state of the union guest list; 2013

7/29/2019 State of the Union Guest List; 2013

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February 12, 2013

GUEST LIST FOR THE FIRST LADYS BOX

STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

First Lady Michelle Obama

Dr. Jill Biden

Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President

The following individuals will be seated in the box with the First Ladyand Dr. Biden at the State of the Union Address:

Sergeant Sheena Adams (Vista, CA)

Team Advisor & Lead Instructor, Female Engagement Team

A native of Kauai, Hawaii, Sergeant Adams joined the Marine Corps in2003 and attended recruit training in Parris Island, S.C. In 2010,Sergeant Adams joined the Female Engagement Team (FET) and wasdeployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan from September 2010 toApril 2011 in direct support of 1st Battalion 8th Marines in Musa Qaleh

District. Sergeant Adams received her Combat Action Ribbon andNavy and Marine Corp Achievement Medal (second award) aftersuccessful completion of the deployment. In September 2011,Sergeant Adams returned to 1st Marine Expeditionary Force AdvisorTraining Cell, as Team Advisor/Liaison and lead FET instructor, whereshe re-engineered the Period of Instruction for future FETs.


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Alan Aleman (Las Vegas, NV)

DREAM Student

Alan Aleman was born in Mexico City, Mexico. In high school, Alan

watched his friends come of age driving around town with their newlicenses and earning some extra cash from their summer jobs at themall. Although Alan knew he could not do those things because of hisimmigration status, he was determined to get a good education. Lastyear, when Alan heard the news that the Obama Administration wasgoing to provide Deferred Action for undocumented youth like him toemerge from the shadows, he was one of the first to sign up. Alan wasamong the first people in Nevada to get approved. In that moment,Alan said, I felt the fear vanish. I felt accepted. Today, Alan is in hissecond year at the College of Southern Nevada. Hes studying tobecome a doctor and he hopes to join the Air Force. Alan is currently

working at Hermandad Mexicana, where he is in charge of final reviewfor DACA applications.

Jack Andraka (Crownsville, MD)

Winner of the 2012 Intel International Science and EngineeringFair

Jack Andraka, 16, of North County High School, was awarded first placefor his new method to detect pancreatic cancer at the IntelInternational Science and Engineering Fair 2012, a program of Society

for Science & the Public. Motivated by the death of his uncle due topancreatic cancer, Jack created a simple dip-stick sensor based ondiabetic test paper to test blood or urine to determine whether or not apatient has early-stage pancreatic cancer. His study resulted in over 90percent accuracy and showed his patent-pending sensor to be 28times faster, 28 times less expensive and over 100 times moresensitive than current tests. President Obama strongly believes thatwe need more students like Jack who are passionate about science,technology, engineering and math (STEM) and has hosted two WhiteHouse Science Fairs to celebrate students participating in suchcompetitions.

Susan Bumgarner (Norman, OK)

Early Childhood Educator

Susan Bumgarner's home state of Oklahoma is a national leader inproviding access to high quality preschool for all children, and she hasbeen an early educator in the Oklahoma system for more than twenty


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years. Susan was educated at the University of Oklahoma andinfluenced by family members who taught and studied there. Susanhas written curriculum, trained Head Start teachers, taught infants andtoddlers, and prepared parents by teaching Early Birds readinessclass. In 1992 Susan began teaching pre-kindergarten at what is now

Wilson Arts Integration Elementary School, a public school. My work isenthralling and my students are amazing, creative, intelligent people,she said. It is an honor to facilitate their playful transition into theformal world of learning.

Deb Carey (New Glarus, WI)

Small Business Owner, New Glarus Brewing Company

Deborah Careys decision to start New Glarus Brewing Company wasrooted in doing what was best for her family. As she worked on abusiness plan, her husband Dan, a master brewer, gathered thematerials, grains and equipment needed for start-up. In 1993 theynegotiated to rent a warehouse in New Glarus, exchanging the leasefor stock in the New Glarus Brewing Company. They sold their homeand raised $40,000 in seed money, but still needed more funding.Deborah pitched her story to local newspapers, and the mediaattention brought $200,000 from investors. In the early days, thecouple worked hard to establish the brewerys reputation for consistentquality beers and developed a very loyal customer base. Today, New

Glarus Brewing Company has grown to 50 full-time employees, andregistered growth in profits of 123 percent from 2007 to 2009,becoming Wisconsins number one micro-brewery relative to salesvolume.

