Vice President of Regulatory and Corporate Affairs, Cogeco Inc.
Paul Beaudry is Vice President, Regulatory and Corporate Affairs at Cogeco Inc. He leads Cogeco’s regulatory function in Canada and the United States, and represents the company in proceedings before the CRTC, the Federal Communications Commission and other government departments and regulatory agencies. He also oversees compliance with regulatory requirements imposed on the company at each level of government, in both countries. In addition, Paul leads Cogeco’s Sustainability team and the strategy for public disclosure of ESG matters. He joined Cogeco in November 2020 and has since held progressively larger leadership roles within the organization.
Prior to joining Cogeco, Paul served as Director of Regulatory Affairs at TELUS in Calgary. He also practiced competition and foreign investment law at Stikeman Elliott LLP and Ogilvy Renault LLP (now Norton Rose Fulbright) and served as a senior policy advisor to Canada’s Minister of Industry.
Paul is a graduate of the University of Montreal Faculty of Law and is a member of the Quebec Bar. He serve on the boards of the Institut national de santé publique du Québec, the Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC), La Fondation La Rue des Femmes and the Canadian chapter of the International Institute of Communications. He also sits on the Governors Council of Golf Canada.
Executive Director of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, former Commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
As a former FERC Commissioner, a Chairman and Commissioner of the North Dakota Public Service Commission, a former President of the National Association of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners, the Labor Commissioner of North Dakota, and a member of the North Dakota House of Representatives, Tony is a nationally recognized thought leader in energy policy who draws on years of government service to provide clients with analysis and strategic advice on a variety regulatory and public policy matters affecting their businesses. His tenure on the North Dakota Commission coincided with the state’s historic emergence as a leader in energy production. He primarily works with clients in the energy and telecommunications industries, speaking frequently before groups regarding the state of the utility industry and the public policies that impact it. He has also testified multiple times before Committees of the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House, state legislators and regulatory commissioners.
Senior Counsel, Chairman Brendan Carr, Federal Communications Commission
Danielle rejoins Commissioner Carr’s office following a year in the private sector where she led on state and local government relations matters for a nationwide telecommunications infrastructure provider. Before her first stint with Commissioner Carr’s office in 2021, Danielle was an Associate Attorney in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilkinson Barker Knauer. After attending the University of Virginia for her undergraduate degree, Danielle earned her J.D. cum laude from the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law where she was Associate Editor of the Catholic University Law Review. She also earned a certificate from the Columbus School of Law’s Law & Technology Institute.
Vice President of Federal Regulatory, AT&T
As Vice President of Federal Regulatory, Caroline Van Wie is responsible for leading AT&T’s wireline interests, including legacy business services’ Title II obligations, robocalling, accessibility, copper retirement and network transformation, and wireline infrastructure issues, before federal regulatory authorities, including the Federal Communications Commission. In addition, Caroline serves on AT&T’s External & Legislative Affairs’ Diversity & Inclusion Task Force and is co-chair of the Women’s Leadership Forum.
Caroline most recently was Assistant Vice President of Federal Regulatory and was responsible for managing AT&T’s wireline interests, focused on federal regulation of Business Data Services and Unbundled Network Elements, before federal regulatory authorities, including the Federal Communications Commission. She concurrently served as Chief of Staff to Joan Marsh, EVP – Federal Regulatory Relations, from 2017-2020.
Prior to joining AT&T, Caroline was a Telecommunications Associate at Wiley Rein LLP. Before attending law school, Caroline served as Deputy National Finance Director for Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) and Scheduler for Congressman John B. Larson (D-CT).
Caroline graduated from Emory University with a bachelor’s degree in International Studies. She received her J.D. with honors from Georgetown University Law Center, where she served as Senior Programs & Development Editor of the Georgetown Law Journal.
Principal, BGR Group
Robin Colwell is a Principal with BGR’s Commerce and Infrastructure Practice. She provides clients with strategic insights and skillful advocacy on complex telecommunications, technology, and cybersecurity policy issues. Robin’s wide-ranging experience includes key roles in the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of government as well as the private sector.
