TPS @ CES 2011
Entertainment, business and technology innovators from around the world converge in Las Vegas every January for the annual International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), making it the place to be to preview the latest technologies and trends.
For the second time, Tech Policy Summit teamed up with the Consumer Electronics Association to host a series of in-depth sessions at the 2011 International CES, January 6-9, 2011.
Tech Policy Summit @ CES featured leading speakers from government, industry and the nonprofit community who are involved in shaping the future of telecom and tech policy.
Speaker Biographies
MARTIN ATKINS, Tour:Smart
Martin Atkins is the definition of entrepreneurial activity in cultural arts endeavors -- his 30+ years in the music business spans across genres and borders and industries. He was a member of Public Image Ltd and Killing Joke. He founded industrial supergroup Pigface, The Damage Manual, and Murder Inc., and has contributed to Nine Inch Nails and Ministry.
Martin is the owner of Invisible Records and Mattress Factory Recording Studios. He is the author of Tour:Smart, a syndicated blogger, and teaches at Madison Media Institute. Martin is also a producer, drummer, documentary film maker, DJ, and father of four. Whatever the future of music is, you can pretty much bet that he'll be in the middle of it
COMMISSIONER MEREDITH ATWELL BAKER, FCC
Meredith Attwell Baker was nominated by President Barack Obama as a member of the Federal Communications Commission on June 25, 2009, and sworn in on July 31, 2009.
Ms. Baker most recently served as Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Acting Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Ms. Baker was named Deputy Assistant Secretary in February 2007 and first joined NTIA as a Senior Advisor in January 2004. She also served as Acting Associate Administrator for the Office of International Affairs and on detail to the White House, Office of Science and Technology Policy. At NTIA, Ms. Baker advised and represented the Executive Branch on both domestic and international telecommunications and information policy activities. .
Before joining NTIA, Ms. Baker was vice president at the firm of Williams Mullen Strategies where she focused on telecommunications, intellectual property and international trade issues. Earlier, she held the position as senior counsel to Covad Communications from 2000 to 2002, and director of congressional affairs at the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) from 1998 to 2000. Ms. Baker worked at the U.S. Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit in Houston and later at the law firm of DeLange and Hudspeth, L.L.P. From 1990 to 1992, she worked in the Legislative Affairs Office of the U.S. Department of State in Washington.
Ms. Baker earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington & Lee University in 1990 and a law degree from the University of Houston in 1994. She is a member of the Texas State Bar.
REP. MARSHA BLACKBURN, U.S. House of Representatives
Congressman Blackburn began her elected service career in 1998 as a Tennessee State Senator. While serving in the Tennessee Senate, Blackburn led a statewide grassroots campaign to defeat a proposed state income tax. She earned the reputation as a champion of anti-tax and government reform issues, frequently appearing on local talk radio and even earning the attention of national publications like the Wall Street Journal and conservative groups such as Americans for Tax Reform.
Blackburn was first elected to represent Tennessee's 7th Congressional District in 2002. She has served on the majority and minority whip teams since her election in 2002, and holds a seat on the vital Energy and Commerce Committee which has jurisdiction over health care, energy regulation and telecommunications issues. In 2006, the Independent Electrical Contractors recognized her as their Lawmaker of the Year.
She is a graduate of Mississippi State University.
REP. RICK BOUCHER
Congressman Rick Boucher served fourteen terms term in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Virginia's Ninth Congressional District. As a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Boucher served on two subcommittees: Communications, Technology and the Internet, of which he was the Chairman, as well as Energy and Environment. He also sat on the House Judiciary Committee, serving on the Courts and Competition Policy Subcommittee.
He originated the House Internet Caucus in 1996 and served as one of two House co-chairman of the more than 180 member group. In that position, he was a leading architect of federal policy for Information Technology and the Internet. In 1992, he authored the law that allowed the first commercial traffic on the Internet. His proposals to promote competition in the cable and local telephone industries are at the core of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Congressman Boucher earned his bachelor's degree from Roanoke College and his law degree from the University of Virginia Law School. He has practiced law on Wall Street in New York and in Virginia. Prior to his election to Congress, he served for seven years as a member of the Virginia State Senate.
PAULA BOYD, Microsoft
Paula Boyd is currently regulatory counsel to Microsoft Corporation, where she advocates Microsoft's positions on spectrum, media, and broadband issues before the FCC, Congress and the Administration. Among many other issues, she has worked on IP/VOIP services issues, broadband issues, network management issues, media issues, and she worked successfully to conclude the white spaces proceeding. She joined Microsoft in December of 2002.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Paula was senior counsel to the Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications where she worked from May 1997 to December 2002. There she advised Democratic members and their staff on communications issues and worked to advance their legislative and policy objectives. Specifically, she handled issues concerning broadband deployment, spectrum management, digital television transition, and competition in the local telecommunications marketplace.
Paula joined the Office of the General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission in February of 1994 where she reviewed draft NPRMs and orders involving, broadcast issues and worked on issues involving tax certificates and preferences for designated entities in PCS. In September of 1994, Paula began working with the International Bureau on satellite policy issues.
In September of 1992, Paula began her legal career at the law firm of Verner, Liipfert, McPherson and Hand. There, she researched litigation, contract, transportation, and communications issues and drafted legal documents.
She graduated from Harvard-Radcliffe College cum laude with a bachelor's degree in sociology in 1988 and received her juris doctorate from Harvard Law School in 1992.
FRED CARTER, Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
Fred Carter serves the Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC), Dr. Ann Cavoukian, in a variety of demanding roles as senior policy and technology advisor. His primary responsibilities involve providing strategic research and advisory services to the IPC Commissioners, management and staff on a wide range of technology and privacy policy issues.
Fred contributed to recent IPC publications on privacy by design, identity theft, identity management, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), biometric encryption, cloud computing, and the impacts of Web 2.0 technologies and services on public and private sectors. Prior to joining the IPC, he worked in similar policy capacities for the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Zero-Knowledge Systems and the Standards Council of Canada.
JIM CICCONI, AT&T
Jim Cicconi, senior executive vice president-external and legislative affairs, is responsible for AT&T's public policy organization, and is chair of the AT&T Foundation. He has served in this capacity since November 2005, following the close of the merger between SBC Communications and AT&T Corp.
