Press Center
For Immediate Release November 6, 2009
Media Contact: Sarah Dixon
(970) 949-1999
sdixon@vvf.org VAIL INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL DIRECTOR DAMIAN WOETZEL NAMED TO PRESIDENT OBAMA’S COMMITTEE ON THE ARTS & HUMANITIES VAIL, Colorado—Damian Woetzel, Artistic Director of the Vail International Dance Festival, has been appointed to President Obama’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. News came from the White House this week, as Woetzel and a panel of other leaders in the field were sworn in. President Obama said, "I am confident that these talented individuals will be valued additions to our administration and will offer wise counsel in their respective roles. I look forward to working with them in the coming months and years." Joining Mr. Woetzel on the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities are: J. Ricky Arriola, Madeleine Harris Berman, Richard J. Cohen, Paula Hannaway Crown, Christine Forester, Teresa Heinz, Victoria Strauss Kennedy, Bryan Lourd, Anne Luzzatto, Yo-Yo Ma, Liz Manne, Thom Mayne, Edward Norton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Andy Spahn, Jill Cooper Udall, Reginald Van Lee, Agnes Varis, Kerry Washington, Alexa L. Wesner, Forest Whitaker, Anna Wintour, George C. Wolfe and Alfre Woodard. "I am deeply honored to have been selected to serve on President Obama’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, and I look forward to working alongside my fellow members to help achieve the goals of the Committee,” said Woetzel. Damian Woetzel, a former ballet star, is the Director of the Vail International Dance Festival. Under Woetzel’s direction, the festival has been widely acclaimed for its innovation and growth as a nationally recognized summer showcase for dance. Woetzel is active as a producer of dance and music performances around the world. Recently, in June of 2009, Woetzel directed the Gala Performance of the World Science Festival at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, creating an arts salute to science which featured performances by musicians Joshua Bell, Yo-Yo Ma, and Marin Alsop, and actors Anna Deavere-Smith, Alan Alda, and Glenn Close, among others. In the fall of 2009, Woetzel helped create and began directing the Jerome Robbins Foundation's New Essential Works (NEW) Program, which supports choreographers and dance companies during the current financial crisis by giving grants to enable the production of new works. Woetzel also recently launched as curator and director the new Studio 5 performance series at New York’s City Center, which features in-depth examinations of today’s most compelling dance artists and companies highlighted by in-studio performances and demonstrations. Woetzel was a Principal Dancer at New York City Ballet from 1989 until his retirement from the stage in 2008. He is the recipient of a Choo San Goh award for new choreography, and he was the artistic director of the New York State Summer School for the Arts School of Ballet from 1994-2007. Woetzel serves on the Artists Committee of the Kennedy Center Honors and as a judge for the Astaire Awards; he has also served as a juror for the Princess Grace Awards. Woetzel sits on the Board of New York City Center. Woetzel was the 2008 Harman-Eisner Artist in Residence of the Aspen Institute, and he is a frequent speaker on the arts and arts policy. He holds a Master in Public Administration Degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and he served on the recent Harvard Task Force on the Arts. In the fall of 2009, President Obama appointed Woetzel to the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. The 2010 Vail International Dance Festival is scheduled for July 26 – August 10. News on the Festival can be found at www.vaildance.org. The Vail International Dance Festival is a project of the Vail Valley Foundation. ### Read the full White House press release below: THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 2, 2009 President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key administration posts: - Grayling G. Williams, Director, Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security
- Paul R. Verkuil, Chairman, Administrative Conference of the United States
President Obama also will appoint 25 individuals to serve on the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. Their names and bios are below. The President previously appointed George Stevens, Jr. and Margo Lion to serve as Co-Chairs and Mary Schmidt Campbell to serve as Vice Chair of the Committee. President Obama said, "I am confident that these talented individuals will be valued additions to our administration and will offer wise counsel in their respective roles. I look forward to working with them in the coming months and years." President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals today: Grayling G. Williams, Nominee for Director, Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security
Grayling G. Williams has had twenty-eight years of federal and local law enforcement service with assignments in patrol operations, organized crime drug investigations, law enforcement training, operational policy development, intelligence gathering, and law enforcement information sharing. He is currently serving as the Executive Assistant to the Chief of Operations in the HQ Operations Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Previously, he served as an Assistant Special Agent in Charge in the DEA HQ Operations Division, where he was responsible for management oversight of the Policies and Procedures Unit and the Confidential Source Unit. He was also recently detailed to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Chief Information Officer to assist in the development of the DOJ Law Enforcement Information Sharing Program. His previous positions at the DEA also include Supervisory Special Agent at the DEA Baltimore, MD District Office and Washington, DC Division Office, Unit Chief/Instructor at the DEA Training Academy in Virginia, and Special Agent in the DEA New England Field Division. He also has served as a police officer with the Yale University Police Department, in New Haven, CT. He holds a Master of Science in Management from John Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Science from the University of New Haven. Paul R. Verkuil, Nominee for Chairman, Administrative Conference of the United States
