WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key administration posts:



• Patricia A. Hoffman, Assistant Secretary for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Department of Energy

• Mari Del Carmen Aponte, Ambassador to the Republic of El Salvador, Department of State

• Donald E. Booth, Ambassador to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Department of State

• Larry Persily, Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects



President Obama said, “The depth of experience these individuals bring to their roles will be valuable to my administration as we work to bring about real change for the American people. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”



President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals today:



Patricia A. Hoffman, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Department of Energy

Patricia A. Hoffman was named Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability at the United States Department of Energy in November 2007. The focus of her responsibility is to provide leadership on a national level to modernize the electric grid, enhance the security and reliability of the energy infrastructure and facilitate recovery from disruptions to the energy supply both domestically and internationally. Patricia has 14 years of experience at the Energy Department developing and managing technology research programs critical to the electric sector for the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability as well as the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. During her tenure, she managed efforts that resulted in the longest demonstration of ceramic components operating in an industrial gas turbine. Additionally, under her leadership, the Department demonstrated the first recuperated, industrial gas turbine for distributed generation applications. Ms. Hoffman holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Ceramic Science and Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University.



Mari Del Carmen Aponte, Nominee for Ambassador to the Republic of El Salvador, Department of State

Mari Del Carmen Aponte is currently an attorney and independent consultant with Aponte Consulting. From 2001-2004, Ms. Aponte was the Executive Director of the Puerto Rican Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA). Prior to that, she practiced law for nearly twenty years with Washington D.C. based law firms. Ms. Aponte also served as a member ...