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:

• Julie Smith, Nominee to be Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
• Kin Moy, Nominee to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
• James Story, Nominee to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Mozambique
• Mark G. Eskenazi, Nominee to be a Member of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission

Julie Smith, Nominee to be Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs

Julianne “Julie” Smith is currently serving as United States Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), with the rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. Prior to that, she was a Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State at the U.S. Department of State. Previously, she served as the Director of the Asia and Geopolitics Programs at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Earlier, she was the Director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Before joining CNAS, Smith worked in the Obama Administration, where she served as both the Acting National Security Advisor and the Deputy National Security Advisor to then-Vice President Joe Biden. She was also the Principal Director for European and NATO Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense in the Pentagon for three years. Earlier in her career, Smith directed the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). In 2023, she received the Sue M. Cobbs Award for Exemplary Diplomatic Service and in 2012, she was awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service. A native of Michigan, she received her B.A. from Xavier University and her M.A. from American University. She speaks German and French.

Kin Moy, Nominee to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Kin Moy, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister, is currently Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Previously, he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research; Chief of Mission of the American Institute in Taiwan; and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, with responsibility for China, Mongolia, and Taiwan. Earlier Washington, D.C. assignments included Deputy Executive Secretary in the Office of Secretary of State and Director of the Executive Secretariat Staff in the Office of Secretary of State. Overseas, Moy served in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China; the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Republic of Korea, and the U.S. Consulate in Busan, Republic of Korea. He is the recipient of the Presidential Rank Award. He holds degrees from the University of Minnesota and Columbia University and speaks Mandarin and Cantonese.

James Story, Nominee to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Mozambique

James Story, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, is presently a Senior Fellow at Georgetown University following his return from his service as United States Ambassador to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Prior to his Ambassadorial service, Story was the Charge d’Affaires ad interim at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela and then at the Venezuela Affairs Unit based at the U.S. Embassy Bogota, Colombia. Earlier he served as the Consul General of the U.S. Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and before that as Director of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement for the Western Hemisphere and Colombia. Story also was the Senior Civilian for Task Force Rakkasan in RC-East Afghanistan and held various positions at U.S. Embassies and Consulates in Brazil, Mozambique, and Mexico. Story received B.A. and B.S. degrees from South Carolina College at the University of South Carolina, and an M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. He is the recipient of a Presidential Rank Award, the Director of National Intelligence Exceptional Service Award, the Department of the Army Superior Civilian Service Award and multiple State Department awards including the Warren Christopher Award for Outstanding Achievement in Global Affairs and a Distinguished Honor Award. Story is married to Susan West Story, and has a son, James McKelvey Story. He is originally from Moncks Corner, South Carolina. He speaks Spanish and Portuguese.

Mark G. Eskenazi, Nominee to be a Member of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission

Mark G. Eskenazi has worked in the field of labor and employment law and policy for his entire 16-year career, including 14 years in government service. Eskenazi currently serves as Assistant General Counsel at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, where he provides legal advice on the worker rights provisions in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. From December 2022 to December 2023, he served at the White House as Director for International Economics with a joint appointment to the National Security Council and National Economic Council. In this capacity, he developed supply chain, trade, and labor initiatives, including with respect to occupational safety and health standards. Eskenazi previously held several roles at the National Labor Relations Board, including those related to the investigation, litigation, and quasi-judicial resolution of federal labor law disputes. He has also worked as a labor and employment associate in private practice.

Eskenazi received his J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center and his B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University. Originally from New York, Eskenazi currently lives with his wife and daughter in Arlington, Virginia.

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