The 5th Annual Data Privacy Conference

Cathy McMorris Rodgers is Eastern Washington’s chief advocate in Congress, serving as the representative for the state’s 5th Congressional District. Since first being elected to the House in 2004, she has earned the trust of her constituents and praise on Capitol Hill for her hard work, conservative principles, bipartisan outreach, and leadership to get results for Eastern Washington. Growing up on an orchard and fruit stand in Kettle Falls, working at her family’s small business, and later becoming a wife and working mom of three, Cathy has lived the American Dream. Now, she works every day to rebuild that dream for our children and grandchildren.

Cathy currently serves as the Republican Leader on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has broad jurisdiction over the issues that matter most to the people of Eastern Washington. As leader of this committee, Cathy is focused on delivering real results on everything from expanding access to rural broadband and improving healthcare to addressing climate change and securing America’s energy independence.

Prior to leading in this role, Cathy served as Chair of the House Republican Conference from 2012 to 2018. She was the 200th woman ever elected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and the first woman to give birth three times while in office.

Cathy’s top priority has always been to get results for the people of Eastern Washington that she has the honor of representing. Her mission is to restore trust and confidence in representative government and the rule of law, and lead as a trust-builder, ability-advocate, and unifying force for the hardworking men and women in Eastern Washington.

In 2006, Cathy married Brian Rodgers, a Spokane-native and retired 26-year Navy Commander. In 2007, she gave birth to Cole Rodgers. Cole was born with an extra 21st chromosome and inspired Cathy to become a leader in the disabilities community. She has since welcomed two daughters into the world – Grace Blossom (December 2010) and Brynn Catherine (November 2013).

Cameron Kerry is a global thought leader on privacy and cross-border information flows. He joined Governance Studies and the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings in December 2013 as the first Ann R. and Andrew H. Tisch Distinguished Visiting Fellow. Previously, Kerry served as general counsel and acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he was a leader on a wide of range of issues including technology, trade, and economic growth and security. He continues to speak and write on these issues, focusing primarily on privacy and information security, along with the international digital economy. During his time as acting secretary, Kerry served as chief executive of this Cabinet agency and its 43,000 employees around the world, as well as an adviser to former President Barack Obama. His tenure marked the first time in U.S. history two siblings have served in the president’s Cabinet at the same time.

As general counsel, he was the principal legal adviser to the several Secretaries of Commerce and Commerce agency heads. As co-chair of the National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Privacy and Internet Policy, Kerry spearheaded development of the White House blueprint on consumer privacy, Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital Economy. He then led the administration’s implementation of the blueprint, drafting privacy legislation and engaging in privacy issues with international partners, including the European Union. He was a leader in the Obama administration’s successful effort to pass the America Invents Act, the most significant overhaul of the patent system in more than 150 years. He helped establish and lead the Commerce Department’s Internet Policy Task Force, and was the department’s representative on cybersecurity issues and similar issues in the White House “Deputies Committee.” Kerry also played a significant role on intellectual property policy and litigation, cybersecurity, international bribery, trade relations and rule of law development in China, the Gulf Oil spill litigation, and many other challenges facing a large, diverse federal agency.  He travelled to the People’s Republic of China on numerous occasions to co-lead the Transparency Dialogue with China as well as the U.S.-China Legal Exchange and exchanges on anti-corruption.

In addition to his Brookings affiliation, Kerry is a visiting scholar at the MIT Media Lab. He also served as senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP in Boston, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., where his practice involved privacy, security, and international trade issues. Before Kerry’s appointment to the Obama administration in 2009, he practiced law at the Mintz Levin firm in Boston and Washington and taught telecommunications law as an adjunct professor at Suffolk University Law School. Kerry has also been actively engaged in politics and community service throughout his adult life. During the 2004 presidential campaign, he was a close adviser and national surrogate for Democratic nominee John Kerry, traveling to 29 States and even Israel. He has served on the boards of nonprofits, and is currently on the board of the National Archives Foundation.

The Ann R. and Andrew H. Tisch Distinguished Visiting Fellows in Governance Studies are individuals of particularly noteworthy distinction. The fellowship is designed to bring distinguished visitors from government, business, journalism, and academia to Brookings to write about challenges facing the country. Kerry is the first to be named to this prestigious fellowship.

