Tag Archives: Irwin Steven Goldstein

Confirmations: Goldstein, Lawler, Johnson, Gonzales, and Four New Career Ministers

November 17, 2017 By in Ambassadors, Appointments, Confirmations, Foreign Service, FSOs, State Department, Top Ranks, U.S. Missions, U.S. Senate Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Posted: 4:45 pm PT

 

On November 16, the U.S. Senate confirmed several nominations for the State Department, including the first under secretary confirmation under the Tillerson tenure, two ambassador nominees for Lesotho and Namibia, and two Foreign Service lists.

Mr. Irwin Steven Goldstein, of New York, to be Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy

Mr. Sean P. Lawler, of Maryland, to be Chief of Protocol, and to have the rank of Ambassador during his tenure of service

Ms. Rebecca Eliza Gonzales, of Texas, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Kingdom of Lesotho

Ms. Lisa A. Johnson, of Washington, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Namibia

The U.S. Senate also confirmed the following Foreign Service lists:

2017-11-16 PN1199 Foreign Service Nominations beginning Lisa-Felicia Afi Akorli, and ending Stephanie P. Wilson, which 169 nominations were received by the Senate and appeared in the Congressional Record on November 1, 2017.

2017-11-16 PN1200 Foreign Service Nominations beginning John R. Bass II, and ending Sung Y. Kim, which 4 nominations were received by the Senate and appeared in the Congressional Record on November 1, 2017.

For those keeping tabs that means the population of the current Career Minister rank in the Foreign Service just increased from 22 to 26 with the confirmation of the following:

  • John R. Bass II, of VA
  • John D. Feeley, of DC
  • Judith G. Garber, of VA
  • Sung Y. Kim, of VA

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SFRC Hearings: Goldstein, Gonzales, Johnson, Evans, Lawler #OBE

November 6, 2017 By in FSOs, Hearings, Nominations, Officially In, Political Appointees, SFRC Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Posted: 12:18 am ET
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We missed the Nov 1 confirmation hearings at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, so this is an OBE post. We are posting them below to easily retrieve the nominees’ prepared testimonies and provide a link to the video.  We have also added links to the Certificates of Competency for Chiefs of Mission. Per Section 304 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, Certificates of Competency must be presented to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for presidential nominees to be Chief of Mission that demonstrate the competence of [a] nominee to perform the duties of the position in which he or she is to serve. Unfortunately, there is no such requirements for top ranking nominees in the State Department.

Date: Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: SD-419
Presiding: Senator Portman

Click here for the video of the confirmation hearing.

Mr. Irwin Steven Goldstein
Of New York, To Be Under Secretary Of State For Public Diplomacy
Download Testimony

Ms. Rebecca Eliza Gonzales
Gonzales, Rebecca Eliza – Kingdom of Lesotho – September 2017
Of Texas, A Career Member Of The Senior Foreign Service, Class Of Minister-Counselor, To Be Ambassador Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Of The United States Of America To The Kingdom Of Lesotho |
Download Testimony

Ms. Lisa A. Johnson
Johnson Lisa A. – Republic of Namibia – October 2017
Of Washington, A Career Member Of The Senior Foreign Service, Class Of Counselor, To Be Ambassador Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Of The United States Of America To The Republic Of Namibia
Download Testimony

Mr. James Randolph Evans
(certificate not available at state.gov as of 11/2/2017)
Of Georgia, To Be Ambassador Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Of The United States Of America To Luxembourg
Download Testimony

Mr. Sean P. Lawler
of Maryland, To Be Chief Of Protocol, And To Have The Rank Of Ambassador During His Tenure Of Service
Download Testimony

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NYC Marketing Executive Steven Goldstein to be Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (R)

September 18, 2017 By in Nominations, Officially In, Political Appointees, State Department, Top Ranks Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted: 1:02 am ET
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On September 15, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Irwin Steven Goldstein to be Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy. The title is actually Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (R). The WH released the following brief bio:

Irwin Steven Goldstein of New York to be the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy, Department of State. Mr. Goldstein has been a Senior Vice President at BP Global Solutions, a consulting firm in New York City, since 2012. His recent work includes serving as a senior advisor to Winning Algorithms, a data science start-up. In his four-decade career, Mr. Goldstein has led communications, branding, and social media efforts at several large private sector companies, including as senior vice president and chief communications officer at AllianceBernstein; executive vice president and chief communications officer at TIAA-CREF; and vice president, corporate communications at Dow Jones & Company. In the public sector, he was Assistant to the Secretary and Director of Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior and served five members of the U.S. House of Representatives, primarily as Chief of Staff or Press Secretary. Mr. Goldstein earned a B.A. at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

The nominee is also known as I. Steven Goldstein and his BP Global Solutions bio notes his prior service at the Department of Interior:

Steve’s experience includes seven years as Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer for TIAA, a Fortune 100 financial services firm providing retirement security to individuals in the not-for-profit sector. As Vice President and Chief Communications Officer for Dow Jones/The Wall Street Journal, Steve helped guide one of the world’s premier newspapers through a major redesign and through the tumultuous period following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In the administration of President George H.W. Bush, Steve served as an Assistant Secretary and the Director of Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior.  He previously was a press secretary and chief of staff on Capitol Hill.

There’s also another potential connection to the current denizens of Foggy Bottom. The nominee was EVP and Chief Communications Officer  for TIAA.  Maliz Beams, the former CEO of Retirement Solutions at Voya Financial recently hired as State Department Counselor was also previously the Chief Executive Officer of TIAA-CREF Individual and Institutional Services, LLC (see Former Voya Financial CEO Maliz Beams Appointed @StateDept Counselor).

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