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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release May 22, 1998
                PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES AWILDA R. MARQUEZ 
       AS ASSISTANT SECRETARY AND DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE U.S. AND 
        FOREIGN COMMERCIAL SERVICE AT THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

The President today announced his intent to nominate Awilda R. Marquez as Assistant Secretary and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service at the Department of Commerce.

Ms. Awilda R. Marquez, of Aberdeen, Maryland, has been serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Research and Evaluation for the Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA). In this position, she is responsible for EDA's policy development and strategic planning, program evaluation, budget development and EDA's research and national technical assistance program. She also served as the Chief Counsel for EDA, where she supervised the reform of the roles and responsibilities of EDA's lawyers and streamlined EDA's regulations by 62 percent. Prior to joining the Department, Ms. Marquez was the White House Liaison for the U.S. Department of State. Previously, she was an attorney for Piper & Marbury, where she litigated diverse cases involving civil torts, contracts, medical malpractice and civil rights. She also founded a non-profit organization, Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore, which provides entrepreneurial training and start-up capital to low income women. In addition, she served as a commissioned officer of the U.S. Foreign Service in the Department of State for six years, with postings in Kenya and Bangladesh.

Ms. Marquez received a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law. She speaks French, Spanish and Bengali.

The Assistant Secretary and Director General of the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service is responsible for managing the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service, a network of over 100 domestic Export Assistance Centers and over 140 Commercial Service Offices in 70 countries abroad. The Director General promotes exports, supports U.S. international commercial interests in the U.S. and overseas, and assists the U.S. business community in identifying new markets, and expanding sales and market share around the globe.

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