Earlier this year, EPIC’s Board of Directors selected Alan Butler to serve as the Executive Director and President after an international talent search conducted by a leading recruitment firm. Mr. Butler has worked as an attorney and leading advocate in privacy and open government for more than ten years, having argued cases state and federal appellate courts across the country. Mr. Butler has led EPIC’s work on a wide range of issues including surveillance oversight, government transparency, consumer protection, and democracy and cybersecurity. He authored EPIC’s amicus brief in Riley v. California that was cited in the Supreme Court’s unanimous opinion upholding Fourth Amendment protections for cell phones. And he is the co-author of a leading casebook on technology law, Communications Law and Policy: Cases and Materials (7th Ed. 2020). Mr. Butler is also Chair of the Privacy and Information Protection Committee of the ABA Section on Civil Rights and Social Justice.

Jordan Crenshaw serves as Vice President and leads the day-to-day operations at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Technology Engagement Center. Crenshaw also directly manages the Chamber’s privacy working group which is comprised of nearly 300 companies and trade associations, which developed model privacy legislation and principles. Prior to becoming vice president of C_TEC, he led the Chamber’s Telecommunications and E-Commerce Policy Committee, which analyzes federal privacy, cloud computing, broadband, internet, e-commerce, and broadcast policies that impact U.S. businesses.

Before joining the Chamber, Crenshaw served as an attorney focusing on environmental issues and analysis of consumer privacy laws. Crenshaw also worked at McGuireWoods, LLP assisting discovery issues for environmental nuisance, TCPA, and other civil litigation. Crenshaw also served Virginia Senate leadership, the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Administrative Law Judges, and the National Right to Work Defense Foundation.

Crenshaw earned both his undergraduate degree and Juris Doctor from the College of William and Mary. He is licensed to practice law in Virginia and is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US). He and his wife Molly live in Virginia.

Stu Ingis is chairman of Venable and co-chair of the eCommerce, Privacy, and Cybersecurity Group. Stu is a nationally recognized attorney who has earned a reputation among peers and the industry as a thought leader in crisis management, privacy, marketing, advertising, consumer protection, eCommerce, and Internet law. Stu’s leadership in developing cutting-edge industry self-regulation and coalition building has placed him at the forefront of privacy and data security regulation and public policy. Clients rely on him as a trusted voice, confidant, and advocate before Congress, the Federal Trade Commission, state attorneys general, and other federal and state agencies.

Dr. Divya Sridhar, Ph.D., is the Director, Privacy Initiatives at BBB National Programs. Her portfolio encompasses the design, development and launch of multiple industry self-regulation programs, including the Digital Advertising Accountability Program, the Digital Health Privacy Program, and the TeenAge Privacy Program. She is a seasoned leader focused on data privacy policies at the international, federal, and state level. In the past, Divya served in numerous capacities at think tanks, private companies, and nonprofits leading government affairs and policy work, specializing across the health and education technology sectors. She has written books and authored publications in the fields of tech, privacy, and public policy. She holds a Ph.D. and master’s degree in public policy and a Bachelor’s degree in Finance.

Sreedhar Rao has over 20 years of experience in designing and implementing carrier-grade solutions covering the telecom core network elements, and their business/operations support systems (BSS/OSS). His areas of expertise include the evolution of telecom BSS/OSS architectures, monetization of emerging 5G/private 5G/industrial 4.0 use cases, public/private/hybrid cloud technology implementations for enterprise/government agencies, and cybersecurity best practices for the communications industry.

He is passionate about bringing an individuals’ perspective to the conversation on privacy in physical and virtual environments. As a lead volunteer of the IEEE Digital Privacy Initiative, he is working on multiple projects including the creation of the IEEE Digital Privacy Model. His current research interests include understanding individuals’ expectations of privacy across regional and cultural boundaries, emerging privacy-preserving technologies, digital privacy legislations for emerging 5G / 6G use cases, and generative AI technologies. He holds a Masters in Cybersecurity Policy and Compliance from George Washington University in Washington DC, and a Masters in Telecommunications from the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand.

