United States Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick today announced selections for several key positions at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).

M.B. Oglesby, Jr. - Chief of Staff. Mr. Oglesby served as Deputy White House Chief of Staff, and Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs in the Reagan White House. Oglesby's private sector experience included, Senior Vice President with RJR Nabisco, Inc., Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Cassidy & Associates, a Washington, D.C. public affairs firm, and the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of American Railroads. An Illinois native, he also worked as a minority counsel for the House Commerce Committee and as an assistant to Congressman Ed Madigan of Illinois. Mr. Oglesby was an Assistant to Governor Richard Ogilvie and later was Deputy Director of the State of Illinois' Washington, D.C. office.

Peter Davidson - General Counsel. Mr. Davidson was the Vice President for Congressional Affairs at Qwest, coordinating all federal legislative activities. From January 1995 until June 1999, Mr. Davidson served as the General Counsel and Policy Director to the Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Representative Dick Armey. In this capacity, he advised the Majority Leader on a broad range of legal matters and led the Majority Leader's legislative planning team in charge of developing leadership priorities, working with Committees, and negotiating with the Senate and the White House. Mr. Davidson also served as General Counsel and Policy Director for the House Republican Conference, Attorney-Advisor in the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel, and law clerk to Judge John Porfilio on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado. Mr. Davidson received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia, and his Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.

John Veroneau - Assistant United States Trade Representative for Congressional Affairs. Mr. Veroneau was the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs at the United States Department of Defense, a position requiring Senate confirmation. Prior to his tenure with the Department of Defense, Mr. Veroneau served as Chief of Staff to Senator Susan Collins, and as Legislative Director to Senator William Frist and Senator William Cohen, respectively. Mr. Veroneau received his Juris Doctor degree and his undergraduate degree from the University of Maine. He is a member of the Maryland Bar Association.

Ambassador Zoellick also announced the following key USTR appointments (presented in alphabetical order):

Elizabeth Gianini - Deputy Chief of Staff. Ms. Gianini was a public affairs consultant with law firm of Foley & Lardner in Tallahassee, Florida . Prior to that she spent two years as the Deputy Executive Director of the Republican Party of Florida, and has held management positions at both the congressional and local levels of government. Ms. Gianini received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Salem College in Winston-Salem, NC, where she double majored in Spanish and history with an emphasis in Latin American Studies.

Sarah L. Hanlon - Confidential Assistant. As Ambassador Zoellick's Confidential Assistant, Ms. Hanlon will serve as liaison between the Ambassador and USTR staff. Prior to joining USTR, Ms. Hanlon spent three years as a fundraiser for several Republican Senators, including Assistant Majority Leader Don Nickles. A native of Oklahoma, she came to Washington, DC. to work for the Independent Petroleum Association of America. She is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma.

Carolyn Hensarling - Director of Scheduling. Ms. Hensarling, who will manage Ambassador Zoellick's schedule, served as Executive Assistant and Scheduler to Congressman Henry Bonilla (TX-23, R) from 1995 until February 2001. Ms. Hensarling received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communication from Texas A&M University.

Heidi Nelson - Special Assistant. Ms. Nelson worked on the Bush-Cheney campaign in Austin, Texas, focusing on economic and tax policy. From 1995-1998, Ms. Nelson was an investment banker with J.P. Morgan in New York, specializing in Latin American mergers and acquisitions. She also worked for then-Senator John Ashcroft on economic policy. Ms. Nelson received an MBA from Harvard, a Master's in European Business from the Solvay School in Brussels, and a degree in economics and international relations from Claremont McKenna College.

Matthew Rees - Chief Speechwriter and Strategic Adviser. Mr. Rees joins USTR as chief speechwriter and an adviser to Ambassador Zoellick on policy and the press. Mr. Rees previously served in Washington as a reporter for The Weekly Standard, The Economist, and The New Republic, and in New York and Brussels as an editor and writer for the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Rees is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the author of "From the Deck to the Sea: Blacks and the Republican Party."

Steven Schrage - Executive Secretary. Mr. Schrage previously served as Counsel to the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the U.S. Senate for Foreign Relations Committee and as senior foreign policy and trade counsel for the late Senator Paul Coverdell. Most recently, Mr. Schrage served in several positions with Bush-Cheney 2000, working with the campaign's policy team in Austin, and as a policy advisor for the transition. Before joining the Bush campaign, Mr. Schrage was working on his doctorate at Harvard University, where during his time in the MBA program he was awarded a full doctoral fellowship to study international business and economic policy. Mr. Schrage is a graduate of Duke University and of the University of Michigan Law School, where his studies focused on international trade law, and has experience working on international negotiating teams at the State Department Legal Adviser's office. Mr. Schrage will be responsible for coordinating and overseeing all policy materials and briefings for the USTR and for interactions with other government agencies.