Partner, Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Stewart Baker is a partner in the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, D.C. From 2005 to 2009, he was the first Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Homeland Security. His law practice covers cybersecurity, data protection, homeland security, and travel and foreign investment regulation; he has been awarded one patent.
Mr. Baker has been General Counsel of the National Security Agency and General Counsel of the commission that investigated WMD intelligence failures prior to the Iraq war. He is the author of Skating on Stilts, a book on terrorism, cybersecurity, and other technology issues; he also hosts the weekly Cyberlaw Podcast.
Head of AI Policy, Abundance Institute
Neil Chilson is the Head of AI Policy at the Abundance Institute. Prior to this position, he served as a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Growth and Opportunity. Chilson is a lawyer, computer scientist, and author of the book “Getting Out of Control: Emergent Leadership in a Complex World.”
Chilson was previously the senior research fellow for Technology and Innovation at Stand Together, where he guided efforts to understand and promote the legal and cultural paradigms that best enable people to discover, innovate, and improve all our lives.
Before Stand Together, Chilson was the Chief Technologist at the Federal Trade Commission, where he focused on the economics of privacy and blockchain-related issues. Previously, he was an attorney advisor to Acting FTC Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen. In both roles he advised Chairman Ohlhausen and worked with staff on nearly every major technology-related case, report, workshop, or other FTC proceeding since January 2014. Neil joined the FTC from telecom firm Wilkinson Barker Knauer. Neil is frequently quoted by the press and his work has appeared in numerous news outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USAToday, and Newsweek. Neil has a J.D. from The George Washington Law School, a M.S. in computer science from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and a B.S. in computer science from Harding University.
Senior Policy Analyst for Technology and Innovation, Americans for Prosperity
Billy Easley is Americans for Prosperity’s Senior Policy Analyst for technology and innovation. In this role, he reviews state and federal policy on digital free speech, privacy, government surveillance, autonomous vehicles and related policies. Previously he served as a legislative specialist for the United States Sentencing Commission where he authored a paper on the relationship between age and recidivism among federal prisoners. Billy started his career working for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and as Senator Rand Paul’s legal counsel for technology and criminal justice policy.
Vice President, Energy & Resources Policy, The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)
Rachel Jones is vice president of energy and resources policy at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). Ms. Jones oversees the NAM’s energy and environmental policy work and has expertise on issues ranging from energy production and use to air and water quality, climate change, energy efficiency and environmental regulation. She is a key voice for manufacturing on Capitol Hill, at federal agencies and across all forms of media.
Before joining the NAM, Jones was the environment and energy counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, where she advised the Committee on EPA, Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, FERC, NASA, NOAA and the White House Office of Science and Technology activities. She served as a legal fellow for the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and as executive student notes and comments editor for the Energy Law Journal.
Ms. Jones’s relentless drive has made her a powerful advocate for our members and a respected voice on the Hill and in the Administration on issues ranging from environmental policy to energy production to infrastructure and regulatory issues.
Ms. Jones has a B.A. from Oklahoma Baptist University and a J.D. from University of Tulsa College of Law.
Policy Fellow for Regulations, Americans for Prosperity
Clint Woods is the policy fellow for regulations at Americans for Prosperity. From 2017 to 2019, he served as the deputy assistant administrator for Air and Radiation at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and previously worked as executive director for the Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies, and in positions with the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, American Legislative Exchange Council, and the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association. He has also served on a number of state and national committees, including the U.S. Group on Earth Observations of the National Science and Technology Council and the National Advisory Council on Environmental Policy and Technology. He holds an MA in international commerce and policy from George Mason University and a BA from the University of Mary Washington. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, he now resides in Delaware County, Ohio with his family.
Director of the Center for Energy and Environment and Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Daren Bakst is Director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment and a Senior Fellow. In this role, he manages, develops, and leads the coalition, advocacy, and research activities of the Center, which is one of the most effective advocates for Free Market Environmentalism.
