Gutmann was also present for the launch of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement 2018.Gutmann made the following statement to students and faculty Friday evening. She said that she was the daughter of a German Jewish refugee and that she is a first-generation college grad and a university leader who are devoted to advancing constitutional Democracy.Biden also nominated Chantale Wong to be the nominee for the Asian Development Bank director, and gave her the rank of ambassador. Wong has more than 30 years experience in international policy including finance, technology and the environment. She served under Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and is currently serving as an ambassador. Wong also held senior positions in the Office of Management and Budget (Treasury), NASA, and the Environmental Protection Agency. According to the Victory Institute, Wong is the first lesbian and LGBTQ person to be nominated to an ambassador-level post.Jeffrey Hovenier is a career foreign service officer who was nominated to be the ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo. Hovenier is the U.S. Embassy's deputy chief of mission in Ankara, Turkey. He has also served in missions in Peru, Greece, Paraguay, Panama, Paraguay, Paraguay, and Greece. He can speak German, Greek and Spanish.Virginia Palmer, a career member of senior foreign service is running for the position of ambassador to the Republic of Ghana. Palmer is the principal deputy assistant secretary at the State Departments Bureau of Energy Resources. From 2015 to 2019, she was the U.S. ambassador to Malawi.The White House dismissed criticisms that Biden is late in submitting his nominations for ambassadors. Biden has nominated more ambassadors than ever before, but many important roles such as ambassadors to China or Iraq remain unfilled.Biden's administration also stated that it will maintain the ratio of career and political appointees close to the 70-30 percent. All Biden's selections must be confirmed in the Senate.
