Women in Business, Jobs, Women Entrepreneurs, Women in the News: News On Women

Women Do Play Basketball!

A New York Times article on Obama and his basketball games examines if the Old Boys club is back in town in Washington. It seems no women were invited to play in the game. Being an exbasketball player myself, I am sensitive to being left out. But there is a silver lining here for the President. Why not invite some of the terrific women basketball teams in your neighborhood to play, like the women's basketball team at Georgetown or local highschool girls' basketball teams? Here is an opportunity to encourage girls to play team sports and to give the girls that do a chance to reap the rewards they deserve. Encouraging team sports is so important to young women both for learning leadership skills and for good health as well. And by the way, I'm up for a family pick up game any time - yours against mine - and you can count Reggie Love as family! - (Photo - Georgetown Basketball - from their website.)

Women in Government Nominated by Obama

President Obama intends to nominate Lillian Sparks (pictured) to be Commissioner, Administration for Native Americans, Department of Health and Human Services. Lillian, who holds a JD from  Georgetown University Law Center, has served as Executive Director of the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) since 2004. See White House press release 10/22.

President Obama intends to nominate Betty E. King to be Representative of the United States to the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, with the rank of Ambassador. Betty served as the United States Representative to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush.  See White House press release 10/22.

President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate  Caryn A. Wagner to be Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security. Caryn, who holds a Master of Science from the University of Southern California and served as a Signals Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Officer in the United States Army, had been Budget Director and cyber security coordinator for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. See the White House press release 10/22.

Women in Government - Appointments This Week

President Barack Obama intends to nominate Jill Long Thompson (pictured left) to be a Member of the Farm Credit Administration Board. Jill, who holds an MBA and PhD in Business from the Kelley School at Indiana University, is a former Member of the United States House of Representatives and the former Under Secretary for Rural Development at the United States Department of Agriculture. See White House press release 10/15.

President Barack Obama intends to nominate Lynnae M. Ruttledge to be Commissioner, Rehabilitation Services Administration, Department of Education. Lynnae has served as the Director of the Washington Department of Social and Health Service, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation since 2005. See White House press release 10/15.

President Barack Obama intends to nominate Anne Slaughter Andrew to be Ambassador to the Republic of Costa Rica, Department of State. Anne, who holds a JD from Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis, is currently the Principal of New Energy Nexus, LLC. See White House press release 10/15.

President Barack Obama intends to nominate Jessie H. Roberson, to be a Member of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Jessie, who holds a B.S. degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, is Senior Vice President of Environmental Affairs for the Atlantic Sea Island Group. See White House press release 10/14.

President Obama nominated Sharon Lubinski for U.S. Marshal for the District of Minnesota. Lubinski is the Assistant Chief of Police at the Minneapolis Police Department, where she has served for 20 years. See White House press release 10/13.

Rosanna Peterson Nominated by Obama

President Obama nominated Rosanna Peterson to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. Rosanna, who graduated from the University of North Dakota Law School, currently serves on the faculty of the Gonzaga University School of Law. See White House press release 10/13.

Women Appointed to Government Jobs this Week

President Barack Obama intends to nominate Elizabeth M. Harman to be Assistant Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Grant Programs), Department of Homeland Security. Elizabeth, who holds an MBA from California Pacific University, is the Director of the Hazardous Materials and Weapons of Mass Destruction Training Department at the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). See White House press release 10/9.

President Obama intends to nominate Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis to be Ambassador to the Republic of Hungary. Eleni, who holds an an MBA from the University of California/ Berkeley, is President of AKT Development Corporation. See White House press release 10/9.

President Obama announced his intent to nominate Judge Christina Reiss to the United States District Court for the District of Vermont.  Judge Reiss, who holds a JD from the University of Arizona College of Law, currently serves as a State Judge in the Lamoille District of the Vermont Superior Court and Vermont District Courts. See White House press release 10/9.

President Obama nominated Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Judge Thompson, who holds a J.D. from Boston University School of Law, is an an Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Superior Court. See White House press release 10/6.

Mary Miller Nominated by Obama for Government Job in Treasury

President Obama intends to nominate Mary J. Miller to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Markets, Department of the Treasury. Mary is a Vice President of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., and the Director of their Fixed Income Division. See White House press release 10/5. 

Appointments of Women in Government

President Obama nominated Stephanie Villafuerte (pictured left) to be U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado. Stephanie, who holds a J.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles, currently serves as Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Bill Ritter. See White House press release 9/30.

President Obama nominated Beth Phillips to be U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. Beth,who holds a JD from the University of Missouri, has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri since 2008. See White House press release 9/30.