Paul R. Verkuil is a public law scholar and academic administrator. He is currently senior counsel to Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, where he oversees the firm's Pro Bono program and participates in antitrust and corporate governance matters. Verkuil is also a professor at Cardozo School of Law. Previously, he has served as President of the College of William & Mary, Dean of Tulane and Cardozo Law Schools, Acting Dean of the University of Miami Law School, and CEO of the American Automobile Association. His legal activities include appointment as Special Master by the U.S. Supreme Court in the original jurisdiction case of New Jersey v. New York, which determined sovereignty to Ellis Island, and appointment as Special Master by the Fifth Circuit in U.S. v. Louisiana, a higher education desegregation case. He is a member of the board of the National Constitution Center, the Statute of Liberty – Ellis Island Foundation, and the Innocence Project. He has published over 60 articles on administrative law and regulation topics and is the coauthor of Administrative Law and Process. His most recent book, Outsourcing Sovereignty, addresses the problem of contracting out essential functions of government. He was chair of the Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section of the ABA and a consultant to and member of the Administrative Conference of the United States. He earned an A.B. from William & Mary, an LL.B. from Virginia Law School, and a J.S.D. from NYU Law School. He was an active duty officer in the United State Army from 1962 to 1964. President Obama also announced that he has appointed the following individuals today to serve on the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities: J. Ricky Arriola, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Mr. Arriola is the President and CEO of Inktel Direct, where he oversees business development, operations and overall strategy of the business process outsourcing company. He is actively involved in the arts and humanities community in Florida, serving as the Chair of the Board of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. Madeleine Harris Berman, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Ms. Berman serves on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of Americans for the Arts and the Boards of Directors of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Michigan Opera Theater and the Detroit Zoological Institute. She previously served on the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities in 1994. Richard J. Cohen, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Mr. Cohen is a Minnesota State Senator chairing the Finance Committee. He serves on the boards of the Tyrone Guthrie Theater and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Formerly, he was the chairman of the Arts, Tourism and Cultural Resources Committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures, and this year he received the Public Leadership in the Arts Award from the Americans for the Arts. Paula Hannaway Crown, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Ms. Crown is a Principal of Henry Crown and Company, a private investment firm, and an artist. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Modern Art, Duke University, the Executive Committee of the Chicago Community Trust, the National Council of the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Board of Advisors of the Nasher Museum of Art, the Women's Board of the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Conservation International. Christine Forester, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Ms. Forester - an architect specializing in hospital architecture - switched careers in the 1980s to head Christine Forester Catalyst, a business, marketing and branding company. She served on the Board of the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; the Board of the Museum of Photographic Arts; the Advisory Panel for the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture's Allocations Programs; and, currently, Scripps Institute of Oceanography's Advisory Council. Teresa Heinz, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Ms. Heinz is the Chairman of the Heinz Endowments and the Heinz Family Philanthropies. She is a member of the Trustees Council at the National Gallery of Art and in 2001 was elected to be a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. She founded and serves as chairman of the Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment and also serves on the board of trustees at the Brookings Institute and Carnegie Mellon University. Victoria Strauss Kennedy, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Ms. Kennedy is an educational consultant for Loyola Marymount University. She has worked at Harvard University as Head Teaching Fellow for an undergraduate literature course, and as a Fellow for the Derek Bok Center. Ms. Kennedy is a youth coordinator and board member of a number of community service initiatives. She is co-founder of the Go Campaign and is currently designing a nautical children's museum in Washington, D.C. Bryan Lourd, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Mr. Lourd is a Partner and Managing Director of Creative Artists Agency, an entertainment and sports agency. He also helped create the CAA Foundation, which facilitates members of the global creative community in contributing their time and resources to improve conditions locally, nationally and worldwide. Mr. Lourd is also a Board member of InterActiveCorp. Anne Luzzatto, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Ms. Luzzatto served as Obama-Biden Transition Team review lead for the National Endowment for the Arts. She has also served as Vice President for Meetings, Council on Foreign Relations. During the administration of President Clinton she served as Special Assistant to the President and White House Deputy Press Secretary and Assistant US Trade Representative for Public Affairs. Yo-Yo Ma, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Mr. Ma, a cellist and 2001 National Medal of Arts recipient, maintains a balance between his engagements as a soloist with orchestras throughout the world and his recital and chamber music activities. He has recorded more than 75 albums, won 16 Grammy Awards, and serves as the Artistic Director of the Silk Road Project. Liz Manne, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Ms. Manne is an independent film producer and consultant. Formerly an executive with Sundance Channel, co-founder of Fine Line Features, and consultant to HBO Films, Ms. Manne has helped shepherd more than 100 independent films to diverse audiences. Ms. Manne