text: NAMoments: President Obama announces nomination of Lillian Sparks (a Lakota woman ) as Commissioner, Administration for Native Americans
  President Obama announces nomination of Lillian Sparks (a Lakota woman ) as Commissioner, Administration for Native Americans
  * Betty E. King, Representative of the United States to the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, with the rank of Ambassador
  * Lillian Sparks, Commissioner, Administration for Native Americans, Department of Health and Human Services
  President Obama said, "I am grateful that these two talented and dedicated individuals have chosen to serve my administration and the American people, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead."
  Betty E. King, Nominee for Representative of the United States to the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, with the rank of Ambassador
  Betty E. King served as the United States Representative to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush. In that capacity, Ms. King worked on human rights, children, development, aging and population issues. She was the principal U.S. negotiator on the Millennium Development Goals. Ms. King has an extensive background in philanthropy, having served as the Vice President of the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore, Maryland, the Senior Advisor to the CEO of the California Endowment in Los Angeles, CA and an advisor to the Atlantic Philanthropies in New York. She was the Deputy Commissioner of Mental Health in the District of Columbia, the Executive Director of the Southwest Society on Aging, the Director of the Arkansas Department on Aging and an Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas. She currently serves on the boards of Refugees International, the United Nations Association of the United States, Phoenix House, and on the Advisory Board of the Annenberg School of Public Diplomacy. Ms. King earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, a Masters degree at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and was a National Humanities Fellow at Harvard University.
  Lillian Sparks, Nominee for Commissioner, Administration for Native Americans, Department of Health and Human Services
  Lillian Sparks, a Lakota woman of the Rosebud and Oglala Sioux Tribes, has served as Executive Director of the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) since 2004. Prior to joining NIEA, Ms. Sparks was a staff attorney with the National Congress of American Indians where she worked on international indigenous rights, sacred sites and religious protection, and issues related to youth and healthcare. She also previously served as a law clerk for the National Indian Gaming Commission in the Department of the Interior where she, among other duties, reviewed tribal gaming regulations to ensure compliance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Ms. Sparks is a member of the National Congress of America Indians, the Native American Bar Association, and the National Trends & Services Committee. In 2004, she was named one of seven young Native American Leaders by the USA Weekend magazine. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Morgan State University and a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center.