Previously, Jim served as general counsel and executive vice president for law and government affairs at AT&T Corp. Prior to joining AT&T in September 1998, he was a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, L.L.P. He also served in the White House under two presidents, including two years as deputy chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush, and four years as a special assistant to President Ronald Reagan and to White House Chief of Staff James A. Baker, III.
He currently serves as a director of El Paso Electric Company, the American Council on Germany, Jobs for America's Graduates, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; is a member of the USTelecom Association executive committee, the University of Texas at Austin Development Board and the LBJ School of Public Affairs advisory council; he is an honorary trustee of The Brookings Institution, and is vice president of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation. He recently served as chairman of the finance committee for the commissioning of USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH (CVN 77).
He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1974 and a doctor of jurisprudence degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1977. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the State Bar of Texas.
LYNN CLAUDY, National Association of Broadcasters
Lynn Claudy is senior vice president of science and technology for the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). As head of the science and technology department, he is responsible for representation of NAB in all radio and television technical matters. Lynn joined NAB in 1988 as a staff engineer and held positions of director of advanced engineering and technology and vice president before assuming his present position in 1995.
Prior to joining NAB, Lynn was employed by Hoppmann Corporation, a communications systems integration firm for corporate and government clients where he held a variety of technical and management positions. He was also an adjunct professor in the physics department at American University where he taught courses in acoustics and audio technology. Previous to that, he was a development engineer at Shure Brothers Inc., a manufacturer of professional and consumer audio equipment.
He has a bachelor's degree in music from Oberlin College, a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, and a master's degree in electrical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He is currently an appointed member of the FCC's Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC), the FCC Technological Advisory Council and serves as vice chairman of the board of directors of the Advanced Television Systems Committee.
COMMISSIONER MIGNON CLYBURN, FCC
Mignon Clyburn was nominated as a member of the Federal Communications Commission on June 25, 2009, and sworn in August 3, 2009. Her term runs until June 30, 2012. Commissioner Clyburn has a long history of public service and dedication to the public interest. Prior to her swearing in as Commissioner, Ms. Clyburn served for 11 years as the representative of South Carolina's sixth district on the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSC).
During her tenure at the PSC, Commissioner Clyburn actively participated in numerous national and regional state-based utility organizations. Most recently, Ms. Clyburn served as the chair of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' (NARUC) Washington Action Committee and as a member of both the association's Audit Committee and Utilities Market Access Partnership Board. Commissioner Clyburn is also a former chair of the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (SEARUC).
Commissioner Clyburn was elected to the South Carolina PSC following 14 years as the publisher and general manager of The Coastal Times, a Charleston-based weekly newspaper that focused primarily on issues affecting the African American community. She owned and operated the family-founded newspaper following her graduation from the University of South Carolina, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Banking, Finance & Economics.
Commissioner Clyburn has received a number of honors and awards, including being selected as the 2006 James C. Bonbright Honoree (awarded by the Southeastern Energy Conference, Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia) and receiving the 2007 Lincoln C. Jenkins Award for business and community contributions presented by the Columbia (SC) Urban League.
TED COHEN, TAG Strategic
Integrating his widespread digital authority in music, mobile, IPTV and product & service development, Ted Cohen is the managing partner of TAG Strategic.
In an industry that's been slow to embrace change, Ted is the exception to the stereotypical music-exec rule. Of course, when you start a career on the road with Alice Cooper and Van Halen, you're more primed for the unexpected. Known throughout the technology and music industries as being "part ambassador and part evangelist," Ted was instrumental in crafting the licensing agreements upon which the Rhapsody subscription service and the iTunes Music Store were built.
In his previous role as senior vice president of digital development and distribution for EMI Music (home of artists including Coldplay and the Rolling Stones), Ted led next-generation digital business development worldwide for this "big four" record company, which includes labels such as Capitol, Virgin, Angel/Blue Note, Parlophone and Chrysalis. During that time, EMI led the industry by embracing and exploiting new technologies and business models such as digital downloads and online music subscriptions, custom compilations, wireless services, high-definition audio and Internet radio.
Prior to his role at EMI, Ted served as executive vice president of Digital Music Network Inc., where he co-founded and served as chairman of the groundbreaking Webnoize conferences. He also led two highly successful new media consulting operations, DMN Consulting and Consulting Adults, attracting clients such as Amazon.com, Microsoft, Universal Studios, DreamWorks Records, Liquid Audio, Wherehouse Records/Checkout.com and various other entertainment, technology and new media organizations. Cohen also held senior management positions at both Warner Bros. Records and Philips Media.
COMMISSIONER MICHAEL COPPS, FCC
Michael J. Copps is the senior member of the Federal Communications Commission. He began his service in 2001 and was sworn in for his second term in 2005.
Commissioner Copps served from 1998 until January 2001 as assistant secretary of commerce for trade development at the U.S. Department of Commerce. In that role, he worked to improve market access and market share for nearly every sector of American industry, including information technologies and telecommunications. He devoted much of his time to building private sector-public sector partnerships to enhance our nation's success in the global economy. From 1993 to 1998, he served as deputy assistant secretary for basic industries, a component of the trade development unit.
Commissioner Copps moved to Washington in 1970 to join the staff of Senator Fritz Hollings (D-SC) and served for over a dozen years as administrative assistant and chief of staff. From 1985 to 1989, he served as director of government affairs for a Fortune 500 company. From 1989 to 1993, he was senior vice president for legislative affairs at a major national trade association.
A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he received a bachelor's degree from Wofford College and earned a doctorate degree in United States history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He taught U.S. history at Loyola University of the South from 1967 to 1970.
WAYNE CREWS, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Wayne Crews is vice president for policy and director of technology studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and a former Cato Institute scholar. He is widely published and has testified before numerous Congressional committees.
Wayne's work explores the impact of government regulation on individual liberty and innovation. His areas of interest include antitrust, environmental policy, and information age concerns such as electronic privacy, cybersecurity, telecommunications, intellectual property, and frontier science.
Wayne is the author of the popular annual report Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State and co-author of the book "What's Yours Is Mine: Open Access and the Rise of Infrastructure Socialism." He has published in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, and Communications Lawyer. He has appeared on Fox News, CNN, ABC, CNBC and PBS, and his reform ideas have been featured prominently in such publications as The Washington Post, Forbes and Investor's Business Daily.
Wayne previously served as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Phil Gramm, as an economist and policy analyst at Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation, and as an economist at the Food and Drug Administration. He holds an MBA from the College of William & Mary and a bachelor's degree from Lander College.