Cameron Kerry is a global thought leader on privacy and cross-border information flows. He joined Governance Studies and the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings in December 2013 as the first Ann R. and Andrew H. Tisch Distinguished Visiting Fellow. Previously, Kerry served as general counsel and acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he was a leader on a wide of range of issues including technology, trade, and economic growth and security. He continues to speak and write on these issues, focusing primarily on privacy and information security, along with the international digital economy. During his time as acting secretary, Kerry served as chief executive of this Cabinet agency and its 43,000 employees around the world, as well as an adviser to former President Barack Obama. His tenure marked the first time in U.S. history two siblings have served in the president’s Cabinet at the same time.

As general counsel, he was the principal legal adviser to the several Secretaries of Commerce and Commerce agency heads. As co-chair of the National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Privacy and Internet Policy, Kerry spearheaded development of the White House blueprint on consumer privacy, Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital Economy. He then led the administration’s implementation of the blueprint, drafting privacy legislation and engaging in privacy issues with international partners, including the European Union. He was a leader in the Obama administration’s successful effort to pass the America Invents Act, the most significant overhaul of the patent system in more than 150 years. He helped establish and lead the Commerce Department’s Internet Policy Task Force, and was the department’s representative on cybersecurity issues and similar issues in the White House “Deputies Committee.” Kerry also played a significant role on intellectual property policy and litigation, cybersecurity, international bribery, trade relations and rule of law development in China, the Gulf Oil spill litigation, and many other challenges facing a large, diverse federal agency.  He travelled to the People’s Republic of China on numerous occasions to co-lead the Transparency Dialogue with China as well as the U.S.-China Legal Exchange and exchanges on anti-corruption.

In addition to his Brookings affiliation, Kerry is a visiting scholar at the MIT Media Lab. He also served as senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP in Boston, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., where his practice involved privacy, security, and international trade issues. Before Kerry’s appointment to the Obama administration in 2009, he practiced law at the Mintz Levin firm in Boston and Washington and taught telecommunications law as an adjunct professor at Suffolk University Law School. Kerry has also been actively engaged in politics and community service throughout his adult life. During the 2004 presidential campaign, he was a close adviser and national surrogate for Democratic nominee John Kerry, traveling to 29 States and even Israel. He has served on the boards of nonprofits, and is currently on the board of the National Archives Foundation.

The Ann R. and Andrew H. Tisch Distinguished Visiting Fellows in Governance Studies are individuals of particularly noteworthy distinction. The fellowship is designed to bring distinguished visitors from government, business, journalism, and academia to Brookings to write about challenges facing the country. Kerry is the first to be named to this prestigious fellowship.

LOYAAN A. EGAL is Chief of Enforcement for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He leads the FCC organizational unit (including regional and field offices in 13 locations across the country) responsible for enforcing violations of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and FCC regulations under Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Mr. Egal also leads the FCC’s Privacy and Data Protection Task Force, which coordinates across the agency through rulemaking, public awareness, and enforcement to identify and address issues that impact consumer privacy and protect against the exploitation of network and software vulnerabilities that result in cyber intrusions and data breaches.

Mr. Egal previously served as a Deputy Chief in the Foreign Investment Review Section (FIRS) of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) National Security Division (NSD). In his capacity as Deputy Chief, he directly oversaw FIRS’s and NSD’s roles in representing the Attorney General as the Chair of the “Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector,” which is also known as “Team Telecom,” pursuant to Executive Order 13913. In addition, he supervised the coordination of parallel reviews involving Team Telecom and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), as well as DOJ’s referrals to the Department of Commerce, pursuant to Executive Order 13873, involving foreign ownership, control, or investment in the U.S. telecommunications and information and communications technology services (ICTS) networks and infrastructure supply chains.

Mr. Egal previously served in the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, where he established and led the Universal Service Fund Strike Force (now known as the Fraud Division), the FCC’s first white collar fraud unit. Prior to that, he was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York and the District of Columbia, where he investigated and prosecuted cases involving public corruption, official bribery, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), campaign finance fraud, bank, mail, wire, and tax fraud, and international narcotics trafficking and money laundering. Mr. Egal clerked for the Honorable Alia Moses, U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Texas. He received his undergraduate degree from St. John’s University and earned his law degree at the Howard University School of Law, where he served as Managing Editor of the Howard Law Journal.

