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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 7, 2002

Nominations
President Bush to Nominate Two Individuals to Serve in His Administration

President George W. Bush today announced his intention to nominate two individuals to serve in his administration.

The President intends to nominate R. Bruce Matthews to be a member of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board for the remainder of a five-year term expiring October 18, 2005. Matthews is currently a visiting research engineer at the University of California at Santa Barbara's College of Engineering. Matthews began his service at Los Alamos National Laboratories in 1980, and has held a variety of positions including Division Director for Nuclear Materials, Program Manager for Plutonium Technologies, and Group Leader of the Nuclear Fuels Technology Group. Before joining Los Alamos, he was a Research Scientist for Pacific Northwest Laboratories and Atomic Energy of Canada. Dr. Matthews earned a bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania State University, a Master's degree from the University of Denver and a Ph.D. from the University of Wales.

The President intends to nominate John Edward Mansfield to be a Member of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board for the remainder of a five-year term expiring October 18, 2006. Mansfield has served as a Member of the board since 1997. From 1994 to 1997, he served as Associate Administrator for Space Access and Technology at NASA. He served as a professional staff member for the Senate Committee on Armed Services from 1989 to 1994, and from 1984 to 1986. From 1986 to 1989, Mansfield was the Director of the Strategic Technology Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Additionally, he has served at the Defense Nuclear Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency. Mansfield earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Detroit, two graduate degrees from the University of St. Louis, and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

The President has nominated James Howard Yellin to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Burundi. Yellin is currently the Director of the Office of Central African Affairs at the State Department. He served as the Presidential Special Envoy to Africa's Great Lakes Region from 1999 to 2001, and as Deputy Chief of Mission in Burundi from 1995 to 1999. His other assignments include service as Consul General in Lubumbashi, Chief of the Economic Section in Rabat, and Chief of the Political Section in Beirut and Algiers. A former member of the U.S. Special Forces, Yellin holds a bachelor's degree from Hamilton College and a Master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

The President has nominated John R. Dawson to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Peru. Dawson is presently the Director of the Office of Mexican Affairs, and he was previously the Deputy Chief of Mission of the American Embassy in San Salvador. Dawson spent five years in Washington, first as the Country Director for Panama and then as the Office Director for Andean Affairs. He has also served as Economic Officer in both Panama and Costa Rica and as a Financial Economist at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York and the U.S. Mission to the OECD in Paris. Dawson earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a Master's degree from Tufts University.

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