President Biden Announces Key Appointments to Boards and Commissions

WASHINGTON – Today, President Biden announced his intent to appoint the following individuals to serve in key roles:

• Amy Cappellazzo, Member, Cultural Property Advisory Committee
• Susan Schoenfeld Harrington, Member, Cultural Property Advisory Committee
• Thomas R. Lamont, Member, Cultural Property Advisory Committee
• Duane A. Bedell, Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
• Jolene Bowman, Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
• Donna Brown, Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
• Lucyann Harjo, Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
• Sedelta Oosahwee, Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
• Ellen R. Stofan, Member, President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science

Cultural Property Advisory Committee

The Cultural Property Advisory Committee reviews requests for import restrictions submitted to the United States by foreign governments, considers proposals to extend existing agreements and emergency actions, carries out ongoing review of current import restrictions, and provides reports of its findings and recommendations to the Department of State.

The Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act established the 11-member presidentially-appointed Committee to ensure that the U.S. government receives advice from diverse public interests in cultural property matters. The Committee includes two members who represent the interests of museums; three members who are expert in archaeology, anthropology, ethnology, or related fields; three members who are expert in the international sale of cultural property; and three members who represent the interest of the general public. The Cultural Heritage Center serves as the secretariat for Committee and convenes and facilitates the Committee’s quarterly meetings.

Amy Cappellazzo, Member, Cultural Property Advisory Committee

Amy Cappellazzo is a Founder and Principal of Art Intelligence Global. Cappellazzo has spent nearly three-decades operating at the highest level of the fine art market. Most recently, she was Chairman of the Fine Art Division of Sotheby’s. She joined Sotheby’s when her advisory firm, Art Agency Partners, was acquired by the auction house in 2016. The firm filled a significant need in the art market for a client-oriented combination of industry knowledge, financial sophistication, and discretion. Cappellazzo previously served as a market leader in the field of contemporary art at Christie’s, where she rose to the post of Chairman of Post-War & Contemporary Development over thirteen years. Cappellazzo began her career as an art advisor and curator and was a key figure in the establishment of Art Basel in Miami Beach. She holds a B.A. in Fine Arts from New York University, and an M.S. from the School of Architecture at Pratt Institute in City Planning, focusing on the role of Public Art in shaping cities. She hails from Buffalo, NY.

Susan Schoenfeld Harrington, Member, Cultural Property Advisory Committee

Susan Schoenfeld Harrington brings a wide range of experience and perspective to the Department of State’s Cultural Property Advisory Committee due to her diverse and multinational career in consulting, media, law, politics and the arts. Born in Manhattan, she is a graduate of Columbia Law School, Wellesley College, and Hunter College High School. Additionally, she is a recipient of a Harry S. Truman Scholarship and a Fulbright Fellowship, which took her to Hong Kong. Schoenfeld Harrington currently runs a business advisory group in London, with clients that include the Schoenfeld Group at Brown Harris Stevens and Brand Positioning Doctors. Previously the CEO of a media consultancy in Asia, Schoenfeld Harrington worked with international groups including Viacom, Discovery and Microsoft, advising on market entry, programming strategies, etc. Previously, she practiced law in New York, focusing on M&A in the media industry. She is a contributing author to the book ‘Telecommunications in Asia.’

Schoenfeld Harrington has been involved in U.S. Democratic politics for many years, most recently as a Deputy Finance Chair of the DNC. She has been a top ex-pat fundraiser for Democratic Presidential, as well as the Senate and House Committees. She is also a keen supporter of Run for Something, VoteVets, and Onward Together. Schoenfeld Harrington serves on various boards, including the American Friends of the Musee d’Orsay, Hampstead Theatre, Project Rousseau, and as the Secretary of the Chatham House Foundation’s U.S. Board. She served on the Board of the China Art Foundation and is a long-standing supporter of the Clinton Global Initiative.

