Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s top priorities in the United States Senate include creating more well-paying jobs to rebuild the middle class, increasing access to good, affordable healthcare and improving educational opportunities from pre-K to college or vocational training. She is a champion for the economic empowerment of women and working families, and she has authored legislation to rewrite the rules of the workplace so it can keep up with our changing workforce. As the mother of two school-age sons, Senator Gillibrand understands the challenges that working families face in our changing economic and technological landscape.

Throughout her time in the Senate, Senator Gillibrand has been a leader in some of the toughest fights in Washington, including her work to better prepare the nation for the barrage of cyberattacks that have targeted local institutions and private businesses alike by focusing on hardening both public-and private-sector cyber defenses. She believes that our country is facing a data privacy crisis, and that Americans deserve to be in control of their own data. Senator Gillibrand leads landmark legislation, the Data Protection Act, which would create the Data Protection Agency, an independent federal agency that would protect Americans’ data, safeguard their privacy, and ensure data practices are fair and transparent. From her seat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, she has been a vocal advocate for strengthening America’s armed services, national security, and military readiness. As cybersecurity threats and attacks become more frequent, Senator Gillibrand will continue to fight to improve our national cybersecurity strategy and attract the best and brightest cyber personnel.

Samuel T. Towell currently serves as the Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation.  In that role, he is the member of the Attorney General’s Senior Staff responsible for the management of the majority of the Commonwealth’s non-prisoner-related affirmative and defensive civil litigation in federal and state courts.  Towell oversees the more than 100 attorneys and staff that comprise the six sections in the Civil Litigation Division: the Office of Civil Rights, Trial (including the General Civil, Employment Law, and Workers Compensation Units), Consumer Protection (including the Predatory Lending; Antitrust; Dispute Resolution; Counseling, Intake & Referral; and Charitable Solicitation & Deceptive Conduct Units), Health Professions, Insurance & Utility Regulatory, and Financial Recovery.

Prior to his appointment, he served as the Deputy Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry.  Previously, Towell worked in the litigation departments of McGuireWoods LLP, where he focused on tort defense, and Williams Mullen P.C., where he practiced general business litigation.  He has also served as a judicial clerk on both the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the Supreme Court of Virginia.  Other government service includes positions as the Governor’s Fellow to the Chief of Staff and Counsel and Special Assistant to the Secretary of Finance during the administration of Governor Mark R. Warner.

Towell earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as the Senior Legal Fellow in the Office of the Governor.  He is also a graduate of the Virginia Executive Institute, the National Trial Advocacy College, and the Political Leaders Program of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia.

Jessica Rich is one of the nation’s leading experts on data privacy and consumer protection, with years of experience drawn from government service, consumer advocacy, and private practice. Rich served as Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection from 2013 to 2017, capping a 26-year career leading the agency’s enforcement and policy efforts related to privacy, security, technology, and financial fraud. Following her departure from the FTC, Rich served as Vice President of Advocacy for Consumer Reports and, more recently, as a consultant on privacy and consumer protection, a Distinguished Fellow at Georgetown Law, and Of Counsel at Kelley Dryer & Warren. Rich started her career in private practice in New York City, and is a graduate of New York University Law School and Harvard College.

Tess Macapinlac is a Privacy Associate at OneTrust, where she provides guidance on global regulations and standards and works in platform content development. Prior to OneTrust, Tess interned at the Network Advertising Initiative and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. Tess earned her JD from the George Washington University Law School. She holds CIPP/E and CIPM certifications.

Barbara Cosgrove is vice president, chief privacy officer at Workday, and is responsible for Workday’s global privacy, ML ethics, and compliance strategy and operations.

Barbara has extensive expertise in managing international data protection compliance programs, and implementing data governance policies, technology compliance standards and programs, and privacy-by-design frameworks. She has also served as the chief security officer for Workday.

Prior to joining Workday, Barbara led various compliance programs within Kaiser Permanente and PeopleSoft. Barbara holds a Juris Doctor degree from Widener Law School and a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University.

K. Dane Snowden is the President and CEO of Internet Association. Under his leadership, IA advocates for public policy that fosters innovation, promotes economic growth, and empowers people through a free and open internet.

Prior to joining IA, Dane served as Chief Operating Officer of The Internet & Television Association (NCTA). In this position, he led the Association’s day-to-day operations including its policy planning and strategic initiatives.

