Keith Nelson

Housing and Urban Development
Keith Nelson
Assistant Secretary for Administration,
Chief Human Capital Officer (Nominee)

Pending confirmation by the Senate, Keith Nelson will serve as chief human capital officer for the Housing and Urban Development Department. Nelson, former deputy secretary for management at the Labor Department, succeeds Darlene Williams, who was promoted as HUD's assistant secretary for policy development and research.

At HUD, Nelson will face a formidable challenge. In June, the department received an unsatisfactory rating for its financial performance in the most recent President's Management Agenda score card, and failed to earn a top rating in any of the five criteria. The other categories are human capital, competitive sourcing, e-government, and budget and performance integration.

Before joining the federal government, Nelson worked in business development for the technology divisions of CNN, Dow Jones and Co. and the Los Angeles Times. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas and master's degrees from University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of California, Berkeley.