Brandon Pugh is the director of the R Street Institute’s Cybersecurity and Emerging Threats team, which includes a large focus on data privacy and security. He also serves as an international law officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and as a fellow at the Army Cyber Institute at the United States Military Academy. Previously, he served in elected and appointed office at the local, county, and state level, managed a cyberwarfare publication, was a fellow with the FBI, and was legislative counsel for a state legislature, where he handled nearly all policy and legislation on cybersecurity, emerging technology and privacy for the office.

Bio to be added soon.

Dr. Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna is the Vice President for Global Privacy at the Future of Privacy Forum, where she leads the work on Global privacy developments and counsels on EU data protection law and policy, working with all FPF’s offices and partners around the world. She created and curates FPF’s Global Privacy blog series.

Gabriela currently serves as a member of the Reference Panel of the Global Privacy Assembly, and she is also a member of the Executive Committee of the ACM FAccT (Fairness, Accountability and Transparency) Conference, since 2021. She is a member of the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) Working Group on Access to Platform Data, working on the creation of a Code of Conduct on access to platform data under Art. 40 of the GDPR.

As a data protection and privacy law expert, Gabriela recently testified for the FTC on data portability and for the European Parliament’s LIBE Committee on the EU’s proposed Data Governance Act.

Prior to moving to the US in 2016, she worked for the European Data Protection Supervisor in Brussels, being part of the team that advised the EU legislator on the GDPR during its legislative process. She dealt with both enforcement and policy matters, was a member of the EDPS litigation team appearing before the Court of Justice of the EU, as well as actively participated in the work of the Article 29 Working Party. She worked on the assessments of both the draft EU-US Privacy Shieldand the draft EU-US Umbrella Agreement during her time at the EDPS and the Article 29 Working Party.

She previously served as a Program Chair (Law) for the ACM FAccT 2020 and as a member of the Program Advisory Committee for the ICDPPC 2019 Conference in Tirana. She was also a member of the Program Committee of PLSC Europe, CPDP – academic track, ACM – AIES 2020, and the ENISA Annual Privacy Forum. She served as a Project Scientist supporting the IoT Privacy Infrastructure Project within the Institute for Software Research of Carnegie Mellon University (2019 – 2020).

Gabriela holds a PhD in law (2013, University of Craiova) with a thesis on the rights of the data subject from the perspective of their adjudication in civil law and an LLM in Human Rights (2010), after obtaining her law degree at the same university (2009). She is also an associated researcher with the Law, Science, Technology and Society Center at Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Gabriela is a contributor-author to ‘The EU General Data Protection Regulation – A Commentary‘, edited by C. Kuner, C. Docksey and L.A. Bygrave, Oxford University Press, 2020 (on Articles 13, 14, 15, 21 and 82). She is also the author of the volume ‘Protecția Datelor Personale. Drepturile Persoanei Vizate‘, C.H. Beck, Bucharest, 2015.

Paula J. Bruening is Counsel for Sequel Technology and IP Law, LLC and Founder and Principal of Casentino Strategies LLC, a privacy and information policy consulting firm. She works with clients on issues related to emerging technologies, privacy governance and compliance with data protection regulation. Most recently, she served as Director of Global Privacy Policy at Intel Corporation, where she developed and coordinated privacy policy across the company. During her tenure with the Centre for Information Policy Leadership, she was principal drafter of consensus-based documents mapping an approach to accountability in data governance.

Ms. Bruening’s experience spans government, advocacy and international organizations. Her writing on data protection has been published in academic and policy journals in the United States and abroad. She holds a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Zaid A. Zaid is the Director, Head of U.S. Public Policy at Cloudflare where he leads Cloudflare’s government-facing advocacy in the United States. He has 20 years of experience in tech, policy, law, and international affairs.