A Florida native and Florida State University alumna, Robin received her law degree from the College of William & Mary School of Law, and first came to Washington as a law clerk to Chief Judge H. Robert Mayer of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. After several years representing mass media, communications, and technology clients in Wiley, Rein & Fielding LLP’s corporate practice, she developed deep expertise and passion for the public policy framework underlying these industries as Legislative Counsel for Senate Commerce Committee members including Senators Tim Scott, Jim DeMint, and Peter G. Fitzgerald, and as Counsel to the Senate Commerce Committee for Tourism, Competitiveness, and Innovation.
Robin next served as Chief of Staff to Commissioner Michael O’Rielly at the Federal Communications Commission, and later returned to the Hill as Chief Counsel to the House Energy & Commerce Committee for Communications and Technology. As Chief Counsel, Robin collaborated with majority and minority House and Senate Committee members and staff to secure enactment of major legislation including FOSTA/SESTA, protecting victims of online trafficking, and RAY BAUM’s Act, which funded repacking of spectrum following the broadcast incentive auction and included bicameral, bipartisan priorities such as MOBILE NOW and DIG ONCE.
Most recently, Robin served at the White House National Economic Council under former President Trump as a senior advisor to Director Larry Kudlow, developing Administration policy and leading interagency implementation of priorities including 5G deployment, security, and innovative network architecture; spectrum allocation; rural broadband deployment; data privacy and security; and domestic supply chain security. She was a key White House leader in the successful 2020 initiative to make a significant allocation of prime mid-band spectrum available to be auctioned in December 2021 for rapid U.S. deployment of commercial 5G networks.
Managing Partner, Crest Hill Advisors
The founder and Managing Partner of Crest Hill Advisors, Scott Blake Harris has been a legal and policy professional in Washington, D.C. for forty-eight years, primarily focused on telecommunications, technology, and energy issues. He has deep experience both in government and in the private sector.
Prior to founding Crest Hill Advisors, Scott served as the Senior Spectrum Advisor and Director of the National Spectrum Strategy at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in the U.S. Department of Commerce. He previously served in government as General Counsel of the Department of Energy, as the first Chief of the International Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission, and as Chief Counsel for Export Administration at the Department of Commerce. While at DOE, Scott also served as Co-Chair of the Broadband Subcommittee of the White House National Science and Technology Council.
In 1998, Scott co-founded the law firm of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP (now HWG LLP) and served as its first Managing Partner and later its first Chairman. Scott has also served as General Counsel of Neustar, Inc. and as Co-Managing Partner of Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP. Earlier in his career, he was a partner at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, where he was Chair of the Communications practice, and at Williams & Connolly, where began his career in private practice as a litigator in 1977. Scott served as a law clerk to the Hon. Gerhard A. Gesell on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia upon graduation from law school. He is a magna cum laude graduate of both Brown University and Harvard Law School.
Scott has received many honors during his career. He was named both as a “Visionary” and as one of the Top Ten Communications Lawyers by the Legal Times. He has been honored as a “Dean of the Bar” by, and received an award for Distinguished Service from, the Federal Communications Bar Association. He has also received awards for Outstanding Service from the National Association of State Energy Officials and for Special Achievement from the Chairman of the FCC. The National Association of Radio and Telecommunications Engineers presented Scott with the Marconi-Bell Award for his private sector work on unlicensed spectrum. He has also been deemed an “Eminent Practitioner” and “Senior Statesperson” by Chambers USA for his work in the telecommunications sector.
Senior Vice President & General Counsel, CTIA
Umair Javed serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel. He joined CTIA in 2023 as Senior Vice President, Spectrum, where he was responsible for advancing the wireless industry’s spectrum priorities both domestically and internationally.
Prior to joining CTIA, Umair influenced global and domestic law and policy as Chief Counsel to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. He served as the FCC designee on President Biden’s Competition Council, led the FCC’s National Security Policy Council, and represented the agency at international treaty-writing conferences. During his time at the FCC, Umair also crafted the FCC’s Spectrum Coordination Initiative, oversaw the third-highest grossing spectrum auction in FCC history, coordinated the deployment of 5G services in the C-band, and partnered with Congress on passage and FCC implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, and Secure Equipment Act.
