On July 16, 2009, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Jacqueline A. Berrien as Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Berrien has served as Associate Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund since September 2004.  From 2001 to 2004, Berrien was a Program Officer in the Ford Foundation’s Peace and Social Justice Program. Berrien also worked for eight years as a staff attorney with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union.

In a statement issued by the White House, President Obama said “Jacqueline Berrien has spent her entire career fighting to give voice to underrepresented communities and protect our most basic rights. Each of us deserves a fair chance to succeed in our workplace and make a contribution to this nation, and I’m confident that Jacqueline’s passion and leadership will ensure that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is living up to that mission. I look forward to undertaking this important work with Jacqueline in the months and years ahead.”

Commissioner Stuart Ishimaru has been serving as the Commission’s Acting Chair since January 23, 2008. Acting Vice Chair Christine Griffin’s term expired July 1, 2009, but she may remain for 60 days without any action by the White House. President Obama has nominated Griffin to be deputy director of the Office of Personnel Management. Commissioner Naomi Earp resigned on June 7, 2009, leaving Constance Barker as the only remaining Republican commissioner.