His past experience also includes a tenure at CTIA – The Wireless Association as Vice President of External and State Affairs where he focused on promoting policies to grow the wireless ecosystem. Dane’s government experience features his appointment as Chief of the Federal Communications Commission’s Consumer & Governmental Bureau where he was responsible for the development and execution of vision, strategic direction, telecommunication policy, and management of the Bureau’s activities and 300 employees. He began his career working in the private and non-profit sectors for MissionFish.com, America’s Promise- The Alliance for Youth, and the United Negro College Fund. He is a graduate of The College of William and Mary.

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.

Don Graves is the 19th Deputy Secretary of Commerce.

Graves brings decades of experience in the private sector, government, and nonprofits to the Department of Commerce. Most recently, he served as Counselor to President Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign. Prior to that, Graves served as Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Responsibility and Community Relations at KeyBank. In this role, Graves led KeyBank’s corporate responsibility team, including the bank’s $16.5 billion National Community Benefits Plan, the bank’s sustainability work, stakeholder engagement, and outreach, and oversaw the KeyBank Foundation and the First Niagara Foundation.

During the Obama-Biden Administration, Graves served as Counselor and Domestic and Economic Policy Director for then-Vice President Biden. He was previously appointed by President Barack Obama as Executive Director of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness and led the federal government’s efforts in the economic recovery of the city of Detroit. Graves also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Small Business, Community Development, and Housing Policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he oversaw the CDFI Fund, the $4 billion Small Business Lending Fund, and the $1.5 billion State Small Business Credit Initiative. He was also the U.S. Federal Representative to the G7 Task Force on Social Impact Investment.

He has served on the Board of Directors of the MetroHealth Foundation, the FDIC’s Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion, the Board of Trustees of the Community Reinvestment Fund, the Policy Advisory Board of the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware, the Board of Visitors of the Cuyahoga Community College, the Advisory Board of the Commission on Economic Inclusion, and as Co-Chair of Cleveland Rising.

Graves has a rich family history connected to the Commerce Department. His four-times great grandparents built a successful horse and buggy taxi business in Washington that once stood at the site of the Department’s headquarters. Their son went on to own a premier hotel just blocks away and become one of our nation’s first Black patent-holders through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Graves holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History from Williams College and a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he received the Dean’s Award. He is a fellow of the National Association of Public Administration. Graves is married and has two children.

Salla Saastamoinen has been acting Director General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers since February 2020, overseeing a wide range of policy areas, including civil and criminal justice, fundamental rights, data protection, rule of law, equality, citizenship and consumer protection. She is also Director for Civil and Commercial Justice since October 2016. Previously she was the Director for Equality as from 2014. As Director for Civil and Commercial Justice, she is in charge of the development and consolidation of the European area of civil justice, in particular of civil procedural law, private international law, contract law and company law. Salla Saastamoinen has worked in the Commission for 20 years, starting in the Directorate-General for Environment and then working in several areas in the Directorate-General for Justice. Before joining the Commission, Salla Saastamoinen was an associate partner in a law office in Helsinki, Finland. She has a licentiate degree in law from the University of Helsinki, Finland, and post-graduate studies in law from the universities of Saarbrücken, Germany and Zürich, Switzerland.

Kenneth Propp teaches European Union Law at Georgetown University Law Center.  He also serves as a Senior Fellow with the Europe Center at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C., and as a Senior Fellow at the Cross-Border Data Forum.  From 2016-2018, Mr. Propp was director of trade policy for BSA | The Software Alliance, an association of major software companies.  From 2011-2015, he served as Legal Counselor at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium, where he led local engagement with the EU on digital and privacy matters, including the GDPR and the U.S-EU Privacy Shield negotiations.

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.

John Miller, senior vice president of policy and general counsel, currently leads ITI’s Trust Data and Technology policy team, driving ITI’s strategy and advocacy on cybersecurity and supply chain security, privacy and data protection, government access to data, digital platforms, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, cloud computing, and other technology and digital policy issues. While at ITI, Miller has testified before the U.S. Congress on cybersecurity and privacy topics and participated as a keynote speaker or panelist at major events in the U.S., EU, Japan, India, Brazil and China.

