President Obama Announces Key Administration Posts for National Council on Humanities and More

Dr. Katherine H. Tachau, Nominee for Member, National Council on the Humanities

Dr. Katherine H. Tachau is a Professor of History at the University of Iowa, where she has taught since 1985. Previously, she taught at Pomona College from 1982 to 1985 and Montana State University from 1981 to 1982. From 1979 to 1981, she was a researcher at the Institute for Medieval Greek and Latin Philology at Copenhagen University in Denmark. Dr. Tachau has published extensively on medieval philosophy, science, and art; and has received the John Nicholas Brown Prize from the Medieval Academy of America. In addition, she received the Regents Award for Faculty Excellence at the University of Iowa in 2009, and she has been awarded fellowships from the Stanford Humanities Center, the National Humanities Center, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Dr. Tachau received a B.A. in Spanish and Medieval Studies from Oberlin College, and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Chester Alonzo Finn, Appointee for Member, National Council on Disability

Chester Alonzo Finn is a Special Assistant in the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, a position he has held since 1997. He was first appointed to the National Council on Disability by President Obama in 2010. In 2008, Mr. Finn, who is blind and developmentally disabled, co-founded the Community Empowerment Programs Incorporated, which provides community services and educational programing for people with disabilities. He served as President and Chairman of the National Self Advocates Becoming Empowered from 2002 to 2006 and then again from 2009 to 2011. In 1995, he received the New York State Self Advocate of the Year Award. Mr. Finn received an A.A. from Genessee Community College.

Captain Jonathan F. Kuniholm, USMC (Ret), Appointee for Member, National Council on Disability

Captain Jonathan F. Kuniholm is the President and Founder of the Open Prosthetics Project, and the Founder of StumpworX, Inc., a prosthetic arm manufacturing company. Captain Kuniholm served in the United States Marine Corps from 1997 to 2006. He served as a combat engineer officer and platoon commander for the 1st Marine Division in Operation Iraqi Freedom II. In 2006, he was honorably discharged after being wounded in combat and losing his right forearm. He is a Member of the Board of the Given Limb Foundation, and is an advisor and past Chair of the Board of Able Flight. In 2009, he received the DESIGNsmith award from North Carolina State University, and received a fellowship from the National Science Foundation's Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program in 2003. Mr. Kuniholm received an A.B. from Dartmouth College, and a B.S., M.S., and M.I.D. from North Carolina State University.

Jeff Rosen, Appointee for Member, National Council on Disability

Jeff Rosen is the General Counsel to ZVRS, a company that provides video interpreting services and products to facilitate communication between deaf and non-deaf speakers. Prior to joining ZVRS, Mr. Rosen served as the General Counsel and Vice President of Government.