Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa covering President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. government, UN, IMF, World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington and New York.
President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Friday announced his intent to nominate Puneet Talwar to serve as U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Morocco.
In a statement, the White House said Puneet Talwar has held senior national security and foreign policy positions in the State Department, White House, and United States Senate.
“He is currently a Senior Advisor at the State Department. Previously, he has served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director at the National Security Council, and as a Senior Professional Staff Member at the Committee on Foreign Relations in the United States Senate.
“Talwar’s public service also includes key roles in the U.S. House of Representatives and the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff. Outside of government, he has been a Senior Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute, a Visiting Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania Penn Biden Center, a Counselor to the conflict resolution NGO Inter Mediate, and a non-resident Scholar at Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies.
“Talwar earned his B.S. Degree in Engineering from Cornell University and his M.A. in International Affairs from Columbia University. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a native of Washington, DC,” added the White House.
President Biden also announced that Candace Bond would be nominated to serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago; Timmy Davis, as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the State of Qatar; Nasser Paydar, as Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education, Department of Education; and Michael Lombardo, Nominee for Member of the National Council on the Arts.
Their official bios were also released by the White House
Candace Bond, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Candace A. Bond currently serves as the President and CEO of AESA Inc., a Los Angeles-based company offering business advisory services in real estate and community development with an emphasis on environmental stability, governance, education, and health equity. Presently, she serves as a Board Member of California Head Start, is the Chair-Elect of the Board of the Greater LA Education Foundation, and is the Chair of the MLK Health and Wellness Community Development Corporation. Bond is a founding member of BioscienceLA, LA County’s Innovation and Catalyst Entrepreneurial Hub to accelerate growth and development of LA County’s bioscience industry. She also served on the Board of the Los Angeles County Office of Education, the nation’s largest regional education agency. Earlier in her career, Bond was the President and CEO of Infusion Media Partners, and VP and General Manager of Essence Entertainment. She is Chair of the Malibu Foundation and Board Member of Women Founders Network, and member of the Southern California Edison Clean Energy Access Working Group. She also serves on the California State Treasurer’s Housing, Economic Development, Jobs and Opportunity Zone Ad Hoc Committee. Bond earned her B.A from Harvard University and her MBA from Harvard University Business School.
Timmy Davis, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the State of Qatar
Timmy T. Davis, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Counselor, most recently served as the Executive Assistant to the Secretary of State. Prior to that, Davis served as the U.S. Consul General for Basrah and Southern Iraq. His overseas tours include Guatemala City, Guatemala; Najaf, Iraq; Canberra, Australia; and Bogota, Colombia. His domestic assignments include Senior Watch Officer in the State Department Operations Center, Special Assistant to the Secretary of State, Director for Iraq at the National Security Council, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Special Presidential Envoy to Counter-ISIL, Senior Advisor to the Counselor of the Department, Chief of Staff to the Undersecretary for Political Affairs, and Acting Chief of Staff of the Department of State. Davis, who holds a Distinguished Honor Award and multiple Superior and Meritorious Honor awards, is also the recipient of the Department’s Ryan C. Crocker Award for Outstanding Leadership in Expeditionary Diplomacy, and the American Foreign Service Association’s William R. Rivkin Award for Constructive Dissent. A native of Virginia, Davis attended the University of Alabama. He served in the United States Marine Corps for nearly a decade, including operations in the Horn of Africa and Iraq, before joining the Foreign Service. Davis speaks Spanish and Arabic.
Nasser Paydar, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education, Department of Education
Dr. Nasser H. Paydar is Chancellor Emeritus of Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and Executive Vice President Emeritus of Indiana University (IU). An IU faculty member for more than 36 years, he has held various administrative and executive leadership positions at the university. Paydar joined IUPUI in 1985 as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering. From 1989 to 2003, he held a numerous positions in the school, including serving as Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Associate Dean for Graduate Programs, Associate Dean for Academic Programs, and Executive Associate Dean. From 2004 to 2007, he served as Vice Chancellor and Dean of Indiana University–Purdue University Columbus. Paydar was appointed Chancellor of Indiana University East in 2007, serving in that role until he returned to IUPUI in 2012, when he was named the campus’s Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer. He became IUPUI’s fifth chancellor in 2015.
As an IUPUI faculty member, he has served as principal and co-principal investigator on research grants from federal and state agencies and private companies, including Cummins Electronics, DePuy, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center. His research in the area of solid mechanics, with applications in biomechanics and electronic packaging, has been published widely in scientific journals. Paydar earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from Syracuse University.
Michael Lombardo, Nominee for Member of the National Council on the Arts
Michael Lombardo is the President of Global Television at Entertainment One, where he is responsible for the studio’s Scripted and Unscripted TV divisions across businesses in the US, the UK, and Canada. Lombardo oversees a slate of over 20 series in production worldwide, including The Rookie on ABC, Cruel Summer on Freeform/Hulu, Yellowjackets on Showtime, and Graymail on Netflix. Previously, Lombardo served as President of Programming at Home Box Office (HBO) for 12 years. During his tenure at HBO, Lombardo was responsible for managing all of HBO’s and Cinemax’s programming initiatives including HBO Films, HBO Sports, HBO Documentaries & Family, and HBO Entertainment. He also oversaw the Marketing, Business Affairs, Legal, Scheduling, Research, and Production Departments.
After exiting HBO, Lombardo was an executive producer for multiple critically acclaimed TV and documentary series. He currently serves on the boards of The Los Angeles LGBT Center and The Saban Community Clinic. In February 2014, he was appointed a member of the Board of Trustees at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts by President Obama. He has an AB degree from Cornell University and JD from the University of California at Berkeley. Lombardo resides in Los Angeles with his husband and two children.