Presidential Appointments Project
Help the president lead the nation
The Presidential Appointments Project, led by the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute, serves as a talent bank for openly LGBT professionals seeking presidential appointments.
The U.S. president appoints thousands of people during his or her time in office. Presidential appointees have the power to set or influence the policies of the many federal departments and administrative agencies that make up the executive branch of government. They can also serve as diplomats and judges, or on numerous federal boards, commissions and other panels that advise the president and his government.
This project ensures the White House has access to qualified, capable openly LGBT applicants who want to serve their country, and whose voices will help reflect the diversity and experience of the American people.
For more answers to common questions about the genesis of the Presidential Appointments Project, read our FAQ.
Who's been nominated?
The following individuals are among the record number of openly LGBT Americans nominated to serve in the Obama administration:
Mark Agrast- Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs at the Department of Justice
Raul Alvillar- Congressional Relations Officer, Housing and Urban Development
Judy Applebaum- Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs at the Department of Justice
Cynthia Attwood- Member, Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission
Daniel Baer- Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Department of State
Vic Basile- Senior Counselor to the Director, Office of Personnel Management
Anthony Bernal- Scheduler, Office of Dr. Jill Biden
Jeremy Bernard- Director of White House and Congressional Affairs, National Endowment for the Humanities
John Berry- Director, Office of Personnel Management
Jeremy Bishop- Special Assistant to the Secretary, Office of Public Engagement at the Department of Labor
Brian Bond- Deputy Director, White House Office of Public Engagement
Raphael Bostic- Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, Housing and Urban Development
Ebs Burnough- Deputy Social Secretary, Office of the First Lady
Margarethe Cammermeyer- Member, Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services
Michael Camunez- Assistant Secretary for Market Access and Compliance, Department of Commerce
Lyle Canceko- Deputy Director, Center for Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Department of Commerce
Ken Choe- Deputy General Counsel, Department of Health & Human Services
Jamison Citron- Confidential Assistant, Office of White House Liaison, Department of Health and Human Services
Brook Colangelo- Chief Information Officer, White House Office of Administration
John Connor- Director, Office of White House Liaison at the Department of Commerce
John Coppola- Member of the National Museum and Library Services Board
Christopher Crowe- Special Assistant to the Deputy Under Secretary for Budget and Tax for Legislative Affairs
Jeffrey Crowley- Director, Office of National AIDS Policy
Fred Davie- Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Justin DeJong- Deputy Press Secretary, Department of Agriculture
Marisa Demeo- Associate Judge, DC Superior Court
Laura Duffy- U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California
Edward DuMont- United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Jenny Durkan- U.S. Attorney, Western District of Washington
John Easton- Director, Institute of Education Sciences
Eric Fanning- Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy
Chai Feldblum- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Carl Fillichio- Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Labor for Public Affairs and Communications
Daniel Gordon- Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, OMB
Kathy Greenlee- Assistant Secretary, Administration on Aging, Department of Health and Human Services
Steve Gunderson- Member, President’s Commission on White House Fellows
David Hansell- Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, Administration for Children and Families
Emily Hewitt- Chief Justice, U.S. Court of Federal Claims
Jennifer Ho- Deputy Director, Accountability Management at the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
Fred Hochberg- Chairman, U.S. Export-Import Bank
David Huebner- U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand
Glenda Humiston- State Director for Rural Development in California
Pamela Hyde- Director, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Shin Inouye- Director, Specialty Media
John Isa- Deputy Executive Director, Federal Office of Compliance
Karine Jean-Pierre- Regional Director, Office of Political Affairs
Kevin Jennings- Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools
Kristina Johnson- Under Secretary, Department of Energy
Jenn Jones- Special Assistant, Department of Housing and Urban Development
Elaine Kaplan- General Counsel, Office of Personnel Management
Brad Kiley- Director, White House Office of Management and Administration
Harry Knox- Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
Kei Koizumi- Assistant Director for Federal Research and Development, Office of Science and Technology Policy
James Kolbe- Advisory committee of the Export-Import Bank of the United States
Andy Lee- Chief of Staff, Office of Innovation and Improvement at the Department of Education
Jeffrey Lerner- Regional Director, Office of Political Affairs
