Lisa Porter of Virginia, to be Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. Dr. Porter most recently served as Executive Vice President and Director of In-Q-Tel Labs (IQT). Prior to joining IQT, Dr. Porter was the President of Teledyne Scientific & Imaging, and before that, she was the first Director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Dr. Porter served as the associate administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and before that, she served as a program manager and senior scientist at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Dr. Porter holds a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a doctorate in applied physics from Stanford University.

Patrick J. Fuchs of Wisconsin, to be a Member of the Surface Transportation Board for a five-year term. Mr. Fuchs is a senior professional staff member working on surface transportation and maritime issues for the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation under the leadership of Chairman John Thune of South Dakota. Mr. Fuchs has played an integral role in the development and enactment of major railroad legislation, including the first reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Board since its creation in 1996 and the first passenger rail reauthorization in over seven years. Prior to serving Chairman Thune, he was a policy analyst and Presidential Management Fellow at the Office of Management and Budget, where he managed railroad and maritime regulatory reviews. He graduated with distinction in economics and political science and earned an M.P.A. from the University of Wisconsin, where he received the Director’s Achievement Award for his outstanding academic record. Mr. Fuchs and his wife, Katherine, were born and raised in Wisconsin.

Michelle A. Schultz of Pennsylvania, to be a Member of the Surface Transportation Board for a five-year term. Ms. Schultz is a deputy general counsel at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (“SEPTA”). Before joining SEPTA in 2006, Ms. Schultz was an associate with a law firm in Philadelphia. Additionally, she clerked for the Superior Court of Pennsylvania and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Ms. Schultz holds a B.A. in English from the Pennsylvania State University; a J.D. from Widener University School of Law; and a Master of Governmental Administration from the University of Pennsylvania.

James Edward Campos of Nevada, to be the Director of the Office of Minority Economic Impact in the Department of Energy. Mr. Campos has been involved in the government administration, renewable energy, minority community relations, strategic business consulting, and business development fields. Currently he serves as the senior advisor on Economic Development & Government Relations to the College President of Nevada State College and as a State regulator on the Nevada Taxicab Commission. Before working with Nevada State College, Mr. Campos served as the director of Renewable Energy Initiatives & Government Relations for the College of Southern Nevada. Mr. Campos was formerly the State-wide Commissioner of the Nevada Consumer Affairs Division where he regulated 7 industries and enforced State laws governing deceptive trade practices. Campos holds both a B.A. and an M.S. from the University of Maryland, an M.B.A. from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and an Executive Business Program Certificate from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

Peter C. Wright of Michigan, to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (Office of Solid Waste). Mr. Wright is a managing counsel with the law department of The Dow Chemical Company, in Midland, Michigan. He provides counsel to the company’s leaders, and has led Dow’s legal strategies regarding Superfund sites and other Federal and State-led remediation matters. He also provides legal counsel on merger and acquisitions and significant real estate transactions. Before joining Dow in 1999, he was with Bryan Cave LLP and Monsanto Company. He began his legal career with the environmental practice group of Baker & Daniels (now Fagre Baker & Daniels). Mr. Wright has been a leader of the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources. He earned his J. D., summa cum laude, from Indiana University in 1986 and his A.B, summa cum laude, from Wabash College in 1981.

Jon Parrish Peede of Mississippi, to be the Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Mr. Peede is senior deputy chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. His previous positions include publisher of the Virginia Quarterly Review at the University of Virginia, literature grants director at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), counselor to NEA Chairman Dana Gioia, director of the NEA Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience program, director of the NEA Big Read program, director of Communications at Millsaps College, and editor at Mercer University Press. He has lectured at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College and served on the National Council of the Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State University. He completed his B.S. at Vanderbilt University and M.A. at the University of Mississippi. He is the editor of a bilingual literature anthology and co-editor of an essay collection on Flannery O’Connor. He was raised in Mississippi and lives in Virginia with his family.

Michael J. Desmond of California, to be Chief Counsel for the Revenue Service and Assistant General Counsel in the Department of the Treasury. For the past six years, Mr. Desmond has run his own law firm, representing businesses and individuals before the Internal Revenue Service, state tax authorities, and in court proceedings. Mr. Desmond was previously a partner in a global law firm. Mr. Desmond clerked for Judge Ronald S.W. Lew of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. From 1995 through 2000, he served as a trial attorney in the Tax Division at the Department of Justice, and from 2005 through 2008 he served as tax legislative counsel at the Department of the Treasury, Office of Tax Policy. He earned degrees from the University of California, Santa Barbara and from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.