WHITE HOUSE APPOINTS 2011-2012 CLASS OF WHITE HOUSE FELLOWS
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the President’s
Commission on White House Fellowships announced the appointment the 2011-2012
Class of White House Fellows. The Fellows come from diverse backgrounds,
varied professions, and all have shown a strong commitment to public service
and leadership. The 2011-2012 Class of Fellows and their biographies
are included below.
The White House Fellows Program was created
in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson to give promising American leaders
“first hand, high-level experience with the workings of the Federal
government, and to increase their sense of participation in national
affairs.” This unique opportunity to work within our nation’s
government is designed to encourage active citizenship and a lifelong
commitment to service. The Fellows also take part in an education program
designed to broaden their knowledge of leadership, policy formulation, and
current affairs. Community service is another essential element of the
program, and Fellows participate in service projects throughout the year in the
Washington, DC area.
Selection as a White
House Fellow is highly competitive and based on a record of professional
achievement, evidence of leadership potential, and a proven commitment to
public service. Each Fellow must possess the knowledge and skills
necessary to contribute meaningfully at senior levels in the Federal
government. Throughout its history, the program has
fostered leaders in many fields, including leaders in government, business,
media, medicine, education, diplomacy and the military. Additional
information about the White House Fellows program is available at www.whitehouse.gov/fellows.
2011-2012
Class of White House Fellows
Lindsay Barenz, Centerville, UT. Lindsay Barenz most recently served as an Associate with
the law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP in New York City. She was responsible for
managing complex corporate transactions and counseling clients on mergers and
acquisitions, cross border transactions, private equity investments and securities
law matters. During her time with Cleary Gottlieb, she served on the
firm’s Diversity and Mentoring Committees and provided pro bono legal
services to the New York City Investment Fund, the Middle Eastern Documentary
Film Foundation and the Name Change Project with the Transgender Legal Defense
& Education Fund. From 2004-2005 she served as a law clerk to the Honorable
Betty Binns Fletcher on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Lindsay is a
graduate of Yale Law School,
where she was a senior editor of the Yale
Law Journal, Coker Fellow and Co-Chair of Outlaws, the LGBTQ law
student association. Prior to attending law school, she was a union organizer
with the Service Employees International Union. Lindsay received her B.S. with
honors in Political Science from the University
of Utah. Lindsay
grew up in Centerville, Utah. Placement: Office of Management and Budget
Reggie Chambers, Harlem,
NY. Reggie Chambers most
recently served as an Investment Executive with 3i Group plc, a $20 billion
international investment firm in New York and London. At 3i, he helped
found and lead its North American infrastructure team and served on the board
of a multi-billion dollar UK
rail company. Before 3i, Reggie was a Vice President with Citi Investment
Banking, executing cross-border mergers, acquisitions and financings for
Fortune 500 energy infrastructure companies. Reggie’s transactional work
began as a corporate lawyer with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York and Uría Menéndez Abogados in Madrid, Spain.
Reggie has dedicated himself to creating educational opportunities for others
by teaching entrepreneurship and small business as an Adjunct Professor at
Brooklyn College, using his teaching salary to fund the class’s business
plan competition, and by serving as one of the youngest trustees ever on the
boards of the Graduate Center of CUNY, the Bogliasco Foundation in Italy, and
the Teachers Network. Reggie earned his J.D. from Harvard
Law School
and his A.B. in Political Science, Spanish and Markets & Management from Duke University.
Reggie is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and grew up in Mequon, Wisconsin.
Placement: The White House
Albert Cho, Tempe, AZ. Albert
Cho most
recently served as an executive at Cisco Systems, where he directed environmental
innovation projects and led development of a new approach for monitoring global
deforestation. Prior to Cisco Systems, Albert was an Engagement Manager at
McKinsey & Company, where he helped found the Sustainability and Resources
Practice and advised clients in the aerospace, industrial, high tech and
financial sectors on strategy and risk management. He has also worked at the
United Nations with Jeffrey Sachs on a global plan for achieving the Millennium
Development Goals. Albert volunteers as a strategic advisor to the Nobel
Prize-winning Green Belt Movement in Kenya and as a consultant to the
World Resources Institute. He serves on the board of the Telluride Association,
an educational non-profit, and is a trained crisis hotline counselor and hospice
volunteer. Albert has lived, worked or traveled in over 70 countries, including
a year supporting financial sector reform in north Africa. He is a Rhodes and a
Truman Scholar, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and was a
Visiting Business Fellow at Oxford.