is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Thom Mayne, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Mr. Mayne is founder of Morphosis Architects, co-founder of the Southern California Institute of Architecture and Distinguished Professor at UCLA Architecture and Urban Design, where he extensively researches and publishes on contemporary urbanism. Recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, Mr. Mayne's architectural projects include the San Francisco Federal Building, the Cooper Union academic building in Manhattan, Phare Tower in Paris, and the FLOAT House – an affordable, sustainable, and pre-fabricated housing prototype in New Orleans. Edward Norton, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Mr. Norton is a two-time Academy Award-nominated actor, producer, and director. He is also engaged in social and environmental issues, serving on the Board of Enterprise Community Partners, National Landscape Conservation Foundation, Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, and Signature Theater Company. Sarah Jessica Parker, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Ms. Parker is an award-winning actress and producer, having won four Golden Globe Awards, two Emmy Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. She is on the board of the New York City Ballet and she also serves as a UNICEF Representative for the Performing Arts and Goodwill Ambassador for the United States. Andy Spahn, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Mr. Spahn is the President of Andy Spahn & Associates, an entertainment industry based consulting firm that specializes in public affairs, strategic philanthropy and communications. Prior to founding his company, he was the Head of Corporate Affairs and Communications for DreamWorks. He has spent more than 25 years in national politics and the non-profit world and is a founding board member of the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. Jill Cooper Udall, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Ms. Udall is a lawyer and former Officer of Cultural Affairs for the State of New Mexico. She currently works with the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian. Ms. Udall also sits on the Board of Visitors and Governors for St. John's College, and the Boards of Directors for Ford's Theatre, Santa Fe Conservation Trust, and the Meridian International Center. Reginald Van Lee, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Mr. Van Lee is an Executive Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton. He is a published author and serves as the Chair of the Board of the Evidence Dance Company, Chair of the Board of the New York International Ballet Competition, Trustee and Treasurer of the Studio Museum in Harlem and Vice-Chair of the Board of the Washington Performing Arts Society. Agnes Varis, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Dr. Varis serves as the founder and President of Agvar Chemicals and Modavar Pharmaceuticals. She is actively involved in the arts community, donating the Agnes Varis Performance Stage to Jazz at Lincoln Center, sponsoring children's programs at the Metropolitan Opera, underwriting a senior citizen orchestra multi-seat program at the Metropolitan Opera, and underwriting the Jazz Foundation of America's national educational children's Jazz In School Program, which employs unemployed elderly jazz musicians. Kerry Washington, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Ms. Washington is an award-winning actress. She is a board member of The Creative Coalition and is on the Artists Committee for Americans for the Arts, organizations which work to promote the arts in America. She is also on the board of V-Day, an organization dedicated to ending violence against women and girls. Alexa L. Wesner, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Ms. Wesner is the founder of Blue Texas PAC and formerly co-founder and President of HireTECH, a high technology recruiting firm in Austin, Texas. In addition, she works with a variety of nonprofits and charities in Texas, including the Austin Film Society, The Blanton Museum, Breakthrough Austin, LifeWorks, SafePlace, and Arthouse. Forest Whitaker, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Mr. Whitaker is an Academy Award-winning actor, director, producer and game developer. He is a social activist and is involved in several humanitarian and philanthropic causes for which he has twice received the Humanitas Prize. He has been honored with the Cinema for Peace award for using film as a medium to promote peace, freedom and tolerance and this year is being recognized as Patron of The Arts by UNESCO. Anna Wintour, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Ms. Wintour has served as the Editor in Chief of VOGUE since 1988. She has also significantly contributed to fundraising efforts for AIDS research and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She spearheaded the Council of Fashion Designers of America/Vogue Fashion campaign to help fund emerging fashion designers. Damian Woetzel, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Mr. Woetzel is a renowned ballet dancer, who performed during his career as a principal dancer at New York City Ballet. He is the founding Director of the Jerome Robbins New Essential Works Program, Director of the summer Vail International Dance Festival, and Cultural Programming Producer for the World Science Festival. Mr. Woetzel has served on the Harvard Task Force on the Arts and the Artists Committee of the Kennedy Center Honors. George C. Wolfe, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Mr. Wolfe is a Tony award-winning theater and film director and playwright and served as the producer of The Public Theatre/New York Shakespeare Festival from 1993 to 2005. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award, and was declared a living landmark by the New York Landmarks Conservancy. Alfre Woodard, Member, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities
Ms. Woodard's work as an actor has earned her an Oscar nomination, four Emmys, three SAG Awards, and a Golden Globe. She serves on the National Film Preservation Foundation Board, as well as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences International Outreach Committee. Ms. Woodard co-founded Artists for a New South Africa, a non-profit working to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and further Democracy and Human rights in South Africa and the United States.
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