, Florida.