He received an M.Sc in development economics and an M.B.A. with distinction
from Oxford, and graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College. Placement: U.S. Department of State
Elizabeth Coté, Bangor,
ME. Elizabeth Coté most recently served as a resident physician
in Anesthesia at Brigham and Women's Hospital. She completed an internship
in Pediatrics at Massachusetts
General Hospital. In
2010, she provided medical assistance to earthquake victims in Haiti and worked
in a relief camp to deploy a mobile medical record system that tracked patients
and prevented family separation. While in medical school, Elizabeth started a training program in
Chennai that empowered orphanage caregivers to prevent and detect newborn
disease. In 2004, she served in the Coalition Provisional Authority as a
special assistant to the Iraqi Ministry of Health and volunteered at the main
combat support hospital. Working at the OECD in Paris, she managed a study that compared
health quality among 20 countries. As an AmeriCorps Fellow, Elizabeth established a
program that linked enrollment in the school meals program with access to
MassHealth. Raised in Bangor, Maine,
Elizabeth earned a Foster Scholarship at Harvard Medical
School (M.D. '09) and a Zuckerman
Fellowship at the John F. Kennedy School Government at Harvard University
(M.P.A. '09). She is a magna cum laude
graduate of Wellesley
College (B.A. '99).
Placement: U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services
Kisha Davis, Gaithersburg, MD.
Kisha Davis most recently served as a family physician
at Chase Brexton Health Services, Inc. She practiced primary care at a
culturally and socioeconomically diverse community health center. In addition
to routine primary care, she has special interest in HIV/AIDS, women’s
health, and diabetes. She has taught medical students from both Johns Hopkins
University and the University of Maryland.
She earned an M.P.H from Johns
Hopkins University
and is a member of the Delta Omega public health honor society. Her public
health research includes studying health care costs and utilization among
Maryland Medicaid new enrollees. She completed residency at the University of Maryland and served as Chief Resident.
Kisha is on the board of the Maryland Academy of Family Physicians. She is also
active in the America
Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), representing the voice of new family
physicians within the AAFP and American Medical Association. She has sponsored
health fairs, diabetes groups, and an HIV/AIDS prayer breakfast through her
church. She has travelled to Zimbabwe,
Honduras, and New Orleans on medical
mission trips. Kisha received her M.D. from the University of Connecticut
where she received the Lyman Stowe Award for humanitarianism in medicine. She
holds a B.S. in Biological Anthropology from Duke University.
Placement: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Felice Gorordo, Miami, FL. Leonardo
Felice Gorordo most recently served as co-founder, chairman and CEO of Raíces
de Esperanza (Roots of Hope), a national non-profit focused on youth
empowerment in Cuba.
He founded Raíces while in college. In 2009, Felice served as an advisor to
17-time Grammy winner Juanes and helped organize the historic "Peace
without Borders" concert in Cuba, with 1.2 million in
attendance. Previously, he led government sales for Liberty Power, the
fastest-growing Hispanic-owned business in the U.S., generating $14.7 million in
revenues annually. Prior to that, he worked as a trade specialist at the U.S.
Department of Commerce, managing a cross-sector caseload valued at $1.5 billion
in export content. Felice was featured on CNN’s
“Young People Who Rock,” and Latinos in Information Science
Technology honored him with the “Rising Star Award.” Felice served
as a strategist for the CEO of Jackson Health System and as a member of the University of Miami’s Energy Task Force. He
frequently appears as a commentator in the media, including CNN, BBC, NPR, CNBC, and The Economist. Felice is a Georgetown University graduate. Placement: The White House
Ziad Haider, Washington, DC. Ziad Haider
recently earned an
M.P.A. and J.D. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
and Georgetown University. He previously served as a
Foreign Policy Advisor to U.S. Senator Chris Dodd and Professional Staff on the
House Committee on Homeland Security. He previously served as a Research
Analyst at the Henry L. Stimson Center developing conflict resolution measures in
South Asia, a Fulbright Scholar in Malaysia
working on Muslim women’s rights and studying Islamic law, and a Fellow
at Human Rights Watch’s China Program and the Human Rights Commission of
Pakistan, conducting field work on governance reforms in Pakistan’s
tribal belt. He has also worked at leading international
law firms in the United States,
India, and Singapore.