MARC DAVIS, Microsoft
Marc Davis joined Microsoft as partner architect in the online services division in August 2010. With a twenty year career of technology research and development spanning the MIT Media Lab, Interval Research, UC Berkeley, Yahoo!, Invention Arts and Microsoft, Marc has done pioneering work in context-aware computing, computer vision, mobile media metadata, social media, mobile and social advertising, and personal data technologies and applications. He has transformed his ideas into over 150 patent applications, as well as numerous research prototypes, products, and publications.
Before serving as chief scientist at Invention Arts, Marc was chief scientist and vice president of Early Stage Products (ESP) for Yahoo! Mobile where he worked on innovative products and platforms such as Social Pulse, the Yahoo! Open Strategy (Y!OS), and the vision demo for the future of Yahoo! shown at CES 2008. Marc was the founding director of Yahoo! Research Berkeley, which developed context-aware mobile photo upload, tagging, and browsing software, and TagMaps, a collective map of human attention created by analyzing millions of geocoded Flickr photos.
Marc served as an assistant professor at the UC Berkeley School of Information where he co-founded the UC Berkley Center for New Media and directed Garage Cinema Research, where he lead a multi-year Mobile Media Metadata research project that pioneered context-aware mobile media uploading, tagging, and sharing as well as context-aware face recognition.
STEVE DULAC, DIRECTV
Steve Dulac is the director of engineering for DIRECTV, Inc. Steve has been with DIRECTV since 1997 in system engineering roles supporting service launches including HDTV, local channel rebroadcasts, DVR, interactive services and home networking.
As director, standards and regulatory in DIRECTV's engineering organization, Steve is responsible for DIRECTV's participation in ENERGY STAR programs. A senior member of IEEE, he is also currently active representing DIRECTV in the Consumer Electronics Association, the Digital Living Network Alliance and the RVU Alliance.
Steve holds ten patents, and he received bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from UCLA.
MIKE FEAZEL, Warren Communications News (Moderator)
Mike Feazel is executive editor of Warren Communications News, the publisher of Communications Daily, Consumer Electronics Daily, Warren's Washington Internet Daily and Green Electronics Daily. Mike planned and launched 10 new publications for Warren Communications News, leading the company's significant expansion into new markets.
Mike has won journalism awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Press Club and is a member of the founding class of the Academy of Digital Television Pioneers. He is the editor and/or author of several special reports on subjects such as HDTV, telco-cable convergence, cable modems and satellites and has been a contributor to such publications as Emmy magazine, Washington Post Magazine, Grolier's Encyclopedia and Asia-Pacific Broadcasting.
Mike is a journalism graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia.
BRAD FELD, Foundry Group
Brad Feld has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur for over twenty years. Prior to co-founding Foundry Group, he co-founded Mobius Venture Capital and, prior to that, founded Intensity Ventures, a company that helped launch and operate software companies. Brad is also a co-founder of TechStars.
Brad currently serves on the board of directors of BigDoor Media, Fitbit, Gist, Gnip, Oblong, Orbotix, Standing Cloud, and Zynga for Foundry Group. Previously, Brad served as chief technology officer of AmeriData Technologies. AmeriData acquired Feld Technologies, a firm he founded in 1987 that specialized in custom software applications. Brad had grown Feld Technologies into one of Boston's leading software consulting firms prior to the acquisition.
In addition to his investing efforts, he has been active with several non-profit organizations and currently is chairman of the National Center for Women & Information Technology.
Brad holds a bachelor's and master's degree in management science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also an avid art collector and long-distance runner. He has completed fifteen marathons as part of his mission to run a marathon in each of the fifty states.
NEIL FRIED, U.S. House of Representatives
Energy and Commerce Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. He handles television, radio, telecommunications, spectrum and Internet issues for Rep. Fred Upton, chairman of the committee.
Among other things, Neil was involved in the enactment of the 2005 digital television transition legislation and congressional oversight of the 2009 transition date. Before joining the committee in August 2003, he spent three years in private practice, where he specialized in television and telecommunications issues. Prior to his work in the private sector, he served four years with the Federal Communications Commission as an attorney in what is now the Wireline Competition Bureau. There, he helped implement the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
He has an undergraduate degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and earned his law degree from the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri.
CHAIRMAN JULIUS GENACHOWSKI, FCC
Julius Genachowski was nominated by President Barack Obama as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission on March 3, 2009, and sworn into office on June 29, 2009.
Chairman Genachowski has two decades of experience in public service and the private sector. Prior to his appointment, he spent more than 10 years working in the technology industry as an executive and entrepreneur. He co-founded LaunchBox Digital and Rock Creek Ventures, where he served as managing director, and he was a special advisor at General Atlantic. In these capacities, he worked to start, accelerate, and invest in early- and mid-stage technology and other companies. From 1997-2005, he was a senior executive at IAC/InterActiveCorp, a Fortune 500 company, where his positions included chief of business operations and general counsel.
Genachowski's public service spanned broadly across government. His confirmation as FCC Chairman returns him to the agency where, from 1994 until 1997, he served as chief counsel to FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, and, before that, as special counsel to then-FCC General Counsel (later chairman) William Kennard. Previously, he was a law clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice David Souter and Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. (ret.), and at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit for Chief Judge Abner Mikva. Genachowski also worked in Congress for then-U.S. Representative (now Senator) Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), and on the staff of the House select committee investigating the Iran-Contra Affair.
Genachowski received a law degree from Harvard Law School (magna cum laude), where he was co-notes editor of the Harvard Law Review. He received a bachelor's degree from Columbia College (magna cum laude), where he was editor of Columbia Spectator's Broadway Magazine, re-established Columbia's oldest newspaper (Acta Columbiana), and was a writer and researcher for Fred Friendly.
JOHN GODFREY, Samsung Information Systems America
John Godfrey is vice president of government and public affairs for Samsung Information Systems America, a U.S. subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea. He directs Samsung's Washington, D.C., activities related to consumer electronics and represents Samsung in external relations with government and industry, focusing on digital television, broadband, content protection, environment, wireless spectrum and other areas.
An active participant in the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), John is vice chair of CEA's Division Executive Board and is a member of CEA's Executive Board and Video Division Board. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Advanced Television Systems Committee, the standards developing organization for digital television broadcasting in the United States.