Before joining CEI as Deputy Director in March, 2023, Daren was a Senior Research Fellow in Environmental Policy and Regulation at the Heritage Foundation, where he played a leading role in the launch of the organization’s new energy and environment center, and created and hosted the Heritage Foundation’s energy and environment podcast the “PowerCast.” During his decade at Heritage, Daren wrote about energy and environmental policy, food and agricultural policy (including editing and co-authoring the book Farms and Free Enterprise), regulation, and trade among other topics.
Daren also worked on environmental policy and regulation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he was a policy counsel and served as the executive to the association’s Government Oversight, Operations & Consumer Affairs committee, which was responsible for issues such as regulatory process reform. Daren has significant state level experience, working for seven years at the Raleigh, N.C.-based John Locke Foundation, one of the largest state-based, free-market think tanks. As director of legal and regulatory studies, his broad portfolio included energy and environmental policy, regulatory reform, and property rights.
Daren has testified numerous times before Congress, regularly submits comments to federal agencies and has appeared in or been quoted by a wide range of media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Times, CNN, Fox Business News, Al-Jazeera America, and U.S. News and World Report. He is a member of the Federalist Society’s Environmental Law and Property Rights Executive Committee and serves on the College Level Advisory Board for Constituting America, an organization that informs and educates about the importance of the U.S. Constitution.
Daren, who hails from Florida, received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from George Washington University. A licensed attorney, he holds a law degree from the University of Miami and a master of laws degree from American University.
Director of the Center for Energy and Environment and Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Daren Bakst is Director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment and a Senior Fellow. In this role, he manages, develops, and leads the coalition, advocacy, and research activities of the Center, which is one of the most effective advocates for Free Market Environmentalism.
Before joining CEI as Deputy Director in March, 2023, Daren was a Senior Research Fellow in Environmental Policy and Regulation at the Heritage Foundation, where he played a leading role in the launch of the organization’s new energy and environment center, and created and hosted the Heritage Foundation’s energy and environment podcast the “PowerCast.” During his decade at Heritage, Daren wrote about energy and environmental policy, food and agricultural policy (including editing and co-authoring the book Farms and Free Enterprise), regulation, and trade among other topics.
Daren also worked on environmental policy and regulation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he was a policy counsel and served as the executive to the association’s Government Oversight, Operations & Consumer Affairs committee, which was responsible for issues such as regulatory process reform. Daren has significant state level experience, working for seven years at the Raleigh, N.C.-based John Locke Foundation, one of the largest state-based, free-market think tanks. As director of legal and regulatory studies, his broad portfolio included energy and environmental policy, regulatory reform, and property rights.
Daren has testified numerous times before Congress, regularly submits comments to federal agencies and has appeared in or been quoted by a wide range of media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Times, CNN, Fox Business News, Al-Jazeera America, and U.S. News and World Report. He is a member of the Federalist Society’s Environmental Law and Property Rights Executive Committee and serves on the College Level Advisory Board for Constituting America, an organization that informs and educates about the importance of the U.S. Constitution.
Daren, who hails from Florida, received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from George Washington University. A licensed attorney, he holds a law degree from the University of Miami and a master of laws degree from American University.
Vice President, Energy & Resources Policy, The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)
Rachel Jones is vice president of energy and resources policy at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). Ms. Jones oversees the NAM’s energy and environmental policy work and has expertise on issues ranging from energy production and use to air and water quality, climate change, energy efficiency and environmental regulation. She is a key voice for manufacturing on Capitol Hill, at federal agencies and across all forms of media.
Before joining the NAM, Jones was the environment and energy counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, where she advised the Committee on EPA, Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, FERC, NASA, NOAA and the White House Office of Science and Technology activities. She served as a legal fellow for the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and as executive student notes and comments editor for the Energy Law Journal.
Ms. Jones’s relentless drive has made her a powerful advocate for our members and a respected voice on the Hill and in the Administration on issues ranging from environmental policy to energy production to infrastructure and regulatory issues.
