President Biden Announces Five Key Nominations

WASHINGTON – Today, Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following five individuals to serve in key roles:

• Ramin Toloui, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs, Department of State
• Jennifer Clyburn Reed, Nominee for Federal Co-Chair of the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission
• Leslie Bluhm, Nominee for Member of the Board of Directors of AmeriCorps
• Lisette Nieves, Nominee for Member of the Board of Directors of AmeriCorps
• Flor Romero, Nominee for Member of the Board of Directors of AmeriCorps

Ramin Toloui, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs, Department of State

Ramin Toloui is Professor of the Practice for International Finance at Stanford University, and Tad and Diane Taube Policy Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. His teaching and research focus on international economic policy, financial crises, and the economic impact of artificial intelligence. He recently led the policy review for international economics on the Biden-Harris Transition Team, in addition to serving on the State Department agency review team. Prior to joining Stanford, Toloui had a two-decade career spanning public service and investment management. He served in the Obama-Biden Administration as Assistant Secretary for International Finance at the Department of the Treasury, representing the United States in forums like the G7 and G20. Previously he was Global Co-Head of Emerging Markets Portfolio Management at the Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO), overseeing more than $100 billion in investments. He began his career as a civil servant at the Department of the Treasury. Toloui earned his A.B. degree in economics from Harvard University and an M.Phil. degree in International Relations from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.

Jennifer Clyburn Reed, Nominee for Federal Co-Chair of the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission

Dr. Jennifer Clyburn Reed is a career educator whose education and teaching experience span 28 years in public and private schools and universities. A recent retiree from the University of South Carolina (UofSC), she holds Bachelors, Masters and Specialist degrees from UofSC and an earned doctoral degree from Nova Southeastern University (NSU) in Florida.

Prior to directing a research and teaching center at UofSC , she taught elementary and middle school and served as school site coordinator of the Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) program, a college preparatory system designed for students with academic potential, many of whom were first generation college attendees. 

While Director, Dr. Reed also co-coordinated the design and implementation of the Apple Core Initiative (ACI), a scholarship program for incoming freshmen to the USC College of Education’s teacher education program. Currently, she serves on the selection committee for the $1.7 million Emily Clyburn Honors College Scholarship at South Carolina State University, a public HBCU. 

Dr. Reed is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and a Rotarian. She is co-owner of a property investment company, 49 Magnolia Blossom, LLC and President of its non-profit arm, Magnolia Blossom SC. Dr. Reed is also the CEO of Palmetto Issues Conference, LLC, an issues-based advisory group advocating for accessible and equitable policies in education, health, housing and infrastructure.

Dr. Reed is married to Mississippi native Walter A. Reed. They have two adult children – Walter A. Clyburn Reed and Sydney Alexis Reed. The Reed family resides in South Carolina.

Leslie N. Bluhm, Nominee for Member of the Board of Directors of AmeriCorps

Leslie N. Bluhm is a social entrepreneur who empowers people to tackle challenges through collaborative action. 

In 1991, she co-founded Chicago Cares, Inc., the city’s leading volunteer service organization. Chicago Cares builds group volunteer programs that meet the critical needs of the community while using the volunteer experience to educate volunteers from diverse communities about each other; building trust, empathy and connection.

Leslie was named one of six Chicagoans of the year by Chicago Magazine and was named to Crain’s 40 under 40. She serves on the board of directors of Chicago Cares, The Chicago Community Trust, The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, OneGoal, Whitney Museum of American Art, Shining Hope for Communities, and Rush Street Interactive, Inc.

She earned a BA from the University of Michigan and a JD from the University of Chicago Law School. She and her husband David Helfand reside in Chicago and have two sons. 

Lisette Nieves, Nominee for Member of the Board of Directors of AmeriCorps

Lisette Nieves is the President of the Fund for the City of New York (FCNY), charged with developing and helping to implement innovations in policy, programs, practices and technology to advance the functioning of government and nonprofit organizations in New York City and beyond. Lisette is also a Distinguished Clinical Professor with NYU, overseeing doctoral students and supporting change and innovation research initiatives in the doctoral program Leadership and Innovation, which she co-founded.

Lisette has also served in a variety of cross sector leadership positions. She is an experienced social entrepreneur and public sector leader. She has supported community social entrepreneurs and educators through her prior work with Lingo Ventures, a company she co-founded focused on growth, talent recruitment/retention, and change management. Lisette also served as the Belle Zeller Distinguished Visiting Professor in Public Policy at the City University of New York at Brooklyn College. Lisette was the founding Executive Director of Year Up NY, an innovative workforce development program, where, in the span of five years, she grew the organization from a $250,000 seed grant to a $6 million operation with over 20 corporate partnerships. Her interest in workforce and education led to her dissertation on the relationship between student work and school roles, for which she received the 2016 Dissertation of the Year Award by the (NCSD – AACC). Lisette also began her career in service serving full time in New York as a City Volunteer Corps member before she attended Brooklyn College for her undergraduate degree. She was also a proud team member of the launch of the AmeriCorps program under the Clinton administration.  

Lisette holds a B.A. from Brooklyn College, a B.A./M.A. from the University of Oxford, an M.P.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and a doctorate with distinction in Higher Education Management at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a Truman Scholar, Rhodes Scholar, Aspen Pahara Fellow and a 2020 Richard P. Nathan Public Policy Fellow. Her board affiliations include the Edwin Gould Foundation, AVID, The Education Trust, NewSchools Venture Fund, Jobs for the Future (JFF), Stand for Children, Ellevation and a Trustee of the New York Public Library.

Flor Romero, Nominee for Member of the Board of Directors of AmeriCorps

The daughter of first-generation Salvadoran immigrants, Flor Romero is a social worker who has dedicated her career to historically marginalized communities through equity and access initiatives.

At age 14, Flor realized the importance of resources that were missing in her hometown to help the community thrive. As a Psychology major at UCLA, she was found a work-study job that aligned with her passion and goals: Jumpstart, an early education AmeriCorps organization dedicated to helping bridge the achievement gap between minority students and their affluent peers. For her four years at UCLA, Flor stayed with Jumpstart, which inspired her to pursue a Master’s degree in Social Work with a focus on social change and innovation at the University of Southern California.

Throughout her career, Flor has led community-focused projects, working with stakeholders and leaders on foster care and adoption, mental health, education, and more. During her time at USC, she spearheaded a successful reading program across the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest school district in the nation, working closely with schools in Los Angeles County and increasing reading among students. Currently she works at Fraser Communications, where she works on accounts that strive for equal opportunity.

###