Prior to joining Samsung, he was vice president of government affairs with Pioneer North America, representing Pioneer in Washington; and previously, he was director of government affairs for Sony Electronics, also in Washington. Earlier, he was with the Information Technology Industry Council, a trade association of leading information technology companies; the National Research Council, the policy research arm of the National Academies of Science and Engineering; and SRI International.
John has a master's degree in telecommunications from George Washington University, a master's degree in East Asian studies from Stanford University, and a bachelor's degree in government from the University of Texas.
REBECCA HANSON, FCC
Rebecca Hanson joined the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last year as spectrum director for the National Broadband Plan, and now serves as senior advisor for broadcast spectrum in the FCC's Media Bureau, where she is part of the team implementing the FCC's recommendations on spectrum incentive auctions, television channel-sharing and other initiatives intended to increase spectrum efficiently and availability in the coming years.
Prior to joining the FCC, Rebecca was vice president of strategic initiatives for Sprint, responsible for the 4G business unit in its merger with Clearwire, including managing the integration of Sprint and Clearwire business operations. Prior to Sprint, she was senior vice president of business development at XM Satellite Radio, where she was responsible for XM's programming, distribution, digital rights, technology and other strategic partnerships.
Prior to becoming a telecom/media executive, Rebecca was an attorney at the law firm of Shaw Pittman, specializing in new media technology transactions, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and commercial finance.
KIM HART, Politico (Moderator)
Kim Hart is a reporter for Politico. She previously covered technology policy for The Hill and technology as a reporter and columnist for The Washington Post.
Kim has has journalism degrees from the University of Florida and the University of Maryland and has written for the Baltimore Sun, American Journalism Review and several newspapers in her home state of Florida.
JON HEALEY, The Los Angeles Times (Moderator)
Jon Healey is a member of the editorial board at the Los Angeles Times, which means he is one of a nameless, faceless group writing screeds that, technically speaking, reflect the views of the publisher (whoever that happens to be at the time).
His main contributions to the editorial page are pieces about intellectual property, technology, the economy, regulation, and general business issues. He also created the Bit Player blog in 2006 as a way to write more about the collision of entertainment and technology. Bit Player is now part of the Times' Technology blog, http://www.latimes.com/technology.
Prior to joining the board, Jon spent five years as a business reporter at the Times covering the entertainment-technology convergence. As a result, he spent the bulk of his time writing about lawsuits. Other career stops include stints at the San Jose Mercury News, Congressional Quarterly and the Winston-Salem Journal.
MARCIA HOFMANN, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Marcia Hofmann is a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), where she focuses on computer crime and security, electronic privacy, free speech, and other digital civil liberties issues. She is also a non-residential fellow at Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society.
Marcia co-founded EFF's FOIA Litigation For Accountable Government Project in 2006. Documents made public though her open government work have been reported by the New York Times, Washington Post, National Public Radio, Fox News, and CNN, among others.
Prior to joining EFF, Marcia was staff counsel and director of the Open Government Project at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). She is a graduate of the University of Dayton School of Law and Mount Holyoke College.
MICHAEL HUPPE, SoundExchange
As executive vice president and general counsel, Michael Huppe is responsible for overseeing all legal, regulatory and political strategy for SoundExchange. In recent years, he has directed SoundExchange's approach to rate-setting proceedings and a series of business-positive agreements with industry services.
Previously, Mike was senior vice president for business & legal affairs and deputy general counsel with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) where he was involved in protecting the rights of the RIAA's member recording labels and their artists, in both digital and physical media. He also assisted with legislative and international issues facing the recording industry, including work with federal agencies, as well as state attorneys general.
He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia, and his law degree from Harvard Law School. He clerked for The Hon. Leonie M. Brinkema in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and later was a litigation attorney at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P.
CECILIA KANG, The Washington Post (Moderator)
Cecilia Kang is a technology reporter for The Washington Post, focusing on technology policy at the intersection of government, business and innovation. She's been on the beat for The Post for over four years and writes for the paper and her blog, Post Tech.
She began her journalism career covering Wall Street and South Korean politics and economics for Dow Jones Newswires. Then she wrote about the dot-com boom and bust for The San Jose Mercury News.
KATHARINE KAPLAN, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Katharine Kaplan leads the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) team that develops ENERGY STAR product specifications and ensures specifications keep up with energy-efficient technologies.
Prior to joining ENERGY STAR, Katharine was the lead for the EPA's Plug-In To eCycling program. Also while at EPA, Katharine negotiated settlements with companies that disposed of waste at the largest hazardous waste landfill in California. Before joining the EPA 15 years ago, she worked for international management consulting firm Booz, Allen & Hamilton.
Katharine holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in public administration.
CHRIS KELLY, Kelly Investments
Chris Kelly is the founder of Kelly Investments. He was a Democratic candidate for California Attorney General in 2010 and he previously served as the chief privacy officer and head of global public policy at Facebook, guiding Facebook's efforts to make the Internet a safer and more trusted place.
Prior to joining Facebook, Chris served as chief privacy officer at three other Internet companies: Spoke Software, Excite@Home and Kendara. As an attorney in private practice at Baker & McKenzie and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, he advised major Internet and media clients on the increasing challenges of intellectual property and privacy protection for the digital age. In the public sector, he served as an education advisor in the Clinton Administration.
He holds a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University, a master's degree in political science from Yale University and a law degree from Harvard Law School, where he was editor in chief of the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology and part of the founding team for the Berkman Center for Internet and Society.
ED LAZARUS, FCC
Ed Lazarus is the chief of staff for Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Julius Genachowski. Ed comes to the FCC from Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, where he was co-head of the firm-wide global litigation practice and a member of the firm's management committee, overseeing more than 800 lawyers.
Ed is a former prosecutor, having served as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, and started his legal career as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun. He has also served as the chairman of the board of AbilityFirst, a provider of housing and vocational services to people with disabilities, and the Children's Law Center of Los Angeles, a nonprofit legal services organization that represents roughly 25,000 dependent youth in Southern California.
SEC. GARY LOCKE, Department of Commerce
Gary Locke was appointed by President Obama as the 36th Secretary of Commerce and sworn into office on March 26, 2009. At the Department of Commerce, Secretary Locke is charged with helping implement President Obama's ambitious agenda to turn around the economy and put people back to work.