Ms. Jones has a B.A. from Oklahoma Baptist University and a J.D. from University of Tulsa College of Law.
Policy Fellow for Regulations, Americans for Prosperity
Clint Woods is the policy fellow for regulations at Americans for Prosperity. From 2017 to 2019, he served as the deputy assistant administrator for Air and Radiation at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and previously worked as executive director for the Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies, and in positions with the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, American Legislative Exchange Council, and the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association. He has also served on a number of state and national committees, including the U.S. Group on Earth Observations of the National Science and Technology Council and the National Advisory Council on Environmental Policy and Technology. He holds an MA in international commerce and policy from George Mason University and a BA from the University of Mary Washington. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, he now resides in Delaware County, Ohio with his family.
Jeremy Kidd graduated in 2007 with honors from George Mason University School of Law, where he was Executive Editor for the Journal of Law, Economics & Policy. He holds a BA in economics and political science and a Ph.D. in economics from Utah State University.
After law school, he practiced as a real estate associate with Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll in Washington, D.C. and later as a litigation associate with Strong & Hanni in Salt Lake City, Utah. He clerked for the Honorable Ted Stewart on the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah and the Honorable Alice Batchelder, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Professor Kidd's primary teaching interests are in the areas of business associations, torts, contracts, and law and economics. He was a Visiting Assistant Professor at George Mason University School of Law and has taught courses in business law and economics at Utah State University and Weber State University.
Director of the Center for Energy and Environment and Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Daren Bakst is Director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment and a Senior Fellow. In this role, he manages, develops, and leads the coalition, advocacy, and research activities of the Center, which is one of the most effective advocates for Free Market Environmentalism.
Before joining CEI as Deputy Director in March, 2023, Daren was a Senior Research Fellow in Environmental Policy and Regulation at the Heritage Foundation, where he played a leading role in the launch of the organization’s new energy and environment center, and created and hosted the Heritage Foundation’s energy and environment podcast the “PowerCast.” During his decade at Heritage, Daren wrote about energy and environmental policy, food and agricultural policy (including editing and co-authoring the book Farms and Free Enterprise), regulation, and trade among other topics.
Daren also worked on environmental policy and regulation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he was a policy counsel and served as the executive to the association’s Government Oversight, Operations & Consumer Affairs committee, which was responsible for issues such as regulatory process reform. Daren has significant state level experience, working for seven years at the Raleigh, N.C.-based John Locke Foundation, one of the largest state-based, free-market think tanks. As director of legal and regulatory studies, his broad portfolio included energy and environmental policy, regulatory reform, and property rights.
Daren has testified numerous times before Congress, regularly submits comments to federal agencies and has appeared in or been quoted by a wide range of media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Times, CNN, Fox Business News, Al-Jazeera America, and U.S. News and World Report. He is a member of the Federalist Society’s Environmental Law and Property Rights Executive Committee and serves on the College Level Advisory Board for Constituting America, an organization that informs and educates about the importance of the U.S. Constitution.
Daren, who hails from Florida, received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from George Washington University. A licensed attorney, he holds a law degree from the University of Miami and a master of laws degree from American University.
Vice President, Energy & Resources Policy, The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)
Rachel Jones is vice president of energy and resources policy at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). Ms. Jones oversees the NAM’s energy and environmental policy work and has expertise on issues ranging from energy production and use to air and water quality, climate change, energy efficiency and environmental regulation. She is a key voice for manufacturing on Capitol Hill, at federal agencies and across all forms of media.
Before joining the NAM, Jones was the environment and energy counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, where she advised the Committee on EPA, Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, FERC, NASA, NOAA and the White House Office of Science and Technology activities. She served as a legal fellow for the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and as executive student notes and comments editor for the Energy Law Journal.
Ms. Jones’s relentless drive has made her a powerful advocate for our members and a respected voice on the Hill and in the Administration on issues ranging from environmental policy to energy production to infrastructure and regulatory issues.
