THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 5, 2009 

President Obama Names Vivek Kundra Chief Information Officer 

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, President Barack Obama named Vivek Kundra the Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the White House.

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According to The Yale Daily News, Yale Law School Dean Harold Hongju Koh is a leading contender to be appointed legal adviser to the Department of State. If selected, Dean Koh would serve as principal counselor on all legal matters to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (who herself was a graduate of Yale Law School in 1973).

Continue reading at The Yale Daily News!

Asia Society Event - 2/4/09 - “Delivering on the Promise: Advancing US Relations with India”

Asia Society will host a panel discussion titled “Delivering on the Promise: Advancing US Relations with India” on February 4th from 8:00-9:30 a.m. Please join us at Asia Society’s New York Headquarters or online via a FREE LIVE VIDEO WEBCAST. Internet viewers will be able to ask questions and offer comments via email during the webcast. Send your questions to moderator@asiasociety.org.

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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release February 3, 2009

Duckworth Tapped for VA Assistant Secretary

WASHINGTON (Feb. 3, 2009) - President Barack Obama has announced his intent to nominate L. Tammy Duckworth, director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, to be the Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

“Effective communications with Veterans and VA’s stakeholders is key to improving our services and ensuring Veterans receive the benefits they deserve,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “Tammy Duckworth brings significant talent, leadership and personal experience to this important work.”

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According to The Harvard Crimson, Harvard students and alumni are participating in a write-in and call-in campaign to Senators John Kerry and Ted Kennedy for Harvard Medical School professor, Jim Y. Kim, to be appointed U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. Over 700 people have already signed a petition started by Luke M. Messac, a former member of the Harvard College Global Health and Aids Coalition (HCGHAC), urging President Obama to choose Dr. Kim as the best candidate for the position.

Read more at The Crimson as well as at Angry Asian Man, who first scooped the story.

From DHS
Release Date: January 29, 2009
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

President Obama announced today his intention to nominate Ivan K. Fong as General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Secretary Janet Napolitano also announced several key members of her staff: David A. Martin, Principal Deputy General Counsel; Brian De Vallance, Senior Counselor to the Secretary; and Sean Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.

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The Michigan Daily has a great article about U-Mich alum and Ann Arbor native Eugene Kang (aka “Reggie Jr.”). As mentioned in the article and in this New York Times Magazine feature, Eugene serves as special assistant to the president, making him a third-level senior staffer who will be “side-by-side” with President Obama during the president’s daily activities. (And he is all of 24-years-old!)

Continue reading at The Michigan Daily.

Stuart J. Ishimaru, the new acting chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Stuart J. Ishimaru, the senior Democrat on the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission, was appointed acting chairman of the body yesterday by President Obama.

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David Hou invited me to write this for ningin.com, a site covering Asian media and pop culture.

A Black man born in Hawai’i with an Asian sister was sworn into office Tuesday as our President. He took the oath of office on the same bible used by Abraham Lincoln for the exact same oath 148 years ago, realizing the dreams of countless African Americans and others who previously never imagined this moment.

President Barack Obama now leads our country into uncertain and troubled times. But he begins work on our nation’s ills with unprecedented numbers of Asian Americans in substantive roles in this Administration.

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There’s a nice interactive photo gallery at the New York Times Magazine featuring 52 of Obama’s top advisers, aides and incoming administration members, including Eugene Kang, Pete Rouse, Dr. Steven Chu and General Eric Shinseki. The photos are taken by Nadav Kander and include an audio explanation of the process of photographing everyone. In particular, pay special attention to the book that Eugene Kang is holding - that’s the book that contains the numbers of all of the people that Obama called throughout the campaign, written in Eugene’s own hand! There’s also a great anecdote about David Axelrod wanting to pose with a cookie in his hand, but the picture that made it into the gallery was a non-cookie one because the cookies didn’t look real enough.

Read the Editor’s Letter about the idea behind the shoot and view the photos here (click on the word “People” and an arrow will appear).