Haider is the author of The Ideological Struggle for Pakistan
(Hoover Institution Press) and a foreign affairs columnist for The Sun (Malaysia). He
is the Director of the Truman National Security Project’s Asia Expert
Group and a member of the Groton
School’s Alumni
Committee. He received his B.A. with
distinction in Political Science from Yale University.
He is fluent in Urdu and proficient in Mandarin and French and has lived in Bahrain, China,
India, Malaysia, Pakistan,
Saudi Arabia, and Singapore.
Placement: U.S. Department of Justice
Theodore Johnson, Raleigh, NC. Theodore Johnson is a Lieutenant Commander and
information warfare officer in the United States Navy. He most recently served
on the faculty at the U.S. Naval War College where he was a cyberspace and
information operations military professor. His thirteen years of commissioned
service include numerous afloat deployments throughout Asia and the Middle
East, cyberspace operations supporting major combat operations, and as
aide-de-camp to the Director of the National Security Agency, Generals Keith
Alexander, USA
and Michael Hayden, USAF. In 2007, Ted deployed with Expeditionary Strike Group
SEVEN in support of Operation Sea Angel II, the disaster relief response to
Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh.
In 2009, he conducted research in Africa, Asia, and South
America that led to official U.S. Navy publications on theater
security cooperation and in the historic U.S. Naval Institute’s Proceedings. His military decorations
include the Defense Meritorious Service and Humanitarian Service medals.
Theodore holds a Bachelor of Science from Hampton
University and a Master of Liberal
Arts with an International Relations concentration from Harvard University.
Placement: U.S. Department of Energy
Debra Kurshan, Brooklyn, NY. Debra
Kurshan most
recently served as a consultant with the Recovery
School District in New Orleans, Louisiana.
She worked directly with the Superintendent to develop the strategic vision for
the district. Prior to that, she served in a variety of leadership roles at the
New York City Department of Education, including the Executive Director of the
Office of Portfolio Planning, the office responsible for opening new schools,
closing under-performing schools and planning the portfolio of the city’s
1,700 schools. She also served as Chief Operating Officer for the Office of
Innovation, the office responsible for the District’s first large scale
online learning platform. Debra served on the board of Minds Matters, a
nonprofit dedicated to preparing low-income students for college and is also a
member of the Columbia Business School Social Enterprise Program Alumni Circle.
She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana where she worked with the
community to create and implement a technology center. Debra received her
M.B.A. from Columbia Business School
where she was honored with the Board of Overseers fellowship, and her B.A., Phi
Beta Kappa, in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.
Placement: National Aeronautics and Space
Administration
Jennifer Lee, Fairfax, VA. Jennifer
Lee most
recently served as a practicing emergency medicine physician and Assistant
Professor of Emergency Medicine at The George Washington University, with a
joint appointment in the Department of Health Policy. She directed the
Emergency Medicine Health Policy Fellowship Program, where she taught and
mentored medical students in health policy. Her research focuses on the impact
of health reform on ER utilization and how medical schools can train socially
conscious physicians. Jennifer is on the board of the Arlington Free Clinic,
where she volunteers and chairs a health reform planning committee. She was
also co-chair of the Northern Virginia Access to Health Care Consortium, a
coalition of safety net providers that advocates for the uninsured.
Additionally, Jennifer was board chair of the Hepatitis B Initiative, a
nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating liver disease caused by hepatitis
B. In 2008, Jennifer was appointed by Governor Tim Kaine to the Virginia Board
of Medicine. She was a health fellow on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions Committee from 2002-2003. Jennifer completed her residency training at
Johns Hopkins
University, received her B.S. from Yale University,
and her M.D. from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Placement: U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs
Rodney Lewis, Oklahoma City, OK. Rodney
Lewis is
a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force and an Air Force C-17A
pilot. As Commander of the 4th
Airlift Squadron, he was directly responsible for the Department of
Defense’s only Prime Nuclear Airlift Force, which handles our nation's
most sensitive cargo and provides tactically qualified C-17A crews who stand
ready to airdrop combat troops and supplies anywhere in the world. In 2008 and 2009, he was the McChord AFB Chief of Safety and
his office was awarded Air Mobility Command Safety Office of the Year. Previously, he was assigned to the Office of Legislative Liaison, Secretary
of the Air Force, Pentagon, Washington,
DC where he served as the
Executive to the senior General officer, supervising the internal coordination
of Air Force legislative proposals and issues. In 2004 he received the Bronze
star for his service in Iraq.