Prior to his appointment, Locke helped U.S. companies break into international markets as a partner in the Seattle office of the international law firm, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. There, he co-chaired the firm's China practice and was active in its governmental relations practice.
As the popular two-term governor of Washington, the nation's most trade-dependent state, Locke broke down trade barriers around the world to advance American products. As part of his considerable trade and economic development efforts, Locke launched Washington's Competitiveness Council with business, labor and civic leaders working together to effectively position Washington State for success at home and around the world.
Locke earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Yale University and a law degree from Boston University.
HUEY LONG, Sam's Club
Huey Long is senior vice president of technology services as part of the merchandising team at Sam's Club. He joined Sam's Club in June 2010.
Previously, he led the private brand and global sourcing teams at Amazon.com for the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan and China, and he led the consumer electronics retail buying operations teams.
Prior to Amazon.com Huey spent eight years as president of Premier Resources International and led efforts in the U.S., China, Korea, Mexico and Europe that specialized in international global sourcing, private brand product development, quality assurance and global logistics in the consumer electronics, automotive and the home improvement industries.
He also has experience in the telecom, wireless and sales and marketing industry as a former partner and chief operating officer at AB&T Sales, Marketing and Telecom. In addition, he spent eight years in senior buying, sourcing, and merchandise management roles at Circuit City Stores Inc. in the computer and technology categories.
LARRY MAGID, CBS News and ConnectSafely.org (Moderator)
Larry Magid is a technology journalist and an Internet safety advocate. He serves as on-air technology analyst for CBS News, is co-director of ConnectSafely.org and founder of SafeKids.com. He also writes columns that appear on CNET News, CBSNews.com and the San Jose Mercury News.
His technology reports can be heard several times a week on CBS News and CBS affiliates throughout the U.S. and he has a daily tech segment on KCBS radio in San Francisco. He's a regular contributor to BBC World Service and an occasional guest on National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation.
He is often called upon for commentary by CBS television news, CNN and Fox News and has appeared on the CBS Evening News, ABC World News Tonight, the Today Show and CBS Early Show. He has also been a frequent contributor to the New York Times and was, for 18 years, a syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times.
BETSY MASIELLO, Google
Betsy Masiello is a policy manager on Google's public policy team and is one of the internal leads for Google's privacy efforts. Prior to joining Google, she was a consultant at McKinsey & Company, where she served global telecommunications companies on new business strategies around emerging technology.
Betsy holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from Wellesley College, a MSc in economics from Oxford where she was a Rhodes Scholar, and an SM from MIT's technology and policy program.
MIKE MASNICK, Techdirt and Floor 64
Mike is the visionary behind Floor64, building up the core idea into reality and recruiting the management team. In addition to providing the strategic direction for the company, Mike oversees all editorial aspects of the Floor64's public and customer sites.
Mike's insight into the realms of business and technology are the basis for his frequent posts to the award winning Techdirt blog. The widely followed, often quoted blog was launched in 1997.
Prior to founding Floor64 Inc., Mike worked in business development and marketing at Release Software, an e-commerce startup, and in marketing at Intel. He has a bachelor's degree in industrial and labor relations and an MBA -- both from Cornell University.
COMMISSIONER ROBERT MCDOWELL, FCC
Robert McDowell was first appointed to a seat on the Federal Communications Commission by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 2006. When he was reappointed to the Commission on June 2, 2009, Commissioner McDowell became the first Republican to be appointed to an independent agency by President Barack Obama. He was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on June 25, 2009.
Commissioner McDowell brings to the FCC approximately sixteen years of private sector experience in the communications industry. Immediately prior to joining the FCC, Commissioner McDowell was senior vice president for the Competitive Telecommunications Association (CompTel), an association representing competitive facilities-based telecommunications service providers and their supplier partners.
Prior to joining CompTel in February 1999, McDowell served as the executive vice president and general counsel of America's Carriers Telecommunications Association (ACTA), which merged with CompTel at that time.
McDowell was graduated cum laude from Duke University in 1985. After serving as chief legislative aide to a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, he attended the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary. Upon his graduation from law school, McDowell joined the Washington, D.C., office of the national law firm of Arter & Hadden.
McDowell is admitted to practice law before the courts of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia, First, Fourth and Fifth Circuits and the U.S. Supreme Court.
LESA MITCHELL, Kauffman Foundation
Lesa Mitchell is a vice president with the Kauffman Foundation. She has been responsible for the Foundation's frontier work in understanding the policy levers that influence the advancement of innovation from universities into the commercial market and the new relationships between disease philanthropy and for profit companies.
Under her leadership, the Foundation is defining and codifying alternative commercialization pathways, and identifying new models to foster innovation. Lesa was instrumental in the founding of the Kauffman Innovation Network/ iBridge Network, the Translational Medicine Alliance, the National Academies-based University-Industry Partnership and leader in the replication of innovator-based mentor programs across the U.S. In addition, she serves on the boards of Gazelle Growth in Denmark, the University of Kansas Institute for Commercialization and is an advisor to the Institute for Pediatric Innovation.
Prior to joining Kauffman, Lesa spent twenty years of her career in global executive roles at Aventis, Quintiles, and Marion Laboratories and ran an electronic clinical trials consulting business in support of global pharmaceutical clients.
SAMANTHA MURPHY
Google singer songwriter and the first name you'll find is Samantha Murphy. Samantha's independently released debut CD somewhere between starving & stardom was voted a top 10 for Village Voice's Annual Pazz & Jop Poll by Michael Ross, who calls it "...a perfect pop record." The album contains an all-star band consisting of the rhythm section from Alanis
Morissette's multi-platinum debut Jagged Little Pill and Kanye West's Cellist.
Performing professionally since she was six years old, Samantha has worked with Willie Nelson, Michael McDonald, Five for Fighting, and Kylie Minogue as well as having appeared on TV shows like The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
For over five years, Samantha has been establishing herself as not only a singer songwriter, but also the place to go to hear other great singer songwriters. With her popular show The Highway Girl, Samantha features a different artist from a different city and venue each week as she tours. Past guests include Juliette Lewis, Aimee Mann, Martha Wainwright, Elvis
Perkins, Imelda May, Teitur, Inara George and Juliana Hatfield. The program has been downloaded millions of times and can now be viewed on your TV via the Roku Box.