A proven IT industry leader, Mr. Miller is the current Chair of the IT Sector Coordinating Council, the principal IT sector partner on behalf of over 100 organizations to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on cybersecurity, supply chain and critical infrastructure protection policy, and serves as co-chair of the DHS ICT Supply Chain Risk Management Task Force. Mr. Miller also co-founded and launched the Council to Secure the Digital Economy, an initiative comprised of global ICT providers dedicated to enhancing the cyber resiliency of the global digital ecosystem.

Prior to ITI, Miller worked for nearly a decade in the Global Public Policy organization at member company Intel Corporation. Miller’s positions at Intel included Director of Cybersecurity Policy, Global Policy Strategist, and Director of Government Relations and Managing Counsel, leading Intel’s cybersecurity policy strategy and advocacy activities in the U.S. and spearheading Intel’s global policy strategy development and advocacy on issues including cybersecurity threat information sharing, electronic surveillance and communications privacy, development of the APEC Cross-border privacy rules, and issues at the intersection of human rights, civil liberties and technology. Earlier in his career, Miller led Intel’s privacy and security policy strategy and outreach efforts in the Asia-Pacific region.

Prior to joining Intel, Miller was an associate in private practice in New York, where he represented technology, media, and other corporate clients in a variety of complex business and intellectual property litigations and regulatory matters.

Miller received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Hamilton College, summa cum laude, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he served as Articles Editor of the Wisconsin Law Review.

Martin Abrams, Executive Director and Chief Strategist for the Foundation, has 35 years of experience as an information and consumer policy innovator. Multi-stakeholder collaboration has been a key for Abrams in developing practical solutions to dilemmas in information policy. His most recent work has been on big data governance and privacy compliance driven by demonstrable data stewardship. For the past five years, he has led the Global Accountability Project, which has refined the accountability principle that is part of various data protection laws and guidance documents.

Abrams has also provided leadership in other policy areas. He worked on multi-layered privacy notices, which changed the way policy makers and organisations thought about privacy transparency. His work is generally reflected in new laws and regulatory guidance in jurisdictions from Asia, across Europe and in the Americas.

Abrams was the co-founder and President of the Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton & Williams LLP, which he led for 13 years. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Information Policy at Experian and Director of Information Policy at TRW Information Systems where he designed one of the early privacy impact assessment tools.

Abrams continues to seek practical solutions to assure information driven innovation with personal dignity at the Foundation.

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.

Whether the issue is climate change, clean energy, safeguarding privacy, nuclear non-proliferation, investor protection or preserving an open Internet that spurs competition and consumer choice, Senator Markey stands up for the priorities and values of Massachusetts.

While serving for 37 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Senator Markey fought for his constituents throughout his Congressional District. When he was Dean of the Massachusetts delegation in the House, he worked to harness the energy and influence of his colleagues on behalf of the entire Commonwealth. Elected to the Senate in a special election in June 2013, Senator Markey is bringing his experience, energy and expertise to fight for all the people of Massachusetts.

A member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Senator Markey is a national leader on telecommunications policy, technology and privacy. In the House, he served for 20 years as Chair or Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, where he fostered the growth of new information technologies and was the principal author of many of the laws now governing our nation’s telephone, broadcasting, cable television, wireless, and broadband communications systems. He is the House author of the 1992 Cable Act, which increased choices for millions of consumers and enabled satellite-delivered programming to be more widely offered.

He also authored the law in 1993 that moved over 200 MHz of spectrum from government to commercial use, creating the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th wireless phone companies. New companies entered the market with digital technology, forcing the incumbents to innovate and invest and pushing mobile phone prices down.

Congressman Markey authored the landmark Telecommunications Act of 1996, ushering competition into the telecommunications marketplace and unleashing private sector investment.

Dr. Travis Hall is a Telecommunications Policy Specialist for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Office of Policy and Development, focusing on Surveillance and Consumer Privacy. He serves as Team Lead for Internet Policy. His portfolio includes IoT, Intermediary Policy, and the Digital Divide, and has been staff lead on the Department’s consumer privacy Request for Comment, the Internet of Things green paper, and two privacy multistakeholder processes.

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.

Dr. Sara R. Jordan is Senior Researcher, Artificial Intelligence and Ethics at the Future of Privacy Forum. Her profile includes privacy implications of data sharing, data and AI review boards, privacy analysis of AI and Machine Learning (AI/ML) technologies, and analysis of the ethics challenges of AI/ ML. Sara is an active member of the IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics for Autonomous and Intelligent Systems. Prior to working at FPF, Sara was faculty in the Center for Public Administration and Policy at Virginia Tech (2014-2020) and in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Hong Kong (2007- 2013). She is a graduate of Texas A&M University and University of South Florida.