President Obama announced his intent to nominate Susan B. Carbon to be Director, Office on Violence Against Women, Department of Justice. Susan, who holds a JD from the DePaul University College of Law, has been a Supervisory Judge of the New Hampshire Judicial Branch Family Division since 1996. See White Huose press release, 10/1.

President Obama announced his intent to nominate Pamela S. Hyde to be Administrator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services. Pamela, who holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan, has served as Secretary of the New Mexico Human Services Department (HSD) since 2003. See White House press release 10/2.

President Obama intends to nominate Christine H. Fox (pictured left)to be Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, Department of Defense. Christine, who holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics from George Mason University, is President of the Center for Naval Analyses, the Department of the Navy's federally funded research and development center. See White House press release 9/30.

President Obama intends to nominate Sara Manzano-Diaz, to be Director of the Women's Bureau, Department of Labor. Sara, who holds a JD from Rutgers University School of Law, has been Deputy Secretary for Regulatory Programs at the Pennsylvania Department of State. See White House press release 9/30.

Government Jobs Given to Women

President Obama intends to nominate Marisa Lago (pictured left) to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Markets and Development, Department of the Treasury. Marisa, who holds a JD from Harvard Law School, was most recently the Chief Executive Officer and President of Empire State Development. See White House press release 9/24.

President Obama intends to nominate Carolyn Colvin to be Deputy Commissioner of Social Security, Social Security Administration. Carolyn is Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation. See White House press release 9/24.

President Obama intends to nominate Adele Logan Alexander to be a Member of the National Council on the Humanities. Adele is a Professor of History at The George Washington University. See White House press release 9/25.

President Barack Obama intends to nominate Victoria A. Espinel to be U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, Office of Management and Budget. Victoria, who holds an LLM from the London School of Economics, a JD from Georgetown University Law School, is the Founder and President of Bridging the Innovation Divide, a not-for-profit foundation. See White House press release 9/25.

President Obama nominated Stephanie Rose to be U.S. Attorney for Northern District of Iowa. Stephanie, who holds a JD from the University of Iowa, is an Assistant U.S. Attorney and the Deputy Chief of Criminal Prosecutions in the Northern District of Iowa. See White House press release 9/25.

President Barack Obama intends to nominate Elaine Schuster to be Representative of the United States of America to the Sixty-fourth Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, and Laura Gore Ross to be Alternate Representative of the United States of America to the Sixty-fourth Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. See White House press release 9/22.

President Barack Obama intends to nominate Mary Warlick to be Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia, Department of State. Mary, who holds an MA from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, served until May 2009 as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia Policy. See White House press release 9/22.

Women Nominated for Government Jobs This Week

President Obama intends to nominate Chai R. Feldblum (pictured) to be Commissioner, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Chai is a Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center where she has taught since 1991. See White Housepress release 9/14.

President Obama intends to nominate Carmen Lomellin for Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the Organization of American States, with the rank of Ambassador. Carmen, who holds an MBA in International Business from De Paul University, is currently the Director of Outreach for the Organization of America States (OAS). See White Housepress release 9/14.

President Barack Obama intends to nominate Elizabeth Robinson to be Chief Financial Officer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Beth, who holds a Ph.D. in Geophysics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is currently the Assistant Director for Budget at the Office of Management and Budget. See White House press release 9/16.

President Obama nominated Justice Barbara Milano Keenan for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Justice Keenan, who holds a J.D. from George Washington University Law School and a Masters from the University of Virginia Law School, has been a Justice on the Virginia Supreme Court since 1991. See White House press release 9/14.

President Barack Obama intends to nominate Gladys J. Commons to be Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management & Comptroller), Department of the Navy, Department of Defense. Gladys, who holds a Masters degree in Public Financial Management from American University, served as Comptroller of Military Sealift Command from 2002 to 2004. See White House press release 9/11.

President Barack Obama intends to nominate Leslie Rowe to be Ambassador to the Republic of Mozambique. Leslie, who holds an M.A. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University and a M.Ed. from Northeastern University, has served as U.S. Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu since 2006. See White House press release 9/11.

President Barack Obama intends to nominate Cynthia Stroum to be Ambassador to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Cynthia has been an angel investor in over twenty successful technology, biotechnology and retail start-up companies. See White House press release 9/11.

President Barack Obama intends to nominate Barbara J. Bennett to be Chief Financial Officer, Environmental Protection Agency. Barbara is the former Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Discovery Communications. See White House press release 9/3.

Do Women Lawmakers Outperform Men?