Reginald Lewis- Presidential Scholars Commission
Sara Lipscomb- General Counsel, Small Business Administration
Zach Liscow- Staff Economist, Council of Economic Advisers
Thomas Lopach- Senior Vice President, Congressional Affairs, U.S. Export-Import Bank
Sharon Lubinski- U.S. Marshall
John Marble- Public Affairs Specialist, Office of Personnel Management
Jeffrey Marburg-Goodman- Special Counsel to the USAID Administrator
Mercedes Marquez- Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, Department of Housing and Urban Development
Kathy Martinez- Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy, Department of Labor
Michael Martinez- Special Assistant, National Resources Conservation Division, USDA
Mary Beth Maxwell- Senior Advisor, Department of Labor
Philip McNamara- Executive Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
David Medina- Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the First Lady
David Mills- Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement, Department of Commerce
Alison Nathan- Associate Counsel to the President, White House Counsels Office
Jeffrey Neal- Chief Human Capital Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Ven Neralla- Director of Priority Placement, Presidential Personnel
Dave Noble- White House Liaison, NASA
Matt Nosanchuk- Senior Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Department of Justice
Dylan Orr- Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy
Joseph Palacios- Board of Visitors for WHINSEC
Paolo Palugod- Special Assistant to the Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, DOJ
Peter Pappas- Chief Communications Officer for the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce
Mira Patel- Policy Planning, Office of the Secretary, State Department
Raul Perea-Henze- Assistant Secretary of Policy and Planning, Department of Veterans Affairs
Mark Perriello- Director of Priority Placement, Presidential Personnel; Presidential rank review board
Gautam Raghavan- Deputy White House Liaison at the Department of Defense
Peter Roehrig- Special Assistant, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Constance L. Rogers- Deputy Solicitor for Energy and Mineral Resources at Interior
Donna Ryu- U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
Ellie Sue Schafer- Director, White House Visitors Office
Herb Schultz- Director of Region IX for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Tarak Shah- Assistant to the Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality
Amanda Simpson- Senior Technical Advisor to the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security
Richard Sorian- Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, HHS
Campbell Spencer- Regional Director, Office of Political Affairs
Everette Stubbs- Deputy Director, White House Visitors Center
Nancy Sutley- Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality
Jonathan Swain- Assistant Administrator, Small Business Administration
Kenneth Tolson- Member, President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Moe Vela- Director of Operations, Office of the Vice President
Alex Wagner- Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs
Douglas B. Wilson- Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, Department of Defense
William Woolston- Staff Economist, Council of Economic Advisers
How the project works
Step 1: Decide if you have what it takes.
These are just some of the factors you should consider before applying to the Presidential Appointments Project:
- The hours are long and the pace intense.
- There is much public/press scrutiny.
- Most applicants under serious consideration for an appointment will go through a full FBI background check in which their employment, professional, personal, travel, medical, financial, legal, military and educational histories will be reviewed and scrutinized.
- The financial holdings and sources of income for most applicants under serious consideration must be disclosed for review for possible conflicts of interest.
- Most appointees’ dealings with the Federal government during and for a period of time after their service will be significantly restricted to prevent possible conflicts of interest.
- Before starting the application process, please have all of your education information, employment information, references, and desired appointment position available. In addition, please ensure that enough time is set aside to complete the application in one setting. Not doing so will result in multiple application submissions that will delay the processing of your application. Estimated time needed to complete application: 30 minutes.
- Please keep in mind that space on the application is limited. There is only space allotted to provide the three most recent places and degrees of education, recent places of employment, and references. Please DO NOT complete an additional application in order to include all of this information. There will be ample opportunity to provide in-depth information in your resume.
Step 2: Complete the application and email your resume to presidential@glli.org.
Step 3: The Institute will present qualified applications to the president's transition team.
In partnership with
Disclaimer: GLLI has no authority or official role whatsoever with respect to hiring any personnel in the federal government. Your participation in this program does not mean that GLLI will recommend you for any position or that you will in any way be advantaged in the appointment or nomination process for any such position.