Paul Lekas is an experienced advocate and lawyer with expertise in technology policy, government affairs, national security, and high-stakes legal and regulatory matters. He has advised senior leaders in business and government for two decades.

Lekas currently serves as SVP for Global Public Policy with the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA). In this role, he is responsible for directing SIIA’s advocacy and public policy efforts to shape technology policy in the U.S. and abroad on behalf of over 450 companies.

Prior to coming to SIIA, Lekas served in the U.S. government for seven years in senior strategic positions. Most recently with the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), Lekas led cutting edge work on AI and other emerging technologies to promote innovation, marshal international cooperation, and protect core democratic values. NSCAI’s recommendations for Congress and the President are considered a blueprint for addressing the challenges and opportunities of AI and have received significant praise from U.S. and foreign officials, industry, and thought leaders. Previously, Lekas served as General Counsel of the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service. In this role he guided government affairs strategy and led the development of innovative legislative and policy recommendations for Congress and the President designed to strengthen American civic fabric and address national needs through military, national, and public service. Lekas began his government career with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), where he advised DoD leadership and worked closely with senior officials from the White House and across the interagency in developing national security legal positions on military and intelligence matters. As DoD’s Deputy General Counsel (Legal Counsel), Lekas oversaw four offices and managed a broad issue portfolio including sensitive litigation and investigations, crisis response, privacy and civil liberties, and cybersecurity and law of war matters.

Earlier in his career, Lekas practiced law for eleven years in New York and Washington, DC. He represented numerous Fortune 500 companies, executives, and board committees in high profile investigations, sensitive litigation, and crisis management, while maintaining a robust pro bono practice.

Lekas regularly speaks and writes on issues as diverse as domestic and international technology policy, international affairs, cybersecurity, counterterrorism, government investigations, legal and ethical compliance, and privacy. Lekas has led service and enrichment activities at his children’s school, has served on the parish counsel of his church, and has taught political philosophy. He also served on the legal team for the Biden-Harris transition.

Lekas received his A.B. and J.D. degrees from Harvard University.

Jordan Crenshaw serves as Vice President and leads the day-to-day operations at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Technology Engagement Center. He directly manages the Chamber’s Telecommunications & E-Commerce Policy Committee, which analyzes federal privacy, cloud computing, broadband, internet, e-commerce, and broadcast policies that impact U.S. businesses. Crenshaw also directs the Chamber’s privacy working group which is comprised of over 200 companies and trade associations, which developed model privacy legislation and principles.

Before joining the Chamber, Crenshaw served as an attorney with another trade association focusing on environmental issues and analysis of consumer privacy laws. Previously, Crenshaw managed discovery issues in the defense of a financial institution against TCPA claims at McGuireWoods, LLP. During law school, Crenshaw interned for Virginia Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment, 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.

Stephen Sanford is the Managing Director in GAO’s Strategic Planning and External Liaison team. He helps GAO strategically plan for the future, lead external relations with domestic and international accountability partners, and drive agency-wide innovation and transformation. He also oversees the activities of the GAO Center for Audit Excellence and is Director of GAO’s Center for Strategic Foresight.

Stephen joined GAO in 2009. He has led efforts to develop 3 agency strategic plans, supported GAO’s bilateral and multilateral international relations with national governments and international organizations, and helped lead GAO’s first technology assessment on artificial intelligence. In recognition of his work, he has received a GAO Distinguished Service Award and a GAO Meritorious Service Award.

Prior to GAO, he advised executives on technology and business process improvement at multinational firms in London, Paris, and Brussels. He was also responsible for science and technology policy issues at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania. He earned a master’s degree in business administration with distinction from INSEAD in France.

Hodan Omaar is an analyst focusing on AI policy at ITIF’s Center for Data Innovation. Previously, she worked as a senior consultant on technology and risk management in London and as a crypto-economist in Berlin. She has an MA in economics and mathematics from the University of Edinburgh.

Marsha Blackburn is the first woman to represent Tennessee in the United States Senate. She is a member of the Armed Services Committee, the Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee, the Veterans Affairs Committee, and the Judiciary Committee, and serves as the Ranking Member on the Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security Subcommittee. In the 116th Congress, she led the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Tech Task Force, a roundtable-style working group dedicated to the examination of technology’s influence on American culture.