Previously, Zaid was the Head of North America for Strategic Response Policy at Meta. Zaid served on the Biden/Harris Transition on the Agency Review Teams for the U.S. Department of State, USAID, Peace Corps, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation. Prior to Meta, Zaid served in the Obama Administration as Special Assistant to the President and Associate White House Counsel. He represented the White House in negotiations with Congress, and represented a witness before the Congressional Select Committee on Benghazi. Before joining the White House, Zaid was the Senior Attorney Advisor to the General Counsel at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Before joining the Obama Administration, he was in private practice at WilmerHale after three federal clerkships. Prior to law school, he was a political officer in the Foreign Service, and he served in Baghdad, Cairo, Tunis, and at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Zaid holds a JD from Columbia Law School, where he was an editor on the Columbia Law Review, a MALD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and a BSFS from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Zaid is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Truman National Security Project fellow, an ICAP Fellow, a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, and was recently elected to the American Law Institute. He is the Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Council of Global Equality, and serves on the Board of Directors of iMMAP and Halo USA, the Board of Advisors of the School of Foreign Service, and the Board of Governors at Georgetown University.

Morgane Donse is the Deputy Director of the International Data Flows Unit in the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, leading the UK policy on international data flows and transfers. Prior to this role, Morgane worked on a wide range of policy issues across the UK government, including supporting the development of the NHS Covid-19 App.

Cobun Zweifel-Keegan is the Managing Director for Washington, D.C. of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). Through this role, Cobun works to integrate the diverse voices of privacy professionals and AI governance professionals into the evolving tech policy conversation, engaging with business representatives, civil society, policymakers, and federal government stakeholders. As a privacy lawyer, Cobun writes and speaks frequently about the ongoing policy conversation around responsible data governance, with a special focus on the role of professionals and independent accountability mechanisms in the spread of privacy best practices.

Prior to his current role, Cobun advised independent mechanisms at BBB National Programs that bring accountability and transparency to business privacy practices through voluntary—but enforceable—frameworks like Privacy Shield and the Cross-Border Privacy Rules. Through this work, Cobun also facilitated the development of new programs to clarify best practices in emerging areas such as youth privacy and artificial intelligence.

Cobun is a graduate of the University of Colorado School of Law and previously served at the IAPP as a Westin Research Fellow.

Mason C. Clutter was appointed the DHS Chief Privacy Officer/Chief FOIA Officer on April 23, 2023. Prior to her appointment, she served as the Acting Chief Privacy Officer/Chief FOIA Officer and as the Senior Policy Advisor to the Chief Privacy Officer.

Before joining DHS, Mason held a variety of roles at the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), an independent agency with a mission to ensure that efforts to prevent terrorism are balanced with privacy and civil liberties. She joined the Board in 2014. During her tenure, Mason’s roles in the agency included Attorney-Advisor, FOIA Officer, Counselor to Board Member Ed Felten, and Acting Executive Director. She also served on a detail to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Office of the General Counsel from 2017-2019, handling FOIA and other civil litigation matters and serving as special counsel to the Director of the Information Management Division. She departed the PCLOB in 2022.

Mason has also served in various roles in non-government organizations. She served as National Security and Privacy Counsel at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Rule of Law Counsel at the Constitution Project, and Research Associate at the Yale Law School Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic, National Litigation Project. Mason also served pro bono as a Screening Committee Member for the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project. Prior to moving to D.C., Mason practiced as a civil defense litigator in Orlando, Florida.

She holds an LL.M in Law and Government from American University, Washington College of Law, a J.D. from Barry University School of Law, and a B.A. in Legal Studies from The University of Central Florida.

Elham Tabassi is a Senior Research Scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Associate Director for Emerging Technologies in the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL). She also leads NIST’s Trustworthy and Responsible AI program that aims to cultivate trust in the design, development, and use of AI technologies.

As the ITL’s Associate Director for Emerging Technology, Elham assists NIST leadership and management at all levels in determining future strategic direction for research, development, standards, testing and evaluation in the areas of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. She also coordinates interaction related to artificial intelligence with the U.S. research community, U.S. industrial community, international standards community, and other federal agencies; and provides leadership within NIST in the use of AI to solve scientific and engineering problems arising in measurement science and related use-inspired applications of AI.