Sergeant Carlos Evans, USMC (Cameron, NC)

Wounded Warrior

Sergeant Evans, born in Puerto Rico, was on his fourth overseasdeployment when he sustained injuries in Afghanistan that resulted in

the loss of both of his legs and his left hand. Recovering at WalterReed Medical Center, Sergeant Evans met the First Lady and latervisited the White House for a Wounded Warrior Tour. At that time, thePresident signed his prosthetic arm. He credits the support he hasreceived from private organizations to the First Lady and Dr. Bidensefforts in Joining Forces. In 2012, he received a custom home fromOperation Coming Home and now resides in North Carolina with hiswife and two young daughters.


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Tim Cook (Cupertino, CA)

CEO of Apple

Before being named CEO in August 2011, Tim was Apple's ChiefOperating Officer and was responsible for all of the companysworldwide sales and operations, including end-to-end management ofApples supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in allmarkets and countries. He also headed Apples Macintosh division andplayed a key role in the continued development of strategic resellerand supplier relationships, ensuring flexibility in response to anincreasingly demanding marketplace.

Prior to joining Apple, Tim was vice president of Corporate Materials forCompaq and was responsible for procuring and managing all of

Compaqs product inventory. Previous to his work at Compaq, Tim wasthe chief operating officer of the Reseller Division at IntelligentElectronics. Tim also spent 12 years with IBM, most recently as directorof North American Fulfillment where he led manufacturing anddistribution functions for IBMs Personal Computer Company in Northand Latin America.

Tim earned an M.B.A. from Duke University, where he was a FuquaScholar, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineeringfrom Auburn University.

Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton and Nathaniel A. Pendleton Sr.(Chicago, IL)

Cleopatra and Nathaniels daughter Hadiya Pendleton was murderedon January 29, 2013, when she was shot and killed in Harsh Park onChicagos South Side. Hadiya had participated in President Obamaspublic inaugural celebration on January 21, 2013. She was an honorstudent and band majorette at King College Prep High School. FirstLady Michelle Obama attended Hadiyas memorial service on Saturday,

February 6th.

Menchu de Luna Sanchez (Secaucus, NJ)

Registered Nurse, NYU Langone Medical Center

When Hurricane Sandy cut the power at NYU Langone Medical Center,Menchu Sanchez, a Registered Nurse, devised a plan to transport


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twenty at-risk infants to intensive care units around the city. Sheorganized the nurses and doctors to carefully carry the babies downeight flights of stairs with only cell phones to light the way. Even asMenchus own home was flooding, she thought only of protecting thebabies in her care. Menchu was born, raised, and educated in the

Philippines and she immigrated to the United States in the 1980s. Shehas worked as a nurse in New York for more than 25 years, and hasbeen at NYU since 2010. Menchu currently lives in New Jersey with herhusband and two children, both of whom are in college.

Bobak Ferdowsi (Pasadena, CA)

Flight Director, Mars Curiosity Rover

Bobak Ferdowsi, aka NASAs Mohawk Guy, is a member of the MarsCuriosity rover team at NASA and Caltechs Jet Propulsion Laboratory inCalifornia. After the successful landing of the Curiosity rover in August2012, President Obama called to congratulate the team on theirsuccess, and singled out Bobak for his unique haircut that captured theimagination of millions of people around the world. The Curiosity roveris a car-sized robot equipped with a laser, chemistry set, and drill forassessing whether Mars ever had an environment able to support smalllife forms. Bobak is an Iranian-American and science, technology,engineering, and math (STEM) professional who, in addition to hisinspiring day-to-day work on the Mars Curiosity mission, volunteers as

a FIRST robotics mentor to get more boys and girls excited about STEMeducation.

Bradley Henning (Louisville, KY)

Machinist, Atlas Machine and Supply

Bradley Hennings high school has one of the best machining programsin Kentucky. He got hooked on machining in his sophomore year, andby the time he graduated, Bradley had taken enough vocationalclasses to get hired as a full-time apprentice with Atlas Machine and

Supply in Louisville, Kentucky. For the past four years, Bradley hasworked under a veteran machinist and is taking additional classes toearn his full certification. Today, at 23, he is a card-carryingJourneyman Machinist at Atlas, and responsible for mentoring the nextgeneration of apprentices. Bradley is committed to a career inmanufacturing and sees a bright future ahead. This is going to be mylifelong career, he said. I come in every day with a smile on my face.I learn something new every dayI love that.