From October 2017 to January 2019, Umair served as Legal Advisor, Wireless and International in the Office of FCC Commissioner Rosenworcel. He joined the FCC from Wiley Rein LLP, where he was an attorney in the firm’s Telecom, Media, and Technology Group.
Umair was named to the inaugural Lawyers of Color Hot List. He is also a 2021 HTTP “Tech Innovadores” recipient and the 2023 Public Safety Communications Leadership in Regulatory Service award recipient for his service at the FCC.
Umair has a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law and a bachelor of arts in Political Philosophy, Policy, and Law from the University of Virginia. He is a member of the bar in the District of Columbia and Virginia. Umair also is a volunteer firefighter in Loudoun County, Virginia.
Senior Fellow for Law, Economics, and Technology, The Heritage Foundation; Professor, Florida International University
Mario Loyola is a Senior Fellow for Law, Economics, and Technology at The Heritage Foundation.
Loyola served in the Trump Administration as Associate Director for Regulatory Reform at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. In that role, he was one of the principal drafters of the One Federal Decision policy, which helped to streamline the permitting and environmental review of large infrastructure projects. While at CEQ, he was a member of the U.S. delegation to the USMCA free trade negotiations with Mexico and Canada, as well as the United Nations conference on biodiversity on the high seas. Loyola initially joined the White House in February 2017 as a Presidential Speechwriter, employing his expertise in many areas of foreign and domestic policy.
After beginning his career in M&A and corporate finance law, Loyola served in the Bush 43 Administration as a special assistant to the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy. He left that position to start writing on national defense issues in magazines such as National Review and The Weekly Standard, reporting from the front lines of the war on terrorism in Lebanon, Israel, and Iraq. He finished the Bush Administration as Foreign and Defense Counsel to the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee, then under the chairmanship of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas. He subsequently moved to Texas and joined the Texas Public Policy Foundation, where he specialized in energy, environment, and federalism.
Loyola is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, National Review, and The Atlantic, among others. He teaches environmental and administrative law at Florida International University, where he is Founding Director of the Environmental Finance and Risk Management program in FIU’s prestigious Institute of Environment. He received a bachelor’s degree in European history from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a J.D. from Washington University School of Law.
Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Michael H. Park was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in May 2019. He earned his A.B. magna cum laude from Princeton University and his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as Managing Editor of the Yale Law Journal. Upon graduation from law school in 2001, Judge Park served as a law clerk to then-Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. on the Third Circuit, for whom he also clerked on the Supreme Court during the 2008 Term. Judge Park was an associate in the New York office of the Wilmer Hale law firm from 2002 to 2006, and he served as an Attorney-Adviser in the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel from 2006 to 2008. Judge Park worked in the New York office of the Dechert law firm, first as counsel (2009-2011) and then as a partner (2012-2015). In 2015, Judge Park joined the law firm Consovoy McCarthy Park as a name partner, where he specialized in appellate and complex civil litigation. During that time, he also served as an adjunct professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.
Principal, BGR Group
Robin Colwell is a Principal with BGR’s Commerce and Infrastructure Practice. She provides clients with strategic insights and skillful advocacy on complex telecommunications, technology, and cybersecurity policy issues. Robin’s wide-ranging experience includes key roles in the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of government as well as the private sector.
A Florida native and Florida State University alumna, Robin received her law degree from the College of William & Mary School of Law, and first came to Washington as a law clerk to Chief Judge H. Robert Mayer of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. After several years representing mass media, communications, and technology clients in Wiley, Rein & Fielding LLP’s corporate practice, she developed deep expertise and passion for the public policy framework underlying these industries as Legislative Counsel for Senate Commerce Committee members including Senators Tim Scott, Jim DeMint, and Peter G. Fitzgerald, and as Counsel to the Senate Commerce Committee for Tourism, Competitiveness, and Innovation.
Robin next served as Chief of Staff to Commissioner Michael O’Rielly at the Federal Communications Commission, and later returned to the Hill as Chief Counsel to the House Energy & Commerce Committee for Communications and Technology. As Chief Counsel, Robin collaborated with majority and minority House and Senate Committee members and staff to secure enactment of major legislation including FOSTA/SESTA, protecting victims of online trafficking, and RAY BAUM’s Act, which funded repacking of spectrum following the broadcast incentive auction and included bicameral, bipartisan priorities such as MOBILE NOW and DIG ONCE.
