Susan Rice

Women in the New Administration

As the nation’s attention turns this  week to the historic inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, experts and  women business owners are closely watching the incoming president’s dozens of nominations  and appointments of women to key positions in the new administration.

Georgia Duerst-Lahti, a Beloit  College political science professor in Wisconsin who is following Obama’s  appointments, told the National Association of Women Business Owners that women  are making unprecedented gains both in the new cabinet and the president’s  inner circle.

But Ms. Duerst-Lahti also cautioned  women not to be lulled by the high-profile appointments into ignoring many  women-related issues that are still not being sufficiently addressed. 

“So far, he’s had more female  appointments than any previous presidency at this point,” said Ms. Duerst-Lahti,  who also comments on public radio and participates in the State Department’s  Speaker Program. “There are more central appointments, more prestigious, high-profile  appointments.”

Symbolized by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s  appointment to head the State Department and Dr. Susan Rice’s nomination as  ambassador to the United Nations, women have every reason to be encouraged that  Obama wants women to take on substantial matters within his administration. Sen.  Clinton – as only the nation’s third woman Secretary of State – benefits, too,  from a growing acceptance of women’s handling of world affairs.

But Ms. Duerst-Lahti said that most  telling of women’s potential power within the White House may be the degree to  which Obama listens to and is influenced by his closest advisors, including women  such as Chicago lawyer, businesswoman and civil leader Valerie Bowman Jarrett.

“I’ll be looking very critically at  who are the closest advisors: Who has the most say - and how do women stack up  in terms of the apparent capacity to influence directions and outcomes?” Ms. Duerst-Lahti  said.

Another telling indicator will be  whether women in Obama’s administration are able to bring to the forefront  issues that are important to women across the country – particularly because  women voters strongly backed Obama in November. Obama already has pledged to  address many issues affecting constituencies in which women predominate, including  the working poor. But, she said, issues affecting entrepreneurship and health  care also will be key concerns.

Ms. Duerst-Lahti said the doors to  important jobs for women on Capitol Hill began to open under former-President  Jimmy Carter, at the same time that women’s concerns were gaining attention  through various commissions. She urged women to press for the continuation of  such commissions, saying Obama’s appointments don’t negate the need for  continued work on behalf of women’s issues.

“Women are not similarly situated to  men. Even if there are high-profile women, they don’t have the same clout  throughout the system yet.” 

Some of the high-profile women appointments and nominations so far by Obama:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State (Confirmed Wednesday). Sen.  Clinton has over nearly four decades in public service as an attorney, First  Lady, Senator, and presidential candidate. During the Clinton Administration,  she fought for universal health care and helped to lead bipartisan efforts to  improve the adoption and foster care systems, reduce teen pregnancy, and  provide health care to millions of children through the Children’s Health  Insurance Program. She championed American interests as well as the rights of  women and girls in more than 80 countries around the world. In November 2000,  Sen. Clinton became the first First Lady elected to public office and the first  woman elected independently in New York State. In the Senate, she has advocated  for equal access to health care, education, and economic opportunity for women  and girls around the world. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee,  she has fought for and secured in law improved health care for members of the  National Guard and Reserves. She also serves as the only Senate member of the  Transformation Advisory Group to the Joint Forces Command.

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the  Department of Homeland Security. 
Named one of America's Top Five Governors by Time magazine and one of  America's top women leaders by Newsweek, Gov. Napolitano has fought for  quality schools, affordable healthcare, sensible economic development, a safe  homeland, a secure border, and efficient government. She led the effort to  create a new grade-level in public school by offering voluntary full-day kindergarten  to every Arizona family. She raised teacher pay, expanded access to health  insurance, and saved seniors millions of dollars on prescription drugs. As U.S.  Attorney for Arizona, Ms. Napolitano led the Arizona portion of the domestic  terrorism investigation into the Oklahoma City bombing; as Attorney General, she  helped write the law to break-up human smuggling rings; and as Governor, she  implemented the first state homeland security strategy in the nation and opened  the first state counter-terrorism center. She is a leading national voice for  comprehensive immigration reform.

