April 23, 2021 President Biden Announces Six Key Administration Nominations

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 23, 2021   President Biden Announces Six Key Administration Nominations   WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to serve in his Administration: Donald Remy, Nominee for Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, Department of Health and Human Services Solomon Greene, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, Department of Housing and Urban Development Helaine Greenfeld, Nominee for Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs, Department of Justice Rajesh Nayak, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Policy, Department of Labor Kimberly Jones, Nominee for Member of the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences   Donald Remy, Nominee for Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Donald M. Remy is a military veteran who earned a meritorious service medal during his tenure as a Captain in the United States Army. Presently, he is the National Collegiate Athletic Association Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Officer. Through his multifaceted leadership role, he oversees strategic planning, operations, sports science and medicine, budget management, communications and legal affairs. He advises and interfaces extensively with the governance cabinets, committees and boards of all three Divisions. Harnessing his strengths in complex problem solving and crisis management, Remy has been instrumental over the years in improving critical risk, operational, financial and legal strategies and recently has been a key leader during the COVID19 pandemic helping the organization and its membership traverse a myriad of challenges presented in national, regional and local arenas.   Previously, Remy served as a partner and global practice group chair at Latham & Watkins where he represented individual and corporate clients in complex investigations, compliance, and crisis management matters. His government career includes serving as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice where he was responsible for the day-to-day management of the Torts Branch and personally handled high profile litigation. As an Army Officer, he served as Assistant to the General Counsel for the United States Army, advising the General Counsel, the Secretary of the Army and other senior Army and Defense officials on a myriad of legal and policy issues. And, rounding out his federal government duties he was a law clerk to The Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones on the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition to holding government offices, Donald worked in the private sector as a Senior Vice President in the legal, compliance and housing and community development components of Fannie Mae, where his last duty assignment was assisting with the rebuilding of communities in the US Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. Remy has served as the co-chair of the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and a board member of the Abramson Scholarship Foundation as well as AARP, Legal Counsel for the Elderly.   Remy earned a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University and a juris doctorate from Howard University School of Law.   Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, Department of Health and Human Services Dr. Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon is currently the Commissioner of the Connecticut State Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. She was appointed in March 2015 and previously held the positions of Deputy Commissioner, Senior Policy Advisor and Director of the department’s Office of Multicultural Health Equity. In her role as Commissioner, Dr. Delphin-Rittmon has been committed to promoting recovery oriented, integrated, and culturally responsive services and systems that foster dignity, respect, and meaningful community inclusion. In addition, through her 20 year career in the behavioral health field Dr. Delphin-Rittmon has extensive experience in the design, evaluation and administration of mental health, substance use and prevention services and programs has received several awards for advancing policy in these areas. Most recently, she received the 2019 State Service Award from the National Association of State Drug and Alcohol Directors and the 2016 Mental Health Award for Excellence from the United Nations Committee on Mental Health.    In May 2014, Dr. Delphin-Rittmon completed a two-year White House appointment working as a Senior Advisor to the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Delphin-Rittmon currently holds an Associate Adjunct Professor position with the Yale University Department of Psychiatry where prior to her role as Commissioner was an Assistant Professor and served as Director of Cultural Competence and Health Disparities Research and Consultation with the Program for Recovery and Community Health since 2003. Dr. Delphin-Rittmon received her B.A. in Social Science from Hofstra University in 1989, her M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Purdue University 1992 and 2001, respectively, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical community psychology at Yale University in 2002.   Solomon Greene, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, Department of Housing and Urban Development Solomon Greene is a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, where he leads research on fair and affordable housing, land use, technology and inclusive growth and recovery in cities. Before joining Urban, Greene was a senior adviser at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he helped develop policies to reduce segregation and expand neighborhood choice. He was also HUD’s principal adviser on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.   Greene has also served as a senior program officer at the Open Society Foundations, an adjunct professor at NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, a law fellow at NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy, a litigation associate at Munger, Tolles & Olson, and a law clerk for Hon. Dorothy W. Nelson on the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Greene serves on the board of directors for the National Housing Law Project, the American Bar Association COVID-19 Task Force Committee on Evictions, and the advisory board for Up for Growth. Greene received his BA from Stanford University, his Master of City Planning from the University of California, Berkeley, and his JD from Yale Law School. He grew up in Ulster County, New York and currently lives in Washington DC.    Helaine Greenfeld, Nominee for Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs, Department of Justice Helaine Greenfeld is a career public servant with over 25 years of experience, serving in both the executive and legislative branches. Ms. Greenfeld first joined the Justice Department under Attorney General Janet Reno, holding multiple positions over eight years including in the Civil Rights Division and Office of Legal Policy, where she was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General. Greenfeld worked as Chief Nominations Counsel to Senator Patrick J. Leahy before returning to the Justice Department under Attorney General Eric Holder, Greenfeld was a Deputy Associate Attorney General and a Counselor to the Attorney General. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris administration as the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs, Greenfeld was Chief Counsel to Senator Mazie K. Hirono. A Baltimore native, Greenfeld graduate from Yale University and Georgetown University Law Center. She and her husband have two children and live in Chevy Chase, Maryland.   Rajesh Nayak, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Policy, Department of Labor Rajesh D. Nayak is currently serving as a Senior Advisor at the United States Department of Labor. He previously spent seven years at the labor department in the Obama-Biden Administration, serving in a range of senior roles including senior counsel and deputy assistant secretary for policy. Later, as deputy chief of staff, Nayak advised the Secretary of Labor on the Department’s workforce development, worker protection, and counter-trafficking programs, and led the Department’s employee engagement efforts.   After his time in the Obama-Biden Administration, Nayak’s work included two-plus years as the Deputy Executive Director of the National Employment Law Project, where he helped to lead the organization’s restructuring and managed its senior leadership. Most recently, he has also been a Fellow at the Labor & Worklife Program at Harvard Law School and a consultant. Prior to his government service, Nayak worked as an attorney at NELP, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, and the Shriver Center in Chicago. He earned an undergraduate degree in public policy from the University of Chicago and a law degree from Yale. Nayak grew up in South Central Illinois and now lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with his wife, daughter, and son.   Kimberly Jones, Nominee for Member of the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences Dr. Kimberly L. Jones is Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education (College of Engineering and Architecture) and Professor and Chair (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering) at Howard University. She holds a B.S in Civil Engineering from Howard University, a M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University. Her research interests include water and wastewater quality, environmental policy, membrane separations, global water treatment, environmental justice, risk evaluation and environmental nanotechnology.   Dr. Jones has served on the Chartered Science Advisory Board of the US EPA, where she chaired the Drinking Water Committee and was liaison to the National Drinking Water Advisory Council. She currently serves on the Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education at the National Science Foundation. She is an alternate Commissioner of the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin in Washington, DC., where she chairs the committee on justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI). She also serves on the Center Steering Committee of the Center for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEINT) and on the Management Board of the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP) and as Associate Director for Diversity in the Urban Water Innovation Network (UWIN).   Dr. Jones has served on the Water Science and Technology Board of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Board of Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, where she was Secretary of the Board. She has served on several committees of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. She served as the Deputy Director of the Keck Center for Nanoscale Materials for Molecular Recognition at Howard University. Dr. Jones has received the Researcher of the Year award from Howard University, a Top Women in Science Award from the National Technical Association, the Outstanding Young Civil Engineer award from University of Illinois Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, a NSF CAREER Award, an Outstanding Leadership and Service and Outstanding Faculty Mentor award from Howard University, and Top Women Achievers award from Essence Magazine.