Most recently, Robin served at the White House National Economic Council under former President Trump as a senior advisor to Director Larry Kudlow, developing Administration policy and leading interagency implementation of priorities including 5G deployment, security, and innovative network architecture; spectrum allocation; rural broadband deployment; data privacy and security; and domestic supply chain security. She was a key White House leader in the successful 2020 initiative to make a significant allocation of prime mid-band spectrum available to be auctioned in December 2021 for rapid U.S. deployment of commercial 5G networks.
Managing Partner, Crest Hill Advisors
The founder and Managing Partner of Crest Hill Advisors, Scott Blake Harris has been a legal and policy professional in Washington, D.C. for forty-eight years, primarily focused on telecommunications, technology, and energy issues. He has deep experience both in government and in the private sector.
Prior to founding Crest Hill Advisors, Scott served as the Senior Spectrum Advisor and Director of the National Spectrum Strategy at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in the U.S. Department of Commerce. He previously served in government as General Counsel of the Department of Energy, as the first Chief of the International Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission, and as Chief Counsel for Export Administration at the Department of Commerce. While at DOE, Scott also served as Co-Chair of the Broadband Subcommittee of the White House National Science and Technology Council.
In 1998, Scott co-founded the law firm of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP (now HWG LLP) and served as its first Managing Partner and later its first Chairman. Scott has also served as General Counsel of Neustar, Inc. and as Co-Managing Partner of Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP. Earlier in his career, he was a partner at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, where he was Chair of the Communications practice, and at Williams & Connolly, where began his career in private practice as a litigator in 1977. Scott served as a law clerk to the Hon. Gerhard A. Gesell on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia upon graduation from law school. He is a magna cum laude graduate of both Brown University and Harvard Law School.
Scott has received many honors during his career. He was named both as a “Visionary” and as one of the Top Ten Communications Lawyers by the Legal Times. He has been honored as a “Dean of the Bar” by, and received an award for Distinguished Service from, the Federal Communications Bar Association. He has also received awards for Outstanding Service from the National Association of State Energy Officials and for Special Achievement from the Chairman of the FCC. The National Association of Radio and Telecommunications Engineers presented Scott with the Marconi-Bell Award for his private sector work on unlicensed spectrum. He has also been deemed an “Eminent Practitioner” and “Senior Statesperson” by Chambers USA for his work in the telecommunications sector.
Senior Vice President & General Counsel, CTIA
Umair Javed serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel. He joined CTIA in 2023 as Senior Vice President, Spectrum, where he was responsible for advancing the wireless industry’s spectrum priorities both domestically and internationally.
Prior to joining CTIA, Umair influenced global and domestic law and policy as Chief Counsel to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. He served as the FCC designee on President Biden’s Competition Council, led the FCC’s National Security Policy Council, and represented the agency at international treaty-writing conferences. During his time at the FCC, Umair also crafted the FCC’s Spectrum Coordination Initiative, oversaw the third-highest grossing spectrum auction in FCC history, coordinated the deployment of 5G services in the C-band, and partnered with Congress on passage and FCC implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, and Secure Equipment Act.
From October 2017 to January 2019, Umair served as Legal Advisor, Wireless and International in the Office of FCC Commissioner Rosenworcel. He joined the FCC from Wiley Rein LLP, where he was an attorney in the firm’s Telecom, Media, and Technology Group.
Umair was named to the inaugural Lawyers of Color Hot List. He is also a 2021 HTTP “Tech Innovadores” recipient and the 2023 Public Safety Communications Leadership in Regulatory Service award recipient for his service at the FCC.
Umair has a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law and a bachelor of arts in Political Philosophy, Policy, and Law from the University of Virginia. He is a member of the bar in the District of Columbia and Virginia. Umair also is a volunteer firefighter in Loudoun County, Virginia.
Senior Fellow for Law, Economics, and Technology, The Heritage Foundation; Professor, Florida International University
Mario Loyola is a Senior Fellow for Law, Economics, and Technology at The Heritage Foundation.