Susan Rice, Ambassador to the United Nations.  Dr. Rice served most recently as a Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the Obama  for America campaign while on leave from the Brookings Institution, where she  is a Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy and Global Economy and Development  Programs. Dr. Rice currently serves on the Obama-Biden Transition Project  Advisory Board. From 1997-2001, she was U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African  Affairs. Prior to that, Dr. Rice served in the White House at the National  Security Council as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for  African Affairs and as Director for International Organizations and  Peacekeeping. Dr. Rice was previously a management consultant at McKinsey and  Company.

U.S.  Congresswoman Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor. First elected in 2000,  Congresswoman Solis is serving her fourth term in the U.S. House of  Representatives, representing the 32nd Congressional District of California.  Prior to her election to Congress, Ms. Solis served eight years in the  California state legislature. As a California State Senator, she led the battle  to increase the state’s minimum wage from $4.25 to $5.75 an hour in 1996. In August  2000, Ms. Solis became the first woman to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile  in Courage Award for her pioneering work on environmental justice issues in  California. In 2003, she became the first Latina appointed to the Committee on  Energy and Commerce, where she is the Vice Chair of the Environment and  Hazardous Materials Subcommittee and a member of the Health and  Telecommunications Subcommittees. She is also a member of the House Committee  on Natural Resources. In March 2007, Ms. Solis was named a member of the House  Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. She is the Vice  Chair of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee and serves as a Senior  Whip, as well as a Regional Whip for Southern California. She is also serving  her third term as the Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ Task Force on  Health and the Environment.

Karen G. Mills, Administrator of the Small Business  Administration. Ms. Mills has been a principal in the private equity and  venture capital industry since 1983 and has taken a leadership role in the  growth of more than 20 companies in the consumer products, food, distribution,  textile and industrial component sectors. Ms. Mills was a co-founder and  managing director of Solera Capital and Chief Operating Officer of E.S. Jacobs  and Company.  Ms. Mills chairs Governor Baldacci’s Council on  Competitiveness and the Economy and is engaged in economic policy for the state  of Maine.  In 2006, she led an initiative for a $50 million competitive  research and development bond which passed the legislature and was approved by  public referendum.  She also sits on the Governor’s Council for the  Redevelopment of the Brunswick Naval Air Station, which recently went on the  BRAC closure list, and serves on the boards of the Maine Technology Institute  and the Maine chapter of the Nature Conservancy.

Mary Schapiro, Nominee for Chairman of the U.S.  Securities and Exchange Commission. Ms. Schapiro is Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Industry Regulatory  Authority (FINRA), the largest non-governmental regulator for securities firms  doing business with the U.S. public. Ms. Schapiro also serves as Chair of the  FINRA Investor Education Foundation. Ms. Schapiro joined the organization in  1996 as President of NASD Regulation and was named Vice Chairman in 2002. In  2006, she was named NASD’s Chairman and CEO. In 1994, Ms. Schapiro was  appointed by then-President Clinton as Chair of the federal Commodity Futures  Trading Commission. Before that, Ms. Schapiro served for six years as a  Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission. In January 2008, Ms. Schapiro  was appointed by then-President George W. Bush to the President’s Advisory  Council on Financial Literacy, a 19-member council formed to promote and  enhance financial literacy among Americans. She is also an active member of the  International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and was Chair of  the IOSCO SRO Consultative Committee from 2002 until 2006.

Lisa Jackson, Environmental Protection Agency  Administrator.  Ms. Jackson became the head of New Jersey's Department of Environmental  Protection in 2006. She had previously served as DEP Deputy Commissioner before  being appointed to the post by Gov. Corzine, and currently serves as Corzine’s  chief of staff. Her past experience includes management responsibilities at the  Environmental Protection Agency's regional office in New York for the Superfund  program, the federal program regulating hazardous waste cleanup projects; for  enforcement programs at both EPA and DEP; and for New Jersey's Land Use  Management Program. She is a professional engineer, having received her Master’s  Degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University and her undergraduate  degree from Tulane University in her hometown of New Orleans.

Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on  Environmental Quality. Ms. Sutley currently serves as the Deputy  Mayor for Energy and Environment for the City of Los Angeles, and is also Mayor  Antonio Villaraigosa’s appointment to the Board of Directors for the  Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. She has served on the  California State Water Resources Control Board, as Energy Advisor to Governor  Davis and as the Deputy Secretary for Policy and Intergovernmental Relations  within the California Environmental Protection Agency. During the Clinton  administration, Ms. Sutley also was a Senior Policy Advisor to the Regional  Administrator for EPA, Region 9 in San Francisco and a Special Assistant to the  Administrator at the Federal EPA in Washington, DC. Ms. Sutley has also served  as the Policy Director for the National Independent Energy Producers and as an  Industry Economist for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. She received  her Master's in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard  University and an undergraduate degree from Cornell University.

Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for  Energy and Climate Change. Ms. Browner is Principal of The Albright  Group LLC, where she provides strategic counsel in the areas of environmental  protection, climate change, and energy conservation and security. Prior to her  current position, she served as Administrator of the U.S. Environmental  Protection Agency, a Cabinet-level position she held for eight years. Ms. Browner  developed partnerships with business leaders, community advocates, and all  levels of government. She is widely known for championing cost-effective  solutions to pressing environmental and public health challenges. At EPA, she  brought the climate change issue to the forefront and established climate  change as an important environmental issue requiring action. Before EPA, Ms. Browner  was Secretary of the State of Florida’s Department of Environmental Regulation.  She also served as Legislative Director for then-U.S. Senator Al Gore.

Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President  for Energy and Climate Change. Ms. Zichal currently serves as the  co-chair for the Energy and Environment Policy Team for the Obama Transition  Team. Ms. Zichal served as the Policy Director for Energy, Environment and  Agriculture for Sen. Obama's presidential campaign. Prior, she served as the  Legislative Director to Senator John Kerry where she coordinated domestic and  foreign policy. In 2004, she was responsible for the Kerry campaign’s energy  and environment policies. Ms. Zichal also served as Legislative Director for  U.S. Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and U.S. Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ).  During her tenure on Capitol Hill, she has been involved in legislative  initiatives to create green jobs, tackle climate change, reduce dependence on  oil, and protect natural treasures like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Michèle  Flournoy, Under Secretary of Defense (Policy). In January 2007, Ms. Flournoy  cofounded and was named president of the Center for a New American Security  (CNAS), a venture dedicated to advancing a strong, centrist national security  strategy. Prior to joining CNAS, she was a senior adviser at the Center for  Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where she worked on defense policy  and international security issues. Previously, she was a distinguished research  professor at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National  Defense University (NDU), where she founded and led the university’s  Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) working group, which was chartered by the  chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to develop intellectual capital in  preparation for the Department of Defense’s 2001 QDR. Prior to joining NDU, she  was dual-hatted as principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy  and threat reduction and deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy. In  that capacity, she oversaw three policy offices in the Office of the Secretary  of Defense: Strategy; Requirements, Plans, and Counterproliferation; and  Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasian Affairs.

Nancy  Killefer, Chief Performance Officer and nomination as Deputy Director for  Management at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Ms.  Killefer is currently a Senior Director in McKinsey & Company’s Washington,  D.C. office, where she is the leader of McKinsey’s Public Sector Practice.  Killefer served as Assistant Secretary for Management, Chief Financial Officer,  and Chief Operating Officer at the United States Department of the Treasury  from 1997 to 2000. In addition to overall management responsibilities for the  Treasury’s fourteen bureaus and 160,000 staff members, she led a modernization  at the Internal Revenue Service and reshaped Treasury management processes.  After returning to McKinsey in 2000, she joined the IRS Oversight Board. She  served there from 2000 to 2005 and was its Chairperson from 2002 to 2004.  