Thomas R. Lamont, Member, Cultural Property Advisory Committee

Long time Springfield, Illinois attorney, Thomas R. Lamont, formerly served as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. Subsequently, he received a presidential appointment to the National Commission on the Future of the Army. Lamont also served as a commissioner on the American Battle Monuments Commission. Prior to his federal service, he served as a member and chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. A graduate of Illinois State University and the University of Illinois College of Law, Lamont currently is the President of Lamont Consulting Services, LLC and resides in Springfield, IL. He is married to wife, Bridget and has one son, Michael.

National Advisory Council on Indian Education

The Department of Education’s National Advisory Council on Indian Education (NACIE) serves as an advisory council for the Secretary of Education and the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Native Americans and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). NACIE includes Native American and Alaska Native education leaders from a wide range of Native nations, including members who can provide specific expertise on issues concerning TCUs, higher education systems and other Native American-serving institutions, P-12 and early childhood education, special education, and career and technical education. Additionally, NACIE advises the Secretaries of Education and Interior and the White House Initiative. NACIE sends an annual report to Congress with recommendations on relevant programs and activities to expand educational equity, opportunities, and improvements for educational outcomes for all Native American students.

Duane A. Bedell, Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education

Duane Bedell is a Bay Mills Indian Community tribal member who resides in Gnoozhekaaning (the place of the pike), Bay Mills Indian Community, located in Eastern Upper Michigan. Bedell has worked in tribal communities for more than 20 years in various roles. He served as an Information Technology Director for the Intertribal Council of Michigan, an adjunct faculty member for Bay Mills Community College, and a full-time faculty and computer information systems department chair. Bedell also served as Bay Mills Indian Community’s Tribal Manager for two years before being named by BMCC’s Board of Regents as Bay Mills Community College’s President and CEO in 2020. In addition to serving tribal communities in various capacities, he has provided 23 years of service to tribal colleges and education in general.

Bedell attended Haskell Indian Jr. College and moved to Michigan to complete his studies at Bay Mills Community College. He graduated with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Computer Information Systems. While working full-time and raising a family, Bedell continued attending college. After several years, Bedell earned a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and Security from Baker College. Bedell graduated with a Master of Art in Education Technology from the University of Michigan-Flint. In 2018, Bedell completed an Education Specialist degree from the University of Michigan-Flint. In 2020, Bedell earned the status of doctoral candidate in Education Administration. He is currently writing his dissertation.

Jolene Bowman, Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education

Dr. Jolene Bowman’s strong allegiance for equity in Native education is what drives her compassion to work collaboratively at removing barriers and improving the education experience. Her grandparents, mother, and aunts unknowingly served as change agents by supporting active thoughts, ideas, and dreams, which in turn motivated her passion to serve others in the capacity of cultivating academic and career mindsets for a sustainable future from Pre-K through Higher Education. As our ancestors taught us so that we would teach the future, Bowman is committed to service in leadership that encompasses respecting elders and veterans. As such, employing this guidance to build self-awareness within our youth so they can be the future we want to see in the world. She is a citizen of Stockbridge-Munsee Community with over 30 years of tribal work experience including being the Director of Education and Career Services for the past sixteen years. In addition, she is currently serving a second term on the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) Board of Directors while also serving on the Wisconsin Indian Education Association as an alternate for the Central Region, the Wisconsin Tribal Education Directors Association, and Governors appointment as a Public Member of the Wisconsin Women’s Council. In March of 2020, Bowman was featured by Madison 365 as one of Wisconsin’s 38 Most Influential Native Americans in a five-part series. Her former leadership positions include 2018 NIEA President and the 2015-2017 and 2019-2020 Stockbridge-Munsee Vice President. Bowman believes that as a collective voice we can build, support, and believe in the dreams of others to encourage success for a better world.

Donna Brown, Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education

Dr. Donna Brown (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa) is currently the President of Turtle Mountain Community College (TMCC), a tribal land grant college located on the Turtle Mountain Indian reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota. In her role as President, she oversees all financial, operational, and development work for TMCC. Her professional life has been devoted to education, specifically assisting American Indian students to succeed in college. She has held various faculty and administrative roles, including Graduate Faculty in the Department of Counseling, Student Affairs, and Education, Affirmative Action Officer, and Chief Diversity Officer. She has served on committees such as the Board of Directors for the YWCA, Native Nations Task Force, Executive Campus Diversity Officers, and the University of North Dakota President’s Advisory Council on Women.