Loyola served in the Trump Administration as Associate Director for Regulatory Reform at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. In that role, he was one of the principal drafters of the One Federal Decision policy, which helped to streamline the permitting and environmental review of large infrastructure projects. While at CEQ, he was a member of the U.S. delegation to the USMCA free trade negotiations with Mexico and Canada, as well as the United Nations conference on biodiversity on the high seas. Loyola initially joined the White House in February 2017 as a Presidential Speechwriter, employing his expertise in many areas of foreign and domestic policy.
After beginning his career in M&A and corporate finance law, Loyola served in the Bush 43 Administration as a special assistant to the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy. He left that position to start writing on national defense issues in magazines such as National Review and The Weekly Standard, reporting from the front lines of the war on terrorism in Lebanon, Israel, and Iraq. He finished the Bush Administration as Foreign and Defense Counsel to the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee, then under the chairmanship of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas. He subsequently moved to Texas and joined the Texas Public Policy Foundation, where he specialized in energy, environment, and federalism.
Loyola is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, National Review, and The Atlantic, among others. He teaches environmental and administrative law at Florida International University, where he is Founding Director of the Environmental Finance and Risk Management program in FIU’s prestigious Institute of Environment. He received a bachelor’s degree in European history from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a J.D. from Washington University School of Law.
Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Michael H. Park was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in May 2019. He earned his A.B. magna cum laude from Princeton University and his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as Managing Editor of the Yale Law Journal. Upon graduation from law school in 2001, Judge Park served as a law clerk to then-Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. on the Third Circuit, for whom he also clerked on the Supreme Court during the 2008 Term. Judge Park was an associate in the New York office of the Wilmer Hale law firm from 2002 to 2006, and he served as an Attorney-Adviser in the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel from 2006 to 2008. Judge Park worked in the New York office of the Dechert law firm, first as counsel (2009-2011) and then as a partner (2012-2015). In 2015, Judge Park joined the law firm Consovoy McCarthy Park as a name partner, where he specialized in appellate and complex civil litigation. During that time, he also served as an adjunct professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.
Senior Vice President & General Counsel, CTIA
Umair Javed serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel. He joined CTIA in 2023 as Senior Vice President, Spectrum, where he was responsible for advancing the wireless industry’s spectrum priorities both domestically and internationally.
Prior to joining CTIA, Umair influenced global and domestic law and policy as Chief Counsel to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. He served as the FCC designee on President Biden’s Competition Council, led the FCC’s National Security Policy Council, and represented the agency at international treaty-writing conferences. During his time at the FCC, Umair also crafted the FCC’s Spectrum Coordination Initiative, oversaw the third-highest grossing spectrum auction in FCC history, coordinated the deployment of 5G services in the C-band, and partnered with Congress on passage and FCC implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, and Secure Equipment Act.
From October 2017 to January 2019, Umair served as Legal Advisor, Wireless and International in the Office of FCC Commissioner Rosenworcel. He joined the FCC from Wiley Rein LLP, where he was an attorney in the firm’s Telecom, Media, and Technology Group.
Umair was named to the inaugural Lawyers of Color Hot List. He is also a 2021 HTTP “Tech Innovadores” recipient and the 2023 Public Safety Communications Leadership in Regulatory Service award recipient for his service at the FCC.
Umair has a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law and a bachelor of arts in Political Philosophy, Policy, and Law from the University of Virginia. He is a member of the bar in the District of Columbia and Virginia. Umair also is a volunteer firefighter in Loudoun County, Virginia.
President and Founder, JKC Consulting LLC
John Kneuer is the President and Founder of JKC Consulting LLC. He sits on multiple public and private company boards.
Prior to starting Kneuer LLC, Mr. Kneuer served as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. In this capacity Mr. Kneuer was the principal advisor to the President of the United States on telecommunications policy and the Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration ("NTIA").In addition to representing the Executive Branch in domestic and international telecommunications and information policy activities, NTIA also manages the federal use of spectrum; performs cutting edge telecommunications research and engineering, including resolving technical telecommunications issues for the federal government and private sector; and administers infrastructure and public telecommunications facilities grants.