Erika Lovley of Politico.com writes about a study done by researchers at Stanford University and University of Chicago that concludes women are more effective than their male counterparts in Congress. Read it for yourself if you don't believe me.

Linda McMahon to Run for Connecticut Senate Seat

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. today announced that Linda McMahon has stepped down as Chief Executive Officer after announcing her candidacy for the United States Senate, representing the state of Connecticut. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Women CEO's Looking to Run California

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the women running for office in California. Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay, is running for Governor, and Carli Fiorina, former CEO of HP, is looking at running for a Senate seat according to the article. Read the article to learn how their CEO experience could be good for California. Read more about Meg Whitman's campaign.

Cynthia Quarterman Nominated By Obama

President Obama intends to nominate Cynthia L. Quarterman to become the Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration at the Department of Transportation. Cynthia, who holds a JD from Columbia University's School of Law and a Bachelors of Science in Industrial Engineering degree from Northwestern University, is a partner in the Washington, DC office of the law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP. See White House press release 8/14.

SBA Appoints Regional Administrators

The U.S. Small Business Administration appointed three women Regional Administrators.

Jeanne Hulit (pictured) was appointed regional administrator in Region I, to oversee the SBA’s programs and services in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Jeanne has been a senior vice president for commercial lending at Citizens Bank since 2002.

Marianne O’Brien Markowitz was appointed regional administrator in Region V, to oversee the SBA’s programs and services in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Marianne, who holds an MBA from DePaul University, recently served as the Chief Financial Officer for Obama for America.

Yolanda Garcia Olivarez was appointed regional administrator for the SBA, overseeing Region VI, which is headquartered in Dallas and includes Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Yolanda has been a senior vice president/commercial lender and business development officer at Wells Fargo Bank.

The SBA also appointed Eileen Harrington the Chief Operating Officer. Eileen was previously with the Federal Trade Commission as Acting Director, and Deputy Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. Read more in the Business Wire press release.

Women Nominated for Government Service

President Obama nominated Martha Minow, Julie Reiskin, and Gloria Valencia-Weber to be Members of the Board of the Legal Services Corporation. Martha (pictured), who holds a JD from Yale Law, is Dean of Harvard Law School. Julie, who holds a Masters in Social Work from the University of Connecticut, is the Executive Director of the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition. Gloria, who graduated from Harvard Law School, is a Professor at the University of New Mexico (UNM) School of Law. Read more in the White House press release.

President Obama nominated Dolly Gee to the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Dolly, who holds a JD from UCLA Law School, is a Managing Partner in the Los Angeles law firm Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dohrmann & Sommers LLP. See White House press release.

President Obama nominated Jane Stranch for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Jane, who holds a JD from Vanderbilt University School of Law, is a Partner at Nashville law firm Branstetter, Stranch and Jennings. See White House press release.

President Obama nominated Genevieve May to be U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Genevieve is the Deputy Superintendent with the Bureau of Investigations, Louisiana State Police. See White House press release.

President Obama nominated Deborah K. Gilg to be United States Attorney, District of Nebraska. Deborah, who graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Law, is President of Gilg, Kruger & Troia P.C. L.L.O. See White House press release.

President Obama nominated Jacqueline Nguyen to the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Judge Nguyen, who received her law degree from the University of California at Los Angeles, is currently a Superior Court Judge for the County of Los Angeles. See White House press release.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor Confirmed as U.S. Supreme Court Justice

Judge Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed by the Senate to become the third female and the first Hispanic U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Judge Sotomayor, who graduated from Yale Law School, was confirmed in a 68-31 vote. Read more on yale.edu.

Anne Northup Nominated as a Commissioner to CPSC

President Obama nominated former Congresswoman Anne Northup as a Commissioner to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Anne served the Third Congressional District of Kentucky in the United States House of Representatives from 1997-2006. Read more in the White House press release July30.

Ketanji Brown Jackson Nominated by Obama

President Obama nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to be a Member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Ketanji, who graduated from Harvard Law School and served as a law clerk for the Honorable Stephen G. Breyer (U.S. Supreme Court), is Of Counsel at Morrison & Foerster. Read more in the White House press release.

Jacqueline Berrien to Chair EEOC

President Barack Obama intends to nominate Jacqueline A. Berrien to be Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Jacqueline has served as Associate Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) since September 2004. See White House press release 7/16.

Regina Benjamin Nominated to be Surgeon General, Dept of HHS

President Obama intends to nominate Regina M. Benjamin to be Surgeon General, Department of Health and Human Services. Regina, who received her MD degree from the University of Alabama, Birmingham and an MBA from Tulane University, is Founder and CEO of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. See White House press release 7/13.