Samantha's latest single is a cover of Johnny Cash's hit "Ring of Fire", co-produced with Grammy Winner Ray Kennedy. The cover version is the first release from Samantha's forthcoming music collection Some Assembly Required, due early 2011.
MATT OSTROWER, Pandora
As senior manager of artist development, Matt Ostrower is instrumental in driving Pandora's success across multiple elements of ad sales marketing and strategy. With his unique expertise combining new media and a deep knowledge of the music industry, Matt is highly skilled in creating and managing effective campaigns, which ultimately connect artists and brands.
By building and leveraging strategic partnerships with artists, record labels and management, he develops innovative advertising solutions that increase engagement, generate exposure and enhance the user experience. Previously, Matt worked in marketing for WBUR, Boston.com and with Creative Image Associates who represented Stevie Wonder, Harry Connick Jr. and Train.
SEN. ALEX PADILLA, California State Senate
On December 6th, 2010, Alex Padilla was sworn in to serve a second four-year term in the California Senate. For his first two years, Senator Padilla served on the powerful Senate Rules Committee which confirms gubernatorial appointments and refers all bills in the Senate. In December 2008, Senator Padilla was named chair of the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee.
In addition to chairing the Energy Committee, Senator Padilla serves on the Budget and Fiscal Review Committee; the Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on Revenues and the Economy; the Banking, Finance and Insurance Committee; the Natural Resources and Water Committee; the Revenue and Taxation Committee; and the Government Organization Committee. He also Chairs the Select Committee on Obesity & Diabetes and the Select Committee on College and University Admissions and Outreach.
Born to immigrant parents from Mexico, he was raised in the San Fernando Valley community of Pacoima where he excelled in local public schools. His hard work paid off when he was accepted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering.
After a stint working for Hughes Aircraft and after completing a post-graduate program in public policy with the CORO Foundation, he went to work for U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and later, then-Assembly member Tony Cardenas. He was first elected to public office in 1999, when at the age of 26 he ran for Los Angeles City Council. Just two years later, in July of 2001, his council colleagues elected him council president.
As a member of the Senate, he proudly represents more than 850,000 residents of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. He continues to live in the community of Pacoima.
ROB PEGORARO, The Washington Post (Moderator)
Rob Pegoraro writes the Fast Forward column, a weekly look at computers, the Internet and consumer electronics, and the Help File Q&A feature for The Washington Post. Online, he writes the Faster Forward blog, hosts Web chats and holds forth on Twitter.
Rob has been with the Post since 1993, in which time he has sorted mail and answered phones, written for many other sections (so far, National, Metro, Style, Sports, Health, Food, Home, Weekend, Real Estate, Outlook, Sunday Arts, Sunday Source, Travel, Book World and the Magazine), and appeared on the front page all of three times.
MICHAEL PETRICONE, Consumer Electronics Association
Michael Petricone is the senior vice president of government affairs for the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). In his position, Michael has been responsible for representing the consumer electronics industry's position before Congress and the FCC on critical issues such as digital television broadband, privacy and home recording rights. CEA represents more than 2,000 U.S. manufacturers of audio, video, accessories, mobile electronics, communication, information and multimedia products that are sold through consumer channels.
Michael is a frequent speaker on policy issues impacting the consumer electronics industry. He received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and his undergraduate degree from Tufts University.
CASEY RAE-HUNTER, Future of Music Coalition
Casey Rae-Hunter is a musician, recording engineer, music journalist and public policy wonk. He attended university for jazz guitar at 16, but spent most of the 1990s toiling in the indie music trenches, fronting and/or playing guitar for a list of bands too long to mention. He made the transition to studio hermit around 2000. Since then, he has mixed and mastered numerous releases in genres ranging from bluegrass to hip-hop.
As a music journalist and critic, Casey has profiled some of the leading figures in both underground and mainstream music, including Antony & the Johnsons, Mike Watt, The Books, Lindsey Buckingham, Animal Collective, Jolie Holland and Built to Spill. Casey routinely works alongside leaders in the music, arts and performance sectors to bolster understanding of and engagement in key policy and technology issues, and has written dozens of articles on the impact of technology on the creative community.
He serves on the Board of Directors of the Media & Democracy Coalition. He currently records and publishes under the moniker The Contrarian.
REY RAMSEY, TechNet
Rey Ramsey is president and chief executive officer of TechNet, which represents a bipartisan political network of CEOs and senior executives of leading U.S. technology companies.
Rey was previously CEO of One Economy Corporation, a nonprofit organization that leverages the power of technology and information to connect low-income people to the economic mainstream by bringing broadband into their homes, producing public-purpose media, and training and employing youth to enhance communities' technological capacity. He led the organization's growth from four employees working in basement to a global organization that has taken root on four continents.
Rey has spent years creating innovative partnerships between nonprofits, government and the private sector. He is the author, with Ben Hecht, of the book "ManagingNonprofits.org: Dynamic Management for the Digital Age." Prior to the founding of One Economy, he served as president and chief operating officer of the Enterprise Foundation. Before joining Enterprise, he served in the cabinets of two governors of Oregon as the state's director of housing and community services and practiced law.
He holds a bachelors degree in political science from Rutgers University and is a graduate of the University of Virginia Law School.
LEO RAUDYS, Best Buy
Leo Raudys is the senior director of environmental sustainability for Best Buy Co., Inc. In this capacity, he oversees the company's recycling and waste management efforts, carbon footprint and energy management and green business development. Leo has been instrumental in positioning Best Buy as a leading advocate of energy efficiency solutions for customers and the responsible recycling of electronic waste.
Prior to joining Best Buy in March 2009, he spent 18 years as an environmental professional working in a variety of positions for the State of Minnesota, including serving as the deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. During that time, he held numerous leadership roles in the areas of risk assessment, policy development, enforcement and intergovernmental relations. He also served on the boards of the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators, and the Midwest Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Commission.
Leo is active throughout the industry and community with his involvement in various organizations, such as AchieveMPLS, the private fundraising arm of the Minneapolis Public School System, in which he serves on the board of directors. Additionally, he serves on the steering committee of the University of Minnesota's North Star Initiative for Sustainable Enterprise.
He received his bachelor's degree in biology and psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and his master's degree in ecology from the University of Minnesota.