Prior to his service at NTIA, Mr. Kneuer served as a Senior Associate at the law firm of Piper Rudnick in Washington, D.C., providing regulatory and legislative representation to corporate clients in the telecommunications, defense, and transportation industries. Earlier in his career, Mr. Kneuer served as the Executive Director for Government Relations at the Industrial Telecommunications Association, and prior to that served as an Attorney-Advisor in the Commercial Wireless Division of the Federal Communications Commission's Wireless Bureau. Mr. Kneuer received B.A. and J.D. degrees from the Catholic University of America.
Partner, Cooley
Rob McDowell advises telecommunications, media and technology clients on their most significant regulatory, legal and business matters. As a former commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and a highly regarded industry leader, Rob has been at the forefront of the most complex and groundbreaking issues facing telecommunications.
Mr. McDowell was first appointed to the FCC by President George W. Bush in 2006 and again by President Obama in 2009. He was unanimously confirmed both times by the US Senate. During his tenure, Mr. McDowell led efforts to expand consumer access to spectrum through his work on the two largest wireless auctions in US history at the time, played a key role in the 2009 digital television transition and led efforts to establish the first federal civil rights rule in a generation by creating a ban on racially discriminatory practices in broadcast advertising. He also worked extensively on several large and complex mergers, including Sirius/XM and Comcast/NBC-Universal.
He is an advocate for internet freedom, serving on the US delegation to the 2012 World Conference on International Telecommunications and exposing an international bid to regulate vital aspects of the Internet through multilateral treaty-based organizations. Mr. McDowell authored an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal opposing multilateral internet regulation that led to a resolution passed unanimously in the House and Senate, as well as the ultimate defeat of the international bid at a treaty negation in Dubai later that year.
Prior to the FCC, Mr. McDowell was senior vice president for CompTel, the Competitive Telecommunications Association, where he led advocacy efforts before several government agencies, the White House and Congress.
Mr. McDowell is often called upon for speaking engagements and frequently appears on TV and radio. He has written opinion pieces for many high-profile publications, including the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post.
Vice President, Technology Policy & Regulation, Lockheed Martin Government Affairs
Jennifer A. Warren is currently Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs & Public Policy for Lockheed Martin Corporation. In this capacity, she is responsible for leading the corporate team’s engagement and strategy across the Executive Branch, Independent Agencies and Intergovernmental Bodies across a broad business, regulatory and public policy portfolio.
Her responsibilities also include leading corporate relationships with Intergovernmental Bodies, such as ITU, CITEL, ICAO, UN Office of Outer Space Affairs, and major trade associations; Ms. Warren is the former Chair (twice) of the Satellite Industry Association (SIA), and currently serves on the Boards of the SIA, US ITU Association, and the Professional Services Corporation, and as the co-chair of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Telecommunications and E-Commerce Committee. She also participates on the ITI Space Enterprise Council and the US Chamber Space Council.
Ms. Warren has broad private sector engagement across government, having been a member of the Department of Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC), FAA Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee, Department of State International Telecommunications Advisory Committee (now International Digital Economy & Telecommunications Advisory Committee), and NASA Advisory Committee/Regulatory Policy Committee, as well as served on the FCC’s WRC Advisory Committee.
From 1991-1996, Ms. Warren held several senior roles in the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, including as Assistant Chief in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Senior Legal Advisor in the International Bureau. In 1991, she graduated from Georgetown University Law Center (J.D.), where she subsequently served as an Adjunct Professor in International Communications Regulation and Policy for close to 20 years. She is also a graduate of Georgetown University (B.S. in Languages), and a member of the Illinois State and D.C. Bars, the Federal Communications Bar Association, and American Bar Association. Her civic activities include the Boards of the George Washington Legacy Foundation and Gadsby Tavern Museum Society in Old Town Alexandria, and the Foundation of the National Archives & Records Administration.
Ms. Warren lives in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband Ed, and their puppy - Madison.
General Counsel, Office of Sen. Marsha Blackburn
Jon Adame serves as General Counsel to Senator Marsha Blackburn, where he advises her on all tech-related issues across her committee assignments (Commerce, Judiciary, Armed Services). He previously worked for her on the House Energy & Commerce Committee. Jon graduated from the University of Colorado School of Law, and received his B.A. from the University of New Mexico.
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, CTIA
Kelly Cole is responsible for overseeing the CTIA Hill team and advancing the wireless industry’s priorities before Congress.
