THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

              PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES MARY BETH CAHILL AND 
            ROBERT B. JOHNSON AS ASSISTANTS TO THE PRESIDENT, 
            CREATES THE PRESIDENT'S INTIATIVE FOR ONE AMERICA

The President today announced that he has appointed Mary Beth Cahill as Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Liaison and Robert B. (Ben) Johnson as Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office on the President's Initiative for One America, a new office the President is creating to follow up on the work of his Initiative on Race.

Mary Beth Cahill recently left her position as executive director of EMILY's List, which provides financial and political assistance to candidates for office. She formerly served as the organization's political director. She has managed a number of gubernatorial, U.S. Senate, Congressional, and other political campaigns around the country. Ms. Cahill served as director of personnel and as director of the Washington, D.C., office of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under Governor Michael Dukakis, and she has worked on the staffs of Representatives Robert Drinan and Barney Frank. She received a B.A. degree from Emmanuel College.

Ms. Cahill replaces Minyon Moore, whom the President recently appointed as Assistant to the President and Director of Political Affairs.

Ben Johnson currently serves as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the Office of Public Liaison. He has served in the Office of Public Liaison since 1993. Before joining the Administration, Mr. Johnson served in a number of positions in the government of the District of Columbia, including Administrator of the Housing and Environmental Administration and Administrator of the Business Regulation Administration. He served in the White House under President Carter as Director of Consumer Programs. Mr. Johnson is originally from South Bend, Indiana. He is married to Jacqueline Johnson and has five children.

The White House Office on the President's Initiative for One America will continue the work of the President's Initiative on Race, promoting the President's goals of educating the American public about race, promoting racial reconciliation through a national dialogue on race, identifying policies that can expand opportunities for racial and ethnic minorities, and coordinating the work of the White House and federal agencies to carry out the President's vision of One America.

"I am looking forward to building on the foundation that has been laid by the Race Initiative's Advisory Board," the President said. "As we move to the next phase of our work, this new office will ensure that we have a coordinated and focused strategy to advance the policies that will close the opportunity gaps that exist for minorities in this country, and build the One America we want for all of our nation's children."

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