On September 14 President Obama announced his intent to nominate Frederick “Rick” Barton for Representative of the United States of America on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador. Official bio released by the WH is below:

Mr. Barton currently serves as a Senior Adviser and Co-Director of the Post Conflict Reconstruction Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Mr. Barton was a member of the CSIS Commission on Smart Power and served on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Humanitarian Assistance. He was also Co-Chair of a working group on Stabilization and Reconstruction at the United States Institute of Peace, Co-Chair of the Princeton Project on National Security’s Working Group on Reconstruction and Development and an expert adviser to the Iraq Study Group and the Task Force on the United Nations.

Mr. Barton has been a Visiting Lecturer at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, where he was the Frederick H. Schultz Professor of Economic Policy and Lecturer of Public and International Affairs. He also served as the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva from 1999-2001. Mr. Barton was the founding Director of the Office of Transition Initiatives at the United States Agency for International Development, serving from 1994-1999.

Prior to his service at the State Department, Mr. Barton was President of Barton & Gingold, a strategy and public relations firm in Portland, Maine from 1983-1994. He served as New England Director of Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Boston from 1978-1981. Previously he served as Chairman of the Maine Democratic Party and on the staff for U.S. Senator William Hathaway.

A graduate of Harvard College (1971), Mr. Barton earned his Master’s in Business Administration from Boston University (1982), with an emphasis on Public Management.

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Mr. Barton was with USAID from 1994-1999. In 2004, Mr. Barton had this to say about USAID contracting policies.

Mr. Barton was also member of President Obama’s transition team for State, National Security, Defense, Intelligence, and Arms Control. Unlike other appointees, Mr. Barton has only contributed $500 to the Obama campaign and $1,000 to all Democratic candidates and parties in 2008.

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President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 9/14/09

On September 14 President Obama announced his intent to nominate Carmen Lomellin for Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the Organization of American States, with the rank of Ambassador. Official bio released by the WH is below:

Ms. Lomellin is currently the Director of Outreach for the Organization of America States (OAS). She previously served as the Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission of Women within the OAS, where she focused on hemispheric policies and issues affecting women, particularly in the areas of gender equality, economic empowerment and human rights.

Prior to her time at the OAS, she served as White House Liaison and Senior Policy Advisor to the Director at the Office of Personnel Management in the Clinton Administration. Ms. Lomellin also worked in Presidential Personnel at the White House and as Adviser on Hispanic Affairs for the White House Office for Women’s Initiatives and Outreach. Prior to her time in Washington, Ms. Lomellin held various positions in Chicago, including serving as Director of the Private Industry Council of Chicago for Mayor Richard M. Daley. She has worked for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund as Director of Leadership Development, and for Chicago United, a civic think tank, as Director of Economic Development.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from St. Joseph’s Calumet College and a Masters in Business Administration in International Business from De Paul University.

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Ms. Lomellin is a former appointee in the Clinton Administration and is a veteran of numerous political campaigns at the local, state and national levels. If confirmed, she would replace Hector E. Morales of Texas who was appointed US Permanent Representative to the OAS in 2008 during George W. Bush’s second term.

Related Item:
President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 9/14/09