Elham has been working on various machine learning and computer vision research projects with applications in biometrics evaluation and standards since she joined NIST in 1999. She is a member of the National AI Resource Research Task Force, vice-chair of OECD working party on AI Governance, Associate Editor of IEEE Transaction on Information Forensics and Security, and a fellow of Washington Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Sarah Myers West is the Managing Director of the AI Now Institute and recently served a term as a Senior Advisor on AI at the Federal Trade Commission. She holds a decade of policy and research experience in the political economy of the tech industry, and her forthcoming book Tracing Code (University of California Press) examines the origins of commercial surveillance.

Ben Brook is the CEO and co-founder of Transcend. Backed by Accel and Index Ventures, Transcend makes it easy for companies to put privacy on autopilot, and has built engineering solutions to chart the path forward for modern data rights. Solving the technical challenges of managing personal data, especially in light of increased global regulation and consumer interest, is Ben’s biggest passion. Prior to co-founding Transcend, Ben studied computer science, astrophysics, and neuroscience at Harvard University. Originally from Toronto, Canada, he is a passionate and award-winning filmmaker. In his spare time, Ben works on open source projects, studies guitar & piano, and plays rugby.

Dan Caprio is an internationally recognized expert on privacy and cybersecurity. He has served as the Chief Privacy Officer and Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Commerce Department, a transatlantic subject matter for the European Commission’s Internet of Things formal expert group, a Chief of Staff at the Federal Trade Commission and a member of the Department of Homeland Security Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee. In 2002, Dan represented the United States revising the OECD Security Guidelines that formed the basis for the first White House Strategy to Secure Cyberspace.

Evangelos Razis is Senior Manager of Public Policy at Workday, where he leads U.S. policy engagement on privacy, data flows, and artificial intelligence matters.

Before joining Workday, Evangelos was at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business association. There he led digital trade and global data policy, including issues related to the U.S.-EU Privacy Shield, and advocated for open data governance frameworks in key U.S. export markets on six continents.

Previously, Evangelos was at Fujitsu, a Fortune 500 IT company, working as a trade and technology policy analyst, and was a fellow at the Information Technology Industry Council.

Evangelos holds a B.A. in Political Science from Fordham University, a M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, and is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/E). He is pursuing a J.D. at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School.

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn was sworn in to the Senate in January 2019.

Marsha Blackburn was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018, and is currently serving her first term representing the state of Tennessee. Before her election to the Senate, Marsha represented Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District.

Marsha’s public service is dedicated to promoting opportunities for women and making America a more prosperous place to live. Marsha’s leadership philosophy is based on her experiences in the private sector as a small business woman and author, as well as being a mother and grandmother.

Marsha went to college on a 4-H scholarship and worked her way through school selling books for the Southwestern Company as one of their first female sales associates, and later as one of their first female sales managers.

She then became Director of Retail Fashion and Special Events for the Castner Knott Company, which was a Nashville-based regional department store. Later, Marsha founded her own business, Marketing Strategies, which focused on the retail marketplace, as well as electronic and print media.

Marsha began her career in public service in 1995 when she was named executive director of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission. In 1998, she was elected to the Tennessee State Senate. In the state legislature, she earned a reputation for fiscal responsibility and government accountability by identifying waste and offering realistic solutions to Tennessee’s budget challenges.

While serving in the Tennessee Senate, Marsha led a statewide grassroots campaign to defeat a proposed state income tax. The tax was defeated, and Marsha’s leadership earned her a reputation as an anti-tax champion. In 2014, the people of Tennessee passed an amendment to the state constitution to expressly prohibit a state income tax – a fitting cap to a 14-year battle.

In 2002, Marsha was elected to represent the people of Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District based on her record in the state legislature. She brought her Tennessee values to Washington, DC, and became a leader in the fight for small, efficient federal government that is accountable to its citizens. As a Congressman, Marsha was often selected by her colleagues to lead the charge for principled conservativism. Her congressional career was also noted for her Chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, as well as bipartisan expertise in defending songwriters’ and performers’ rights.

Marsha is a member of numerous charitable organizations and is an active member of her church, Christ Presbyterian. Marsha and her husband Chuck live in Williamson County, Tennessee. They have two children, Mary Morgan (Paul) Ketchel and Chad (Hillary) Blackburn, two grandsons, and a granddaughter. Originally from Laurel, Mississippi, Marsha is a graduate of Mississippi State University.