LYNN RUBINSTEIN, Northeast Recycling Council
Lynn Rubinstein has been the executive director of the Northeast Recycling Council for eleven years. During that time, she co-facilitated the development of model end-of-life electronic waste recycling legislation, was a stakeholder in the National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative and Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool discussions, and was the project lead on several electronics recycling and management projects.
She is the program manager for the State Electronics Challenge, a national program working with the public sector to decrease the environmental footprint of computer equipment. Most recently, she co-founded the Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse in partnership with the National Center for Electronics Recycling.
CHRIS SAUNDERS, Lexmark
Chris Saunders is product energy programs manager in the sustainability group at Lexmark International. In this role, he oversees Lexmark's participation in the US EPA's ENERGY STAR Program as well as coordination of compliance with worldwide product energy regulations and the energy requirements of Eco Labels. He is responsible for product power consumption testing, reporting and compliance of Lexmark Products as well as advising marketing, sales and development teams on future voluntary and mandatory energy requirements.
Chris has been overseeing Lexmark's participation in the ENERGY STAR program since 2001. In addition to working on product energy certifications, he lead Lexmark's acoustics and vibrations lab for 10 years, focusing on product noise testing and certification as well as low noise design of products. He has been with Lexmark 12 years.
He holds a master's degree and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech.
GARY SHAPIRO, Consumer Electronics Association
Gary Shapiro is president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the U.S. trade association representing some 2,000 consumer electronics companies and owning and producing the world's largest tradeshow for consumer technology, the International CES.
Gary is an active leader in the development, launch and marketing of HDTV. He has testified before Congress on HDTV and other technology and business issues more than 20 times. He co-founded and chaired the HDTV Model Station and has served as a leader of the Advanced Television Test Center (ATTC). He is a charter inductee to the Academy of Digital Television Pioneers, and in 2003 received its highest award as the industry leader most influential in advancing HDTV.
As chairman of the Home Recording Rights Coalition (HRRC), Gary has led the manufacturers' legal and legislative battle to preserve the legality of recording technology and the consumer battle to protect fair use rights. He has held many exhibition industry leadership posts, and in 2002, received the exhibition industry's highest honor, the IAEM Pinnacle Award.
He is a member of the board of directors of the Northern Virginia Technology Council. He also served on the Board of Visitors of George Mason University, and as a member of the Commonwealth of Virginia's Commission on Information Technology. He has also been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a "mastermind" for his initiative in helping to create the Industry Cooperative for Ozone Layer Protection (ICOLP).
Prior to joining the association, Gary was an associate at the law firm of Squire, Sanders and Dempsey. He also has worked on Capitol Hill, as an assistant to a member of Congress. He received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate with a double major in economics and psychology from the State University of New York, Binghamton.
MARK SHARP, Panasonic Corporation of North America
Mark Sharp is a group manager for the corporate environmental department of Panasonic Corporation of North America (PNA), based in the company's Washington, DC, office. His responsibilities include management of legislative and regulatory environmental issues, outreach to external environmental constituencies, and development of environmental marketing strategies.
He has worked extensively on energy efficiency issues through outreach and advocacy with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Energy, as well as the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission. Under Mark's direction, Panasonic received EPA recognition through ENERGY STAR awards for seven consecutive years and the Waste Wise award for three consecutive years.
Currently, Mark chairs the Environmental Policy Council of CEA and previously chaired CEA's Energy Efficiency Working Group. He also serves as chair of the Environmental Leadership Coalition of the Information Technology Industry Council.
Previously, he served in the government and public affairs office of PNA, handling a number of legislative issues as well as community outreach and liaison with key industry trade associations.
ROGER SHERMAN, U.S. House of Representatives
Roger Sherman has been chief counsel for communications and technology policy to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce since January 2009. Previously, he worked as deputy chief counsel for the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, frequently dealing with corporate oversight matters, communications regulation and technology issues.
Roger has also served as a legislative assistant to Representative Henry Waxman (1990‐1992) and Senator Alan Cranston (1988‐1990). Between his jobs on Capitol Hill, he was a director of regulatory affairs and senior attorney for a wireless telecommunications company and worked in private practice at a Washington, D.C. law firm.
He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Amherst College.
MARK SMALL, Sony Electronics
Mark Small is vice president of corporate environment, safety and health for Sony Electronics where he is responsible for Sony's environment, safety and health programs in the western hemisphere.
Mark has been with Sony Electronics for approximately 15 years and has held several positions, including director of corporate environmental affairs and manager of corporate environmental affairs. He established the corporate environmental affairs department when he came to Sony in 1992, later expanding that effort to include Sony's safety and health efforts.
Under his direction, Sony implemented resource management and product stewardship programs including its Sony Take Back Recycling program and design for the environment activities. He is an officer in Sony's global environmental management program which includes ISO 14000 certification, increased risk management and a comprehensive audit program developed around global corporate standards and goals.
Before joining Sony, Mark served as manager of environmental affairs for National Semiconductor. He has held a variety of positions related to environmental field including manager of Environment Safety at Titanium Metals, program manager at Midwest Research Institute, research assistant and technology assistant at University of Maryland and staff member at the Nuclear Reactor Division, Bureau of Standards.
He earned his bachelor's degree from the City College of New York and his doctorate degree from the University of Maryland.
DAVID SOHN, Center for Democracy and Technology
David Sohn joined the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) in 2005. He is senior policy counsel and director of CDT's Project on Intellectual Property and Technology, which seeks to promote reasonable pro-consumer approaches to copyright and related policy issues raised by the emergence of the Internet, new digital media, and digital rights management (DRM) technology.
Prior to joining CDT, David worked for nearly five years as commerce counsel for Senator Ron Wyden, where he advised the Senator on technology and telecommunications issues coming before the Senate Commerce Committee. In that capacity, he worked on legislation relating to such matters as spyware, digital copyright and online privacy, and played a major role in enactment of the first federal anti-spam law. Before joining Senator Wyden's office, he practiced law in Washington, D.C. at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, with a focus on telecommunications law and regulation.
David received his bachelor's degree from Amherst College (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and his law degree from Stanford Law School. He also received an master's degree from the London School of Economics.
TOM TAUKE, Verizon
Tom Tauke is executive vice president - public affairs, policy and communications, a position he has held since May 2004. In this role, he oversees media relations, employee communications, reputation management, philanthropy, corporate responsibility and external relations for Verizon. As the company's senior policy executive, he is responsible for the development of Verizon's public policy positions and advocacy at the local, state, federal, and international levels. He serves as a member of Verizon's Leadership Council.