Bio will appear here soon.

Lourdes M. Turrecha is a privacy, cybersecurity, and data protection strategist, lawyer, and leader, with 10+ years of combined experience in the areas of privacy, law, security, policy, and compliance. Turrecha also founded The Rise of Privacy Tech, an initiative with a mission to fuel privacy innovation by bringing together privacy tech founders, investors, and advisors to bridge the existing tech-capital-expertise gaps in privacy innovation. She is a Privacy Tech Advisor and Investor. She advises privacy tech startups on their privacy strategy, covering product design and market positioning in the nascent privacy tech landscape. She also helps investors develop their privacy tech theses.

Lourdes is Privacy Tech & Law Fellow and Adjunct Professor of Privacy Law at Santa Clara University School of Law’s leading privacy program, where she developed and teaches an experiential course on Privacy & Technology. She is also an Innovators Network Foundation (INF) Privacy Fellow.

Darren Shou is the Head of Technology for NortonLifeLock. In this role, Darren is responsible for technology strategy, innovation and thought leadership. He is a global keynote speaker, a contributor at WIRED, and has been featured in Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, CNN and other major media outlets.

Prior to NortonLifelock, Shou held several leadership positions at Symantec in strategy, research and development over 15 years, resulting in numerous innovations across all business areas that collectively impacted hundreds of millions of customers. Shou had previously worked at Microsoft.Mr. Shou holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering & Computer Science from the University of Southern California. He currently serves as a board observer of Valimail and CyberCube.

Christine Bannan is policy counsel at New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute in Washington, DC. where she works on platform accountability and privacy issues. She advocates for policies at the federal and state level to promote an Internet that is open and free, working to ensure that every community has equitable access to digital technology and its benefits. Before her work at the Open Technology Institute, she was consumer protection counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), where she advocated for stronger privacy regulations before the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Election Commission, and other government agencies. Her prior work experiences include the Electronic Frontier Foundation, U.S. Copyright Office, and the Wikimedia Foundation. She is an Internet Law and Policy Foundry Fellow and a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US). Bannan earned her J.D. from Notre Dame Law School and B.A. in Classics from the College of the Holy Cross.

Alex leads Tech Lab’s privacy, accountability, and addressability initiatives. Before Tech Lab, Alex was a product management leader at Xandr, directly responsible for its privacy and creative product and engineering plans, execution and go to market. During his 7 years at AppNexus (now Xandr) Alex gained a deep understanding of the ad tech industry working globally on a diverse portfolio including a video DSP, publisher ad server and advanced ad quality policy and enforcement products. Alex holds a master’s degree in International Relations focused on European Union Policy Studies, and before AppNexus worked in government and not for profit roles. Alex draws on his unique experience as a tech leader with international policy chops to advance technical standards to enable the digital advertising ecosystem to sustainably navigate the major privacy and identity disruption it faces today.

Katie McInnis serves as  US Public Policy Manager US for the Internet privacy company DuckDuckGo. Prior to this role, Katie worked for Consumer Reports, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Center for Democracy & Technology. Katie holds a JD from Georgetown University Law Center and a BA from Bard College.

Jonathan Litchman is a national security veteran with experience as an intelligence officer and as a staff member on the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was also a senior executive at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) where he led efforts in software product development and consulted on information operations and strategic planning. He most recently led Edelman Public Relations’ Washington, D.C. cybersecurity policy and national security practice.

Congressman Gus M. Bilirakis is a Republican from Palm Harbor, representing Florida’s 12th Congressional District, which includes all of Pasco and northern parts of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. He was first elected to Congress on November 7, 2006. Gus serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee.  He is the Ranking Member of the Consumer Protection & Commerce Subcommittee and a Member of the Health Subcommittee and Communications and Technology Subcommittee.  With 39 bills he authored signed into law since 2015, Congressman Bilirakis was recently designated as the Most Effective Republican Lawmaker in the State of Florida by the Center for Effective Lawmaking at Vanderbilt University.

Working in a bipartisan manner, his main priorities include controlling government spending, creating jobs for middle class Americans, finding ways for government to operate smaller and smarter, and lowering taxes. He is also committed to strengthening homeland security, improving education, increasing access to quality health care, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, protecting Veterans’ benefits, ensuring the long-term viability of Social Security and Medicare, and improving emergency preparedness and response.