Bio to be added soon.

Dr. Travis Hall is the Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Office of Policy and Development, focusing on Surveillance and Consumer Privacy. In this role, he primarily oversees the Internet Policy portfolio, which includes privacy, AI, IoT, Intermediary Policy, and the Digital Equity. He has been the staff lead on the Department’s consumer privacy work, including the 2021 Privacy, Equity, and Civil Rights listening sessions. He has a PhD from the Department of Media, Culture and Communication from New York University, and his dissertation research focused on the cultural contexts and histories of state identification programs, specifically those that use bodies as the media of identity (biometrics, tattoos). Before joining the Department of Commerce, Travis taught at American University and was a research fellow at the Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society in Berlin, Germany. He received his MA in International Communications and BA in International Relations from American University.tr

Denise G. Tayloe is a recognized leader and authority in permission and identity management and a subject matter expert in minors’ online privacy, with 20+ years’ experience helping companies understand how to legally maintain youth customer relationships that meet their business objectives. Tayloe is a frequently invited speaker on children’s privacy issues at events across the globe. As an innovator, she authored and has been granted three patents related to device level age assurance for the protection of vulnerable populations (e.g., children, seniors, et.). Tayloe co-founded Privacy Vaults Online, Inc. d/b/a PRIVO, in early 2001, inspired by the opportunities and challenges of implementing the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Her vision for PRIVO is to help consumers manage their digital identities and to create a software driven service that would help companies effectively interact with and/or block children while in compliance with federal, state and international online privacy laws.

Jared Solomon is a teacher, policy leader, and activist serving his first term in the Maryland House of Delegates representing Maryland’s 18th district.

Over the last four years, Jared has been an effective advocate and critical voice for the needs of Maryland’s working families, funding students, and protecting our environment.

In the General Assembly, Jared ensured Maryland families and small businesses had the resources they needed to weather the pandemic, passed historic police transparency and accountability legislation, and made a much needed strategic, long term investment in public education across the state.

Even as a freshman member of the General Assembly, Jared has racked up legislative wins for Maryland students and commuters.

Jared has used his leadership role on the Education And Economic Development subcommittee to advocate for Maryland K-12 students from reducing lead levels in schools drinking water to ensuring that every family has access to affordable, quality childcare in their community. He has also worked to make higher education more affordable for Maryland students by reducing barriers to financial aid, making transferring from two year to four year colleges seamless, and providing scholarships to more than 100 students.

For commuters, he has expanded MARC rail service to Virginia and will continue to fight for public transit funding throughout the state. He has also been a vocal opponent to the Governor’s efforts to expand I-495 and create new toll lanes on I-270.

An active member of the appropriations committee, Jared has had a front seat view of the state budget process. From a historic investment in school construction funding to ensuring that the state workforce has the collective bargaining rights they deserve to [district specific funding], Jared has been a tireless advocate for funding priorities for District 18.

Jared began his career in education, as a high school social studies teacher in Baltimore City and in the Chancellor’s office at D.C. Public Schools where he saw first hand how policy decisions affect our students every day. That led him to focus on improving federal policy making – as a Policy Advisor to US Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), and at First Focus, a bipartisan national kids advocacy organization.

Outside of his official role, Jared remains active in local non profit organizations serving on leadership boards of The Intersection and the Jubilee Association of Maryland.

Jared graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and received his Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Johns Hopkins University. Jared, his wife Emily, and their son Leo are proud residents of Rock Creek Forest.

Jason Kelley is the Activism Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. In addition to focusing on student privacy, surveillance, and free speech issues, Jason ensures that EFF’s advocacy campaigns protect freedom, justice, and innovation for all the people of the world. He has been heavily involved in the discussion of how laws impacting the privacy and safety of young people online can have negative consequences for free speech and the rights of all people online to use the internet. Before joining EFF, Jason managed marketing strategy and content for a software company that helps non-programmers learn to code, and advertising and marketing analytics for a student loan startup. Jason received his BA in English and Philosophy from Kent State University and an M.F.A. in creative writing from The University of the South.

Ashley Johnson is a senior policy analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. She researches and writes about Internet policy issues such as privacy, security, and platform regulation. She was previously at Software.org: the BSA Foundation and holds a master’s degree in security policy from The George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Brigham Young University.

