Obama Moves to Fill National-Service Board Positions

President Obama announced Thursday he plans to nominate seven people to the Corporation for National and Community Service board — a move to fill seats that have been vacant for many months, some for more than a year.

The highest-profile name on the president’s list is John Podesta, president of the Center for American Progress, a prominent Democrat who was President Bill Clinton’s chief of staff and co-chair of Mr. Obama’s transition team.

The 15-member bipartisan board oversees the federal agency that operates AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and other volunteer and national-service programs, along with the new $50-million Social Innovation Fund, the federal grants program designed to expand successful nonprofit programs.

President Obama said he also intends to nominate:

* Rick Christman, chief executive of Employment Solutions, a nonprofit group in Lexington, Ky., that helps people with developmental disabilities or troubled work histories find jobs.

* Jane Hartley, chief executive of Observatory Group, an economic and political consulting firm.

* Marguerite W. Kondracke, president of America’s Promise Alliance, a nonprofit group in Washington started by Gen. Colin Powell to provide mentors and educational opportunities to young people.

* Matthew McCabe, a participant in Teach for America, the nonprofit teacher-recruiting group. He served as a teacher the past year at the George B. Swift Elementary School, in Chicago.

* Lisa Quiroz, senior vice president of corporate responsibility for Time Warner.

* Phyllis N. Segal, vice president of Civic Ventures, a nonprofit group in San Francisco and Washington that promotes opportunities for older people to work for the social good.

The corporation board last month elected Mark Gearan, president of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, as its new chairman.