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Tracey Hepner (Arlington, VA)

Co-Founder, Military Partners and Families Coalition

Tracey is a co-founder of the Military Partners and Families Coalition

(MPFC), which provides support, resources, education, and advocacyfor LGBT military partners and their families. Outside of her work withMPFC, Tracey works full time for the Department of Homeland Securityas a Master Behavior Detection Officer. She is married to the firstopenly gay or lesbian general officer in the military, Army BrigadierGeneral Tammy Smith.

Peter Hudson (Evergreen, CO)

Co-Founder and CEO, iTriage

Dr. Peter Hudson, the co-founder and CEO of iTriage, is a physician andentrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience founding andgrowing healthcare-related businesses. His focus has been on creatingefficiencies within the healthcare delivery system, and empoweringhealthcare consumers with technology. Using open governmentdata, Dr. Hudson launched iTriage in 2009, a company focused onprompting citizens to actively engage in their own healthcare. Throughthe app, an example of government inspired innovation, smartphoneusers can locate nearby providers based on their symptoms, makeappointments, store their personal health records, save medicationrefill reminders, and learn about thousands of medications, diseases

and procedures.

Governor John Kitzhaber (D-OR)

Governor John Kitzhaber has built on his experience as a formeremergency room doctor to transform health care delivery in Oregon.Now in his third term, Governor Kitzhaber is working with the Obamaadministration to scale up innovative models that show howgovernment can do more with less. These performance partnerships,

which emphasize federal flexibility and local accountability, are key toachieving improved health care outcomes and efficiencies, betterresults for our students and building the infrastructure we'll need tounleash the 21st century economy.

Mayor Marie Lopez Rogers (Avondale, AZ)


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Marie Lopez Rogers served on the Avondale City Council for 14 yearsbefore being elected as the citys first Latina Mayor in 2006. Growingup in migrant farm labor camps and picking cotton alongside herparents in fields where her City Hall now stands, Mayor Rogers neverimagined that she would be guiding the transformation of the region.

Mayor Rogers currently serves as Chair of the Maricopa Association ofGovernments. In Dec. 2012, she was named president of the NationalLeague of Cities, an organization dedicated to helping city leadersbuild better communities. She and her husband Ed have been marriedfor 43 years and have three children and six grandchildren.

Amanda E. McMillan (Jackson, MS)

Pay Discrimination Victim

For a number of years Amanda McMillan worked as a secretary for the

owner of a Forrest City Grocery Company. She was doing many of thesame duties as male salespeople, but at lower pay. Despite repeatedlyasking to be officially promoted to the better and higher-paying job insales, she was told by the company that the job of a salesman was toodangerous for a woman, and that she would not be a good mother ifshe were on the road meeting customers. With the help of the EqualEmployment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), she sued the companyfor sex discrimination. The lawsuit charged that Forrest City Grocerydenied sales positions to an employee because she was a woman andpaid McMillan less than men doing the same work. When asked whyshe has pursued the case, McMillan said, Im doing this because it was

wrong and I could never look my girls in the face and then tell themthey live in America and could be anything they wanted to be.As aresult of the suit, Forrest City Grocery agreed to pay $125,000 inmonetary damages and agreed to disseminate employment policies toemployees and provide ongoing training for management on sexdiscrimination. Amanda, a mother of three, currently lives in Jackson,MS.

Lee Maxwell (Wilton, IA)

Graduate, Kirkwood Community College Wind Technician

Program

In 2012, Lee Maxwell graduated from Kirkwood Community College inCedar Rapids, Iowa. He gained twenty six separate certifications ineverything from reading blueprints to driving forklifts. Today, hesresponsible for turning on the power for new wind turbines that arebeing built all around the country. Kirkwood started its windtechnician training program three years ago in partnership with Iowa-


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based Clipper Windpower, combining an industry-based curriculum anddonated equipment to give students the hands-on experience theyneed to succeed.