Ms. Jones has a B.A. from Oklahoma Baptist University and a J.D. from University of Tulsa College of Law.
Policy Fellow for Regulations, Americans for Prosperity
Clint Woods is the policy fellow for regulations at Americans for Prosperity. From 2017 to 2019, he served as the deputy assistant administrator for Air and Radiation at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and previously worked as executive director for the Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies, and in positions with the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, American Legislative Exchange Council, and the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association. He has also served on a number of state and national committees, including the U.S. Group on Earth Observations of the National Science and Technology Council and the National Advisory Council on Environmental Policy and Technology. He holds an MA in international commerce and policy from George Mason University and a BA from the University of Mary Washington. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, he now resides in Delaware County, Ohio with his family.
Special Counsel, Bowles Rice LLP
Richard "Richie" Heath, Jr. concentrates his practice in the area of government relations at Bowles Rice LLP. Prior to joining the firm, he was Chief Legal Counsel and Chief of Staff for West Virginia Senate Presidents Mitch B. Carmichael and William P. Cole. He also served as a Deputy Attorney General to West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.
Richie's experience in public policy, government relations and executive management is extensive. From legislative drafting and in-depth legal analysis to research and communications, his background in the public, private and non-profit sectors provides the ability to offer clients measured, insightful results. In addition, Richie has significant practice in the areas of economic development, constitutional law and civil justice reform, and he regularly assists on campaign finance and election law matters.
Richie's practice also includes work in the hospitality, gaming and tourism industry as well as the state's burgeoning industrial hemp and medical cannabis field. He is the primary author of State of Affairs, the official blog of the Bowles Rice Government Relations team.
A 2002 graduate of the Wake Forest University School of Law, Richie was selected a National Member of the Order of the Barristers, an honorary organization limited to graduating law students and practicing lawyers who demonstrate exceptional skill in trial advocacy, oral advocacy and brief writing. He earned his bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in political science from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia.
West Virginia State Director, Americans for Prosperity
Jason was born and raised in Buckhannon, WV. He began his career as a policy analyst for the West Virginia State Senate. He then worked with the West Virginia Republican Party where he eventually served as their Operations Director, playing an integral role in helping Republicans capture a majority in the State House and Senate for the first time in nearly a century. He now serves as the Americans for Prosperity West Virginia State Director, a chapter that recently helped secured passage of Right to Work legislation making a majority of the United States Right to Work status for the first time in history. Jason comes from several proud generations of West Virginia coal miners including Jason’s father who has worked underground for more than 40 years. Jason went to public school and was the first of his immediate family to graduate from college, which he did with honors. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from West Virginia Wesleyan College and a Master’s in Public Administration from West Virginia State University.
Chair, Issues & Appeals, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
The former Solicitor General of West Virginia, Mr. Lin has been on the front lines of many precedent-setting cases in appellate courts across the country, including in a US Supreme Court victory that George Will called “the court’s most severe rebuke of a president” since the Truman administration. Having argued more than 60 appeals, he brings to clients a well-honed ability to identify the most persuasive issues for appeal and a practiced understanding of how best to frame complex legal questions in appellate courts.
With experience in the private sector and multiple branches of government, Mr. Lin’s practice has spanned a wide range of issues, including major questions of constitutional and administrative law at the federal and state levels. On behalf of more than two dozen states, he won a stay from the US Supreme Court of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. Described by the New York Times as an “unprecedented” order, the stay was the first time the Supreme Court had ever put a regulation on hold before review by a federal appeals court. In that same case, Elbert argued before the en banc DC Circuit in an historic proceeding that one commenter quoted in E&E News compared to “the NBA All-Star Game.” At the state level, Elbert led the effort that persuaded the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals to overturn an injunction of the state’s right-to-work law.
