Once President Barack Obama took office, a new fleet of advisers, counselors and staff members disembarked in the nation’s capital—including the following folks who sharpened their skills at UVA.
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Janet Napolitano, as secretary of homeland security, is the highest-ranking UVA alum in the new administration. Former law prof David Martin will be the department’s deputy counsel. |
Janet Napolitano, Law ’83
Napolitano is the Homeland Security secretary. She was sworn in January 21.
Prior to joining the Obama administration, Napolitano served as governor of Arizona and was midway through her second term. She was originally elected in 2002, and won re-election in 2006. In 1993, Napolitano was appointed by Bill Clinton as Arizona’s United States attorney, and served as Arizona’s attorney general from 1999-2002. Napolitano served as legal adviser to Anita Hill in the sexual harassment case of the century against Clarence Thomas, then Supreme Court nominee.
Thomas E. Donilon, Law ’85
Donilon is the Deputy National Security Advisor for President Obama.
While at UVA law, he served on the editorial board of the Virginia Law Review. Beginning in 1986, Donilon served as senior advisor to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman (and now Vice President) Joseph Biden on Supreme Court nominations. He has served under presidents Carter and Clinton, and in the private sector, he worked as executive vice president for law and policy at disgraced mortgage giant Fannie Mae. At Fannie, Donilon oversaw the office that led lobbying efforts to decrease federal oversight for the now-bailed-out company.
Cynthia Hogan, Law ’84
Hogan is counsel to Vice President Joe Biden. At UVA, she was an editor of the Virginia Law Review. Hogan has been a legal advisor to Biden for close to 20 years. She served as counsel for constitutional law, as staff director and as chief counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee while Biden was chairman.
Jonathan Cannon, Law professor
Cannon was nominated to the Obama Transition Team as part of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Cannon is the director of the law school’s Environmental and Land Use Law Program, and joined UVA in 1998 after serving as general counsel for EPA.
On January 28, Cannon resigned from the Albemarle County Planning Commission for reasons related to the presidential transition, and told Charlottesville Tomorrow that he will take a leave of absence for the spring semester.
David Martin, Law professor
Working for the Obama Transition Team, Martin served on the agency review team for the Department of Homeland Security, bringing special focus on immigration issues, and was hired as the department’s deputy general counsel. Prior to coming to UVA in 1980, Martin was special assistant to the assistant secretary for human rights and humanitarian affairs at the U.S. Department of State. He served as general counsel of the Immigration and Naturalization Service from 1995 to 1998 under President Bill Clinton.
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