In 2010 he was awarded the Air Force Association National Medal of Merit for
his work supporting medically challenged children in the Pilot for a Day
program. Rodney earned a Systems Management M.S. with Honors from the University of Southern California, and a B.S. in Human
Factors Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy. Placement:
The White House
Clay Pell, Providence, RI. Clay
Pell is
a JAG and Lieutenant in the United States Coast Guard. He has served as
Admiral’s Aide, Appellate Government Counsel, and Adjunct Faculty for the
Defense Institute of International Legal Studies. Clay executes regular Coast
Guard exchanges with China
to improve military diplomacy, instructs courses on human rights and military
justice, and has prosecuted crimes for the U.S. Marine Corps. Prior to military
service, Clay worked for the CIA, State Department, and the international law
firms of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Baker & McKenzie, and Uría
Menéndez. He helped lead a national campaign to increase funding for
inexpensive, lifesaving medicines for children under five. In Rhode Island, Clay supported Progreso
Latino, the International Institute, and the China Working Group in their drive
to instruct foreign languages in local schools and provide critical services to
communities of new Americans. Clay is fluent in Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic
and studied law in China and
Argentina.
He graduated first in his class from the Coast Guard Direct Commission Officer
School, earned his J.D. from Georgetown
University, and graduated from Harvard University with high honors in Social
Studies and a Citation in Modern Standard Arabic. Clay is a recipient of the
CIA’s Exceptional Performance Award. Placement: The White House
Wizdom Powell, Norfolk, VA. Wizdom
Powell most
recently served as an Assistant Professor of Health Behavior and Health
Education (HBHE) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Gillings School
of Global Public Health and a UNC
Lineberger Comprehensive
Cancer Center
faculty member. Her community-based domestic research examines the impact of
neighborhood, healthcare, and socioeconomic resources on racial health
disparities, with an emphasis on vulnerable Black males. She has published over
15 scientific articles and book chapters. In 2009, she gave invited expert
testimony to the President’s Cancer Panel about racial/ethnic minority
healthcare experiences. Prior to her positions at UNC, she was a Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholar at the University
of California, San
Francisco and Berkeley.
She is an American Psychological Association (APA) Minority and Ford Foundation
Predoctoral Fellow who received a Ph.D. and M.S. in Clinical Psychology and
M.P.H. in HBHE from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. In recognition of
outstanding dissertation research, Wizdom received APA’s Division 51
Loren Frankel Award. Wizdom obtained her B.A., summa
cum laude, in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal
Justice where she received the Thurgood Marshall, Malcolm-King Leadership, and
Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program Alumnae of the Year
awards. Placement: U.S. Department
of Defense
Jaron Wharton, Birmingham, AL. Jaron
Wharton is
a Major in the United States Army. He most recently served in the Office of the
Secretary of Defense where he was a Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of
Defense for Policy. In this capacity, he focused on Afghanistan
and served as a liaison to the President’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. His military assignments
include four combat deployments to Afghanistan
and Iraq.
He graduated with honors from the United States
Military Academy
with a B.S. in International Relations and earned an M.P.A. from the John F.
Kennedy School of Government at Harvard
University. Jaron is also
a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations. His military awards and
decorations include three Bronze Star Medals (including one for valor), the Military
Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal for supporting multiple projects for
wounded warriors, the Ranger Tab and the Combat Infantryman’s
Badge. Placement: United States Agency
for International Development
Tony Woods, Fairfield, CA. Tony
Woods most
recently served as the Director of ServiceNation’s “Service as a
Strategy” initiative. In partnership with Mayor Bloomberg’s Cities
of Service coalition, Tony managed a program that develops volunteer-driven
solutions for American cities. Before joining ServiceNation, Tony campaigned in
2009 to represent California’s
10th congressional district in the US House of Representatives. Tony has also
served as an aide to New York Governor David Paterson and as an officer in the
US Army. While in the Army, he deployed twice to Iraq as a platoon leader and earned
the Bronze Star for his service. Tony’s extensive community service
activities include leading reconstruction trips to New
Orleans and Haiti,
bicycling across America
to raise money for Habitat for Humanity, and mentoring low-income students
through the college admissions process. Additionally, Tony has written op-eds
for The Washington Post, Daily Beast, and Huffington Post. Tony received an
M.P.P. from the Harvard Kennedy School
and a B.S. in Economics and American Politics from the United
States Military Academy at West Point.
Placement: U.S. Office of Personnel Management
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