Brown has been a peer reviewer for the national Higher Learning Commission, which accredits post-secondary institutions, for over twenty years and has been on the Institutional Actions Council with the Commission for eight years. In these capacities, she regularly makes site visits to colleges and universities across the country to assess institutional effectiveness. Brown has an Associate’s degree from Sitting Bull College, a Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Dakota (UND), a Master’s degree in counseling from UND, and a Doctorate degree in education from UND.

Lucyann Harjo, Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education

Lucyann Harjo is a citizen of the Navajo Nation. She is married to Lincoln Harjo (Muscogee and Seminole) and they have four children, Dinah (34), Zechariah (32), Joseph (28), and Noah (23). Harjo is the Coordinator of Indian Education, Administrator of the Title VI, and Johnson-O’Malley Programs for Norman Public Schools. Both programs serve over 2,300 American Indian students in Pre-K to 12th grades from 78 tribal nations. She is an At-Large Representative for the Oklahoma Council for Indian Education (OCIE) and represents OCIE on the Oklahoma Advisory Council on Indian Education, a state-appointed Council advising the State Superintendent’s Office at the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Harjo has an Associate of Arts degree from Haskell Indian Junior College, a Bachelor of Science in Education degree, and a Masters of Legal Studies degree from the University of Oklahoma.

Sedelta Oosahwee, Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education

Sedelta Oosahwee (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara Nation) is currently a Senior Program/Policy Analyst/Specialist with the National Education Association where she manages the American Indian/Alaska Native desk. In this role, she manages national partnerships, assists with outreach, and advises on policy. Previously, she served in the Obama-Biden Administration as a Senior Advisor and Acting Deputy Director for the Office of Tribal Relations in the Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Before that, she was the Associate Director of the White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education. Prior to shifting her career focus to the national level, Oosahwee served as a Special Projects Officer at the Cherokee Nation and as Coordinator for Student Programs in the Center for Tribal Studies at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

Oosahwee works closely with a number of higher education organizations and has assisted with grants and scholarships that are focused specifically on serving Indigenous students. She is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the National Indian Education Association and Speak Out: The Institute for Democratic Education and Culture. She has also served on the Technical Review Panel for the National Indian Education Study since 2018. In 2014, she was named one of the National Center for American Indian Economic Development’s 40 under 40. Oosahwee earned her undergraduate degree in Public Affairs and Administration and a Masters of Education in Higher Education Administration from the University of Oklahoma.

President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science

The President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science evaluates nominees for the National Medal of Science, a Presidential Award to recognize individuals for their outstanding contributions to knowledge in the physical, biological, mathematical, engineering, social, and behavioral sciences. Since its establishment, the National Medal of Science has been awarded to 506 distinguished scientists and engineers whose careers spanned decades of research and development.

Ellen R. Stofan, Member, President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science

Ellen Stofan is the Under Secretary for Science and Research at the Smithsonian Institution, where she oversees the Smithsonian’s science museums and research centers, including the National Zoo. She served as the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum from 2018-2021 and was the former Chief Scientist of NASA from 2013-2016. From 2000-2013, Stofan was Vice President of Proxemy Research, and from 1992-2000, she held a number of senior scientist positions at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory including Chief Scientist of the New Millennium Program, Experiment Scientist for the Shuttle Imaging Radar-C project, and Deputy Project Scientist for the Magellan mission to Venus. Her research focuses on the geology of Venus, Mars, Saturn’s moon Titan, and Earth. She has published extensively, and received many awards and honors including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal. She is a trustee of the National Geographic Society, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Geological Society of America, and the Explorers Club. Stofan has a PhD and MSc from Brown University and a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of William and Mary.

###