President Biden Announces Key Nominees

WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to serve as key leaders in his administration: 

• Kathleen A. FitzGibbon, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Niger
• Alan J. Patricof, Nominee for Member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation
• Juan Eduardo Sanchez, Nominee for Federal Co-Chairman of the Southwest Border Regional Commission
• Jay T. Snyder, Nominee for Member of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy
• Joseph L. Falk, Nominee for Member of the United States Institute of Peace

Kathleen A. FitzGibbon, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Niger

Kathleen FitzGibbon is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor. She currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria. Prior to that, FitzGibbon was first the Division Chief, West and Southern Africa, and then the Director of the Office of Africa Analysis in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the U.S. Department of State. Her extensive experience in Africa includes service as the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassies in Sierra Leone and Gabon and as the chief of the Political and Economic section of the U.S. Embassy in Uganda. Among her other assignments, FitzGibbon served at the U.S. Embassy in Chad and had an earlier posting in Nigeria. She also worked in the Office to Combat and Monitor Trafficking in Persons in the State Department. Prior to joining the State Department, she was as a lecturer at Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia. FitzGibbon earned her Bachelor’s degree from Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York and a Master’s degree from the University of California, Davis. She speaks French.

Alan J. Patricof, Nominee for Member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation

Alan J. Patricof is the Co-founder and Chairperson of Primetime Partners, an early-stage venture capital fund focused on servicing the aging population. A longtime innovator and advocate for venture capital, he entered the industry in its formative days with the creation of Patricof & Co. Ventures Inc., a predecessor to Apax Partners – today, one of the world’s leading private equity firms with $75 billion under management. In 2006, he founded Greycroft Partners, a venture capital firm where he is currently Chairman Emeritus, to invest in leading early and expansion stage investments in digital media. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, Greycroft has $2B+ under management. With a 50-plus year career in venture capital, Patricof has been instrumental in growing the venture capital field from a base of high net-worth individuals to its position today with broad institutional backing, as well as playing a key role in the essential legislative initiatives that have guided its evolution. He has helped build and foster the growth of numerous major global companies, including, among others, America Online, Office Depot, Cadence Systems, Cellular Communications, Inc., Apple Computer, FORE Systems, NTL, IntraLinks, Audible, Huffington Post and Axios. He was also a founder and Chairman of the Board of New York Magazine, which later acquired the Village Voice and New West magazine. He is currently a board member of the Finance Committee of Northside Center for Child Development in Harlem, the Board of Overseers of Columbia School of Business and Fortune Society. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Patricof holds a BS in Finance from Ohio State University and an MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

Juan Eduardo Sanchez, Nominee for Federal Co-Chairman of the Southwest Border Regional Commission

Juan Sanchez’s knowledge of the southwest region is both personal and professional. Raised in Laredo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border, Sanchez attended public schools through college- graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Texas A&M International University, a Hispanic Serving Institution on the border. These experiences provided him first-hand knowledge of the unique challenges facing the Southwest Border Regional Commission’s (SBRC) service area.

Sanchez has spent more than twelve years in public service working to improve the quality of life for people on the U.S.-Mexico border. Through various positions in Congress, he has worked with federal, state, and local governments to help create economic growth and development opportunities for the southwest region. This has included working hand in hand with community leaders in New Mexico and across south Texas, helping to deliver resources and develop tools for underserved communities, tribes, educational institutions, local governments, and non-profits. Sanchez has been a driving force in crafting the first-ever, bipartisan humanitarian aid reimbursement program for border communities; increasing federal investment in water infrastructure projects; helping local governments navigate COVID-19 relief funding; and securing the initial funding for the Southwest Regional Border Commission.

Jay T. Snyder, Nominee for Member of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy

Jay T. Snyder has an expansive career in philanthropy, public service, and business, working throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. In 2009, Snyder founded the Open Hands Initiative (OHI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to public diplomacy. Connecting young leaders and underserved communities across the developing world, OHI has conducted people-to-people exchange programs in Colombia, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Myanmar, and Syria, fostering mutual understanding in the areas of journalism, women’s entrepreneurship, health equity, conflict resolution, and disability rights. Among Snyder’s many nonprofit activities, he serves on Georgetown University’s College Board of Advisors, the USC Center for Public Diplomacy Advisory Board, and the Beatrice Snyder Foundation, which supports a diverse range of cultural and educational charities, including the Clinton Foundation, Global Health Corps, NYU Langone, and The Public Theater. He served as the Co-President of the American Friends of the London Philharmonia Orchestra. Snyder also supports refugee work by Choose Love and is a National Council member of Welcome.US.

Snyder has served in both federal and state government appointments. President Clinton named him U.S. Representative to the 55th United Nations General Assembly. Snyder was also selected to be a member of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. In service to his home state, Snyder was appointed as a Commissioner on the New York State Commission on Public Authority Reform in June 2005, as established by Governor George E. Pataki. Snyder is also Principal of HBJ Investments, SL Ventures, and Butternut Partners, firms specializing in private and venture capital investments. He serves as a Consultant and an Observer to the board on numerous startups and growth-phase companies. Previously, he was  an executive at Biocraft Laboratories. Snyder is married and has three sons.

Joe Falk, Nominee for Member of the United States Institute of Peace

Joseph Falk is a consultant with the law firm of Akerman LLP and a licensed mortgage originator. Akerman is a top 100 law firm and employs over 700 attorneys and consultants. Falk was past President and Legislative Chairman of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB). Falk is the author of the NAMB’s ‘Model State Statute Initiative for the Licensing and Education of All Originators’. This effort led to the introduction and passage of the national S.A.F.E. Licensing Act signed into law in 2008. He has testified before Congress, both the House and the Senate, on how to improve the regulatory structure governing the mortgage industry. In 2014, he was appointed by President Obama as a member of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Falk is a board member of the national LGBTQ Victory Fund, and the Board and Capital Campaign Chairman of the Miami-based Frost Science Museum. He is a former board member and past Chairman of SAVE, a Florida based LGBT advocacy organization.

Falk is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Franklin and Marshall College and received his MBA from the Harvard Business School. He is an avid amateur photographer and enjoys ethnographic adventure travel. He resides in Miami, Florida.

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