Melanie Fontes Rainer serves as the Director of the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services where she leads the Department’s enforcement of federal civil rights and privacy laws and directs related policy and strategic initiatives.

Previously, Melanie served as Counselor to Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, providing strategy guidance to the Secretary on issues pertaining to civil rights, patient privacy, reproductive health, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), competition in healthcare, equity, and the private insurance market.  In this role, she led the implementation of the bipartisan No Surprises Act, helping to increase transparency in medical billing and save consumers money. She also served as the Secretary’s designee on the White House Competition Council leading cross-cutting Department work and a whole-of-Government approach on price transparency, costs, and competition to benefit American consumers.

Before joining the Biden-Harris Administration, Melanie served as the Special Assistant to the Attorney General and Chief Health Care Advisor at the California Department of Justice, where she led a national team to save the Affordable Care Act and protect healthcare coverage for over 133 million Americans.  During this time, she facilitated the creation of a new office, the Health Care Rights and Access, devoted to proactively advancing laws pertaining to health care civil rights, privacy, competition, and consumer protection.  Melanie also worked on multiple groundbreaking settlements, such as the $575 million historic settlement against one of the largest health systems in California to increase competition and consumer choice in the state and multiple bipartisan settlements to address the national opioid epidemic.

Melanie previously served in the U.S. Senate as a Senior Aide and Women’s Policy Director to Chair Patty Murray on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and the Budget Committees.  In these roles, she helped pass several transformative health care laws, including the 21st Century Cures Act, Every Student Succeeds Act, and the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, among other laws and led the Senate’s work on the Affordable Care Act, reproductive rights, and gender equity.

Melanie has a J.D. from the University of Arizona, M.S.M.E. from the City University of New York, Brooklyn College, and a B.S.B.A. from the University of Arizona.

Katy Ruckle was appointed as Washington state’s Chief Privacy Officer in 2020. Since then, Katy has published Washington’s foundational privacy principles and launched statewide training on privacy and data protection for public employees. In previous roles, Katy created and directed the privacy program at the state’s largest social service agency — overseeing public records, records management, legal discovery, and HIPAA compliance. Before that she served as the agency’s Contracts Counsel, advising on complex contract and procurement issues regarding health care and technology.

Katy is a licensed attorney and was admitted to the Washington State Bar Association in 2005. She also holds certifications from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) in US privacy law (CIPP/US) and privacy program management (CIPM) and is recognized as a Fellow of Information Privacy from the IAPP. She presently serves as an officer on the board of the Washington Government Lawyers Bar Association and volunteers as a mediator at the Pierce County Center for Dialog and Resolution. She has worked for the state since 2006.

Bio to appear here soon.

Morgan Reed is the president of ACT | The App Association, representing thousands of app makers and connected device companies in the mobile economy. Mr. Reed is also a member of the Health and Human Services-appointed Advisory Panel on Outreach and Education (APOE) for Medicare and serves on the American Medical Association’s (AMA’s) Digital Medicine Payment Advisory Group (DMPAG). In these roles, he helps guide the federal government’s coverage of and communications about healthcare services.

He is also part of the developer team for the Linux Router Project (LEAF) and remains an active Apple and iOS licensed developer.

Thomas George oversees the data science and management activities for Vidoori. This includes management of data driven innovations and special projects.

Thomas previously served in various data science and engineering roles that utilized statistical sampling methods to improve engine manufacturing processes at Briggs and Stratton. He also has extensive experience utilizing data science to reverse engineer satellite, tank, jet, ship, and submarine parts for various contractors in support of the United States military and other customers. Thomas also has several years of experience using data analysis and statistical approaches to support various projects for the United States Census Bureau.

Thomas holds a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from University of Maryland Baltimore County and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Auburn.

William Sweeney is the Founder and Managing Partner of Zaviant, a company that focuses on improving the security posture of client systems to protect sensitive data by complying with official information security rules/requirements. He is a skilled and experienced Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), consultant, auditor, and business leader.
Mr. Sweeney led the EU GDPR initiatives while at IBM as well as running large scale Data Security projects for Federal Agencies and large Healthcare systems.