Before joining NYNEX (a predecessor company of Verizon) in 1991, Tom was a member of Congress, representing Iowa's Second Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. During his congressional service from 1979 to 1991, he was a member of the Telecommunications Subcommittee. He served on the Energy and Commerce, Education and Labor, and Small Business Committees, as well as the Select Committee on Aging. He also was on the Pepper Commission on Comprehensive Health Care, the Infant Mortality Commission and the Biomedical Ethics Board. He served as a member of the Iowa General Assembly from 1975 to 1979.
Tom is a past chairman of the U.S. Telecom Association where he is currently on the Board of Directors and is a member of the executive committee. He is chairman of the board of Home Technology Systems, Inc., in Dubuque, Iowa; serves as vice-chair of the Board of the Business Industry Political Action Committee; is member of the Board of Directors of Connected Nation, which partners with public and private entities to encourage broadband connectivity, and serves as chair of the Executive Committee of the Board of Jobs for America's Graduates, an organization that supports mentoring, job-training and education for young people; sits on the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and is chairman of the Board of Regents of Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa.
He received a bachelor's degree from Loras College and a juris doctorate from the University of Iowa College of Law.
DAVID THOMPSON, Panasonic Corporation of North America
David Thompson has worked for Panasonic for 26 years in a number of different job responsibilities. Since 1995, he has led Panasonic's corporate environmental department, which is responsible for environmental compliance for facilities and products, state and federal government policy issues and developing recycling programs for Panasonic products.
David now serves concurrently as president, Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Company, LLC (MRM), a joint-venture formed between Panasonic Corporation of North America, Sharp Electronics Corporation and Toshiba America Consumer Products, LLC. MRM is tasked with developing and managing electronic product recycling programs on behalf of electronic product manufacturers.
David has been involved in environmental issues since 1991, when Panasonic played a key role in establishing the Portable Rechargeable Battery Association (PRBA), a trade association. David took a leave of absence from Panasonic in 1994 to start up the newly formed Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation, which implements and operates national collection and recycling programs for Ni-Cd batteries in both the United States and Canada.
A graduate of the University of Missouri, David holds a master's degree in Japanese studies from Washington University, a master's degree in international relations from the University of Tsukuba in Japan. He has completed the International Economics program at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
MIKE WATSON, Dell
Mike Watson serves as senior manager of Dell's Global Recycling Program. In this role, Mike leads the development and implementation of Dell's global recycling policies and procedures, including regulatory interpretation, service planning, vendor auditing and information systems implementation. He also is responsible for ensuring Dell's compliance with federal, state, and local environmental regulations as they relate to computer recycling and reuse.
Mike represents Dell on a number of industry, government and multi-stakeholder councils and working groups focused on environmental compliance in the technology industry. He also works within Dell as part of a cross-functional team focused on furthering Dell's commitment to environmental responsibility, from customer purchase to end-of-life management, and is a recognized industry expert on the recycling and recovery of electronic products.
TOM WHEELER, Core Capital Partners
For three decades, Tom Wheeler has worked at the forefront of telecommunications policy and business development, experiencing the revolution in telecommunications as both a policy expert and businessman. As an entrepreneur, he started or helped start multiple companies offering new cable, wireless and video communications services, both domestically and internationally. He is the co-founder of SmartBrief, the first targeted, filtered electronic news service which today serves over three million readers daily.
Tom has been intimately engaged in telecommunications policy at both the legislative and regulatory level, including leading the Obama-Biden Transition for all the Federal agencies dealing with science, technology, space and the arts.
Described in a Los Angeles Times profile as "the rock star of telecom," Tom is the only person to be chosen for both the Cable Television Hall of Fame and the Wireless Industry Hall of Fame. From 1976 to 1984, he was associated with the National Cable Television Association (NCTA), where he was president from 1979 to 1984. After several years as CEO of new technology start-ups, he was asked to take over the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA). He served as CEO of CTIA from 1992 to 2004.
Presidents Clinton and Bush each appointed him a Trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts where he served for 12 years. Currently, he is chairman of the UN Foundation's mHealth Alliance. He chairs the U.S. State Department's Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy and the Federal Communications Commission's Technology Advisory Council. He also sits on the boards of Core portfolio companies Roundbox, UpdateLogic, Twisted Pair Solutions, and GoMoBo. He is also on the board of public companies EarthLink and TNS.
He is a graduate of The Ohio State University and the recipient of its Alumni Medal for national and international career achievement.
RICK WHITT, Google
Rick Whitt is the Washington telecom and media counsel for Google Inc. In that capacity, Rick is responsible for Google's strategy and advocacy on all wireline, wireless and media matters before the Federal Communications Commission, other Federal agencies and the U.S. Congress. Most recently, he has been representing the company's interests on a variety of broadband policy issues, spectrum policy matters, and "unregulation" of VoIP and other Web-based applications.
Prior to joining Google in January 2007, Rick founded and headed NetsEdge Consulting, a public policy consulting firm that provided legal analysis, regulatory strategy and advocacy counsel to Google and other Web companies. From 1994 to 2006, Rick worked in the legal department at MCI Communications, where he most recently served as vice president for federal law and policy. Rick previously spent over five years as an associate attorney in the communications practices of two large D.C.-based law firms.
He is a 1988 cum laude graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center, and a 1984 magna cum laude graduate of James Madison University.
STEVE WILDSTROM, Wildstrom on Tech (Moderator)
Steve Wildstrom wrote BusinessWeek's Technology & You column from its creation in 1994 until BusinessWeek's acquisition by Bloomberg in December 2009. The column, which appeared weekly in print at BusinessWeek.com, was aimed at helping readers understand and use personal technology to enhance their jobs and their lives.
Before starting Technology & You, Steve served as senior news editor in BusinessWeek's Washington bureau and edited the Washington Outlook column. Since joining the magazine in 1972, he has served in variety of capacities, covering politics, economics, and labor in Washington and Detroit and was also deeply involved in the computerization of editorial operations in the 1980s.
Steve also has deep interests in education and the arts. He is a founding board member of the Children's Chorus of Washington, and as co-chair of the parents' network of the Center for Excellence in Education. He served as a member of local arrangements committee and as the volunteer publicity director for the International Math Olympiad 2001.
A native of Detroit, Steve is a graduate of the University of Michigan.