Lieutenant Brian Murphy (Oak Creek, WI)

Lieutenant Brian Murphy was the first police officer to arrive at thescene of the tragic Sikh temple shooting in Oak Creek, Wisconsin lastAugust. Lt. Murphy directly confronted the shooter, and took fifteenbullets to his head, neck, and body before the rest of the police forcearrived. When his fellow officers moved to assist him, he waved themoff and told them to protect the threatened citizens who remained inthe temple. When asked how he was able to respond with suchbravery, Lt. Murphy responded, Thats just the way were made.Today, Lt. Murphy is on medical leave from the force and stillrecovering from his injuries. Lt. Murphy has served as a police officer

for more than twenty years and previously served in the Marine Corpsand the United National security force. He lives with his wife andchildren in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

Lisa Richards (Arlington, VA)

#My2K Participant

Lisa Richards, a single mom, was one of thousands of Americans whoshared stories about what paying $2,200 more in taxes would mean forher family by using #My2K. She wrote, It's 20 weeks of groceries, two

years worth of gasoline, 1/3 of a new roof (which I need), six months ofutilities. With the passage of the middle class tax cuts at thebeginning of the year, Lisa and millions of Americans like her did notsee did not see anincometax increase. Born in Philadelphia and raisedin New York and Dallas, Lisa has called the Washington, DC area homefor more than 25 years. She now lives in Arlington, Virginia with herseven-year-old daughter working freelance and contract work for avariety of website clients.

Kaitlin Roig (Greenwich, CT)

1st Grade Teacher, Sandy Hook Elementary School

Kaitlin Roig has taught first grade for six years at Sandy HookElementary, and has always had a passion for education and workingwith children. She attended and received her Masters degree fromthe NEAG School of Education at the University of Connecticut, where


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she was a member of the Order of Omega Honor Society, The HistoricalHonor Society, and the NEAG honor society. In addition to herteaching, Kaitlin also started a running club called Marathon Mondaysfor third and fourth grade students at Sandy Hook Elementary. She willbe running the New York City Marathon this year.

Abby Schanfield (Minneapolis, MN)

ACA Beneficiary

Prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Abby would have lostcoverage upon turning 21 and would not have been able to obtain caredue to her several pre-existing conditions. Abby is a member ofTakeAction Minnesotas healthcare team, a grassroots organization

that advocates for progressive policies ranging from health care toeconomic reform. Abby was influenced by her experiences growing upwith a chronic illness, and the privileges that come with being insured.A recent graduate of the University of Minnesota, Abby hopes to workin public policy, focusing on womens and community health.

Haile Thomas (Tucson, AZ)

Lets Move! Champion

Haile Thomas is a 12 year-old Youth Advisory Board member with theAlliance for a Healthier Generation. She is Co-Founder/Director of theHAPPY Organization, an Arizona nonprofit dedicated to improving thehealth and wellness of youth through education, outreach, andadvocacy about proper nutrition and healthy lifestyle choices. Hailehosts an annual H.E.A.L. (healthy eating, active lifestyle) Festival onGlobal Youth Service Day in Tucson. She created the Healthy GirlAdventures Club to inspire girls to embrace healthy habits, andproduces online cooking videos aimed at encouraging kids to getcooking. Haile is also the Youth Spokesperson and Jr. Chef Consultant

for Hyatt Hotels.

Desiline Victor (Miami, FL)

Desiline Victor, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Haiti and retiredfarmworker, is 102 years old. On October 28, the first Sunday of earlyvoting in Florida, Desiline went to vote at her polling place, a locallibrary. When she arrived at 10:00 a.m., wait times were up to six


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hours. Determined to vote, she stood in line for three hours, until 1:00p.m. After citizen advocates complained that the elderly woman wasstruggling on her feet, a poll worker asked Desiline to come back at alater time. On Desilines second visit that evening, she was finally ableto cast her ballot. When she emerged from the building with her I

Voted sticker, the crowd of thousands of waiting voters erupted intoapplause. Several voters remarked that the lines were long, and theyneeded to get home, but because of Desiline they would continue tostand and wait. Desiline resides in North Miami, where she is lovinglyknown as Granny among the citys Haitian community. A spirited andindependent centenarian, she enjoys attending church services andcooking her own meals.

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