In 2013, Mr. Lin was appointed the Solicitor General of West Virginia. During his four-and-a-half year tenure, he served as a member of the Attorney General’s senior management team, oversaw all civil and criminal appeals, and argued nearly two dozen cases in federal and state appellate courts. He authored more than twenty-five briefs in the US Supreme Court and more than forty-five formal Opinions of the Attorney General.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Lin served as a trial attorney in the Federal Programs Branch of the US Department of Justice’s Civil Division, where he received a Special Service Award. He has also been a law clerk at all three levels of the federal judiciary: for Justice Clarence Thomas on the US Supreme Court; for Judge William H. Pryor Jr. on the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit; and for Senior Judge Robert E. Keeton on the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Mr. Lin speaks regularly on a wide variety of topics, including constitutional law, administrative law, environmental law, state and federal relations, the US Supreme Court, and appellate practice. He has testified before Congress, and has spoken at the national conventions of the American Bar Association, the Association of Corporate Counsel, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, the Federalist Society, Americans for Prosperity, and the American Legislative Exchange Council. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute, a public member of the Administrative Conference of the United States, and a fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.
Mr. Lin is admitted to practice in the following federal courts: the Supreme Court of the United States; the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Eleventh, D.C., and Federal Circuits; the District of Massachusetts; the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia; and the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia.
Member, Jackson Kelly PLLC
Danielle M. Waltz is a Member in the Banking, Construction, and Government industry groups at Jackson Kelly PLLC, focusing primarily on litigation and government relations. She practices out of the Firm’s office in Charleston, West Virginia.
Danielle has a wide range of legal experience, including handling complex multi-party construction matters and litigating commercial banking cases. With many of her clients in the construction industry, she knows the business side of construction as well as the law. Danielle is a natural problem solver who enjoys helping her clients find solutions to their issues, which oftentimes requires tenacity and out-of-the-box thinking.
Danielle has published and lectured on construction matters, including authoring the West Virginia portion of the 2009 Defense Research Institute Desk Reference. She is extensively involved in the Defense Research Institute Construction Law Group, holding several leadership positions through the years, including National Seminar Chair.
She also has a great deal of experience in government relations – providing services for local, state, and national business clients. Her government relations clients count on her to help them navigate the passage or defeat of legislation and to develop rapport with elected officials and government agencies. Danielle is the perfect person for this, as she’s a people-person who likes connecting with others. She has a definite knack for bringing people together for mutually beneficial partnerships.
Danielle is a proud native of West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle. She holds her undergraduate degree in mathematics from West Virginia University and likes solving math problems for fun. She also holds a law degree from WVU, so it’s no surprise she’s a big fan of WVU sports. On weekends, if she's not cheering on the Mountaineers, you're likely to find her playing squash or exercising. With her quick smile and genuine warmth, Danielle is always the most winning person in the room – despite the fact that she exercises and does math for fun.
Shapers of Cyber Speech – Silicon Valley and American Discourse
Stewart A. Baker, Neil Chilson, Billy Easley
In January, Twitter and Facebook removed President Trump and many of his followers' accounts while...
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Rachel Jones, Clint Woods, Daren Bakst
The Environmental Protection Agency recently finalized two new transparency-related rules. The stated purpose of the...
The Myths and Facts Regarding the EPA’s Benefit-Cost Analysis and Science Transparency Rules
Daren Bakst, Rachel Jones, Clint Woods
Over the past month, the Environmental Protection Agency has finalized two new transparency-related rules. The...
The Myths and Facts Regarding the EPA’s Benefit-Cost Analysis and Science Transparency Rules
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Campaigns in the Wake of Citizens United
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Concord, NHBreaking Down West Virginia’s “Right to Work” Ruling
West Virginia Lawyers Chapter
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Supreme Court Considers Bailout of Affordable Care Act Insurance Companies in Maine Community Health
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Is there such a thing as TMI when it comes to financial disclosures?
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Frank v. Gaos [SCOTUSbrief]
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