Susan Sher, Associate Counsel to the President. Ms.  Sher is currently the Vice President for Legal and Governmental Affairs and  General Counsel of the University of Chicago Medical Center and is responsible  for all legal, government, regulatory, and community affairs at the Medical  Center.  She also works on governance and other Board related  issues.  From 1993 through 1997 she was the Corporation Counsel for the  City of Chicago, the City of Chicago’s chief lawyer, reporting to the Mayor and  responsible for representing the Mayor, city departments, boards, and  commissions on all legal matters. 

Elena Kagan, Solicitor General, U.S. Department of  Justice. Ms.  Kagan, the Charles Hamilton Houston Professor of Law, is currently the 11th  Dean of Harvard Law School. Ms. Kagan first came to Harvard Law School as a  visiting professor in 1999 and became Professor of Law in 2001. She has taught  administrative law, constitutional law, civil procedure, and seminars on issues  involving the separation of powers. She was appointed Dean of the Law School in  2003.  From 1995 to 1999, Ms. Kagan served in the White House, first as  Associate Counsel to the President (1995-96) and then as Deputy Assistant to  the President for Domestic Policy and Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy  Council (1997-99). In those positions she played a key role in the executive  branch’s formulation, advocacy, and implementation of law and policy in areas  ranging from education to crime to public health.

Dawn Johnsen, Assistant Attorney General for the Office  of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice. Ms. Johnsen  is currently a Professor of Law at the Indiana University School of Law - Bloomington,  where she teaches and writes about issues of constitutional law.  Her  recent publications on issues of presidential power include Faithfully  Executing the Laws: Internal Legal Constraints on Executive Power, 54 UCLA L.  Rev. 1559 (2007) and What’s a President to Do? Interpreting the Constitution in  the Wake of the Bush Administration’s Abuses, 88 Boston U. L. Rev. 395 (2008).  She serves on the board of directors of the American Constitution Society for  Law and Policy. She served in the Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of  Justice, as the acting assistant attorney general heading that office (1997-98)  and as a deputy assistant attorney general (1993-96).

Cassandra  Butts, Deputy White House Counsel with a Focus on Domestic Policy and Ethics Ms.  Butts has been a longtime friend and adviser to President-elect Obama since  they were classmates at Harvard Law School. She is currently the general  counsel to the Obama-Biden Transition Project. She recently served as the  Senior Vice President for Domestic Policy at the Center for American Progress.  Prior to joining CAP, she was a senior adviser to Rep. Richard A. Gephardt  (D-MO) and served as the policy director on his 2004 presidential campaign. Cassandra  also served as director of Senator Obama’s Senate transition in 2004-2005.

Elizabeth Sears Smith, Deputy Cabinet Secretary.  Ms. Sears Smith is Chief of Staff for Congressman and Obama Chief of Staff  Designate Rahm Emanuel.  She has served in this role since Rep. Emanuel  was elected to Congress in 2002. Prior to this, Smith served in the Clinton  Administration as a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the International Trade  Administration at the Department of Commerce, where she managed 450 staff  around the country and a budget of $35 million. She was the Finance Director  for Chicago ’96, the host committee for the 1996 Democratic National Convention  and prior to that ran a public affairs consulting firm based in Chicago.

Christina M. Tchen, Director of Public Liaison. Ms.  Tchen has broad litigation experience at all levels of the state and federal  courts. She has represented companies, officers and directors in shareholder  class and derivative actions, and she has also handled a range of commercial,  intellectual property, and employment-related litigation. Ms. Tchen also has  represented public agencies in state and federal class actions, including the  Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, the Illinois Department of  Public Aid and the Chicago Housing Authority. She serves on the board of the  Chicago Bar Foundation; she is also Chair of the Board of Field Foundation of  Illinois and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Public Library  and the Board of the Chinese American Service League. She has served on the  Judicial Nominations Commission for the Northern District of Illinois and she  has been appointed to several leadership positions with the American Bar  Association Section of Litigation.