Most recently, Ms. Cole ran her own consulting firm, Kelly Cole Strategies, and was a consulting counsel for Wiley Rein. She has had a highly successful career in the private sector as well as public service. She served as the Executive Vice President of Government Relations for the National Association of Broadcasters where she led the association’s lobbying efforts. Ms. Cole has also served as Majority Counsel for the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee managing communications and Internet issues.
She has a Juris Doctor from Willamette University College of Law, a bachelor of arts in Political, Legal and Economic Analysis from Mills College and spent a year studying law at the London School of Economics. Ms. Cole is a member of the bar in the District of Columbia, Washington state and Oregon.
Chief Economist, The Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies
George S. Ford is the chief economist for the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) research organization that studies broad public-policy issues related to governance, social and economic conditions, with a particular emphasis on the law and economics of the digital age.
President, Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies
Lawrence J. Spiwak is President of the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that studies broad public-policy issues related to governance, social and economic conditions, with a particular emphasis on the law and economics of the digital age. Mr. Spiwak is a prolific scholar whose work is frequently cited by policymakers, major news media and academic journals around the world, and is in the top 1.3%of authors downloaded on the Social Science Research Network. Mr. Spiwak currently serves as the co-chair of the Federal Communications Bar Association’s (FCBA) committee responsible for overseeing the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS LAW JOURNAL and is a member of the program committee of the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference (“TPRC”). Mr. Spiwak is also the recipient of the FCBA’s Distinguished Service Award. Prior to joining the Phoenix Center, Mr. Spiwak was a Senior Attorney with the Competition Division in the FCC’s Office of General Counsel from 1994-1998. While in college, Mr. Spiwak was accepted into the Presidential Stay-In School program where he was responsible for delivering classified and confidential material among senior White House and Reagan Administration officials and received a full FBI security clearance. Mr. Spiwak received his B.A. with Special Honors from the George Washington University and his J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Mr. Spiwak is a member in good standing of the bars of New York, Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Nonresident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Ajit Pai, a former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is a nonresident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on issues pertaining to technology and innovation, telecommunications regulatory policy, and market-based incentives for investment in broadband deployment. Concurrently, he is a partner at Searchlight Capital Partners, a global investment firm.
Mr. Pai’s distinguished career at the FCC includes two leadership roles following presidential appointments. He was appointed commissioner by President Barack Obama in 2012, designated chairman by President Donald Trump in 2017, and twice confirmed by the US Senate. While at the helm of the FCC, Mr. Pai had a transformative impact on the future of US technology and communications policy, implementing major initiatives to help close the digital divide; advance US leadership in 5G and other wireless technologies; promote innovation; protect consumers, public safety, and national security; and make the agency itself more open, transparent, and data-driven.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Pai served in various public-sector positions in the FCC’s Office of General Counsel, the US Department of Justice, the US Senate Judiciary Committee, and the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. He also worked as a partner at Jenner & Block and associate general counsel at Verizon Communications.
Mr. Pai graduated with honors from Harvard University, where he received a bachelor’s degree, and from the University of Chicago Law School, where he received a law degree and was an editor on the University of Chicago Law Review.
Principal, BGR Group
Robin Colwell is a Principal with BGR’s Commerce and Infrastructure Practice. She provides clients with strategic insights and skillful advocacy on complex telecommunications, technology, and cybersecurity policy issues. Robin’s wide-ranging experience includes key roles in the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of government as well as the private sector.
A Florida native and Florida State University alumna, Robin received her law degree from the College of William & Mary School of Law, and first came to Washington as a law clerk to Chief Judge H. Robert Mayer of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. After several years representing mass media, communications, and technology clients in Wiley, Rein & Fielding LLP’s corporate practice, she developed deep expertise and passion for the public policy framework underlying these industries as Legislative Counsel for Senate Commerce Committee members including Senators Tim Scott, Jim DeMint, and Peter G. Fitzgerald, and as Counsel to the Senate Commerce Committee for Tourism, Competitiveness, and Innovation.
Robin next served as Chief of Staff to Commissioner Michael O’Rielly at the Federal Communications Commission, and later returned to the Hill as Chief