President Biden Announces Key Nominees

WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following leaders to serve as key leaders in his administration: 

• Jessica Looman, Nominee for Wage and Hour Administrator, U.S. Department of Labor
• Hugo Yue-Ho Yon, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Maldives
• Joe H. Ritch, Nominee for Member of the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors
• Almo J. Carter, Nominee for Commissioner of the United States Parole Commission

Jessica Looman, Nominee for Wage and Hour Administrator, U.S. Department of Labor

Jessica Looman has served as the Principal Deputy Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor since January 20, 2021. Looman previously served as the Executive Director of the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council, representing 70,000 union construction professionals working in 15 construction trades. She advocated to expand construction career pathways including greater diversity and inclusion in the construction workforce; protected the physical and financial health of union construction workers; and increased private and public investment in construction infrastructure. Prior to joining the building trades, Looman was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton (D-MN) to serve as Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Commerce. As Commerce Commissioner, Looman prioritized protecting Minnesota consumers, advancing the state’s clean energy economy, and fair regulation of the state’s financial institutions and insurance industry. Looman served as the Deputy Commissioner and the Assistant Commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) where she oversaw the strategic coordination of DLI’s five divisions to ensure equitable, healthy, and safe work and living environments across Minnesota. Looman has also served as the General Counsel of the Laborers District Council of Minnesota and North Dakota, a then 12,000-member labor union representing construction workers in the Upper Midwest. Looman is a graduate of George Washington University and the University of Minnesota Law School. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with her husband and two sons.

Hugo Yue-Ho Yon, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Maldives

Hugo Yon is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor. He currently serves as Senior Advisor in the Office of the Under Secretary of Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment in the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. Prior to that Yon was the Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs, and before that, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Affairs in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. Yon also worked as Director for International Economics and Finance, and as Director for India and the Subcontinent, both at the National Security Council. Earlier, Yon was assigned as the Deputy Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India. Yon also served as Deputy Economic Counselor of the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, and as Deputy Financial Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China. Yon earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Public Affairs degree from the School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University. He speaks Cantonese, Mandarin Chinese, and Indonesian.

Joe H. Ritch, Nominee for Member of the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors

Joe H. Ritch is a resident of Huntsville, Alabama where he practices law with the firm of Dentons Sirote, PC, with a focus on government contracts, corporate, and tax law. He served as a Director on the Tennessee Valley Authority during the Obama-Biden Administration, and also served as Chair of the Board. He has been active in numerous community organizations, including as Trustee Emeritus of the University of Alabama System. Ritch has also served as Chairman of the Redstone Regional Alliance, which is a coalition of communities in north Alabama and south-central Tennessee that support the growth of military facilities in that area. He has received the Redstone’s Good Neighbor Award, as well as the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Service Award. He has served on various corporate boards mostly related to technology, aerospace, and defense, as well as many non-profit boards including Alabama School for Cyber Technology and Engineering Foundation. He was inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame in 2021. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Samford University, and New York University.

Almo J. Carter, Nominee for Commissioner of the United States Parole Commission

Almo J. Carter is an experienced civil rights attorney in the District of Columbia’s unique criminal justice system. Since joining the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia in 1999, Carter has served as Trial Counsel and currently specializes in post-conviction advocacy and re-entry legal services. Carter also serves on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals Committee on Admissions. Her previous professional experiences include Managing Director of a local non-profit children’s advocacy and service delivery organization, and as a management consultant in the Washington, D.C. offices of Booz Allen Hamilton and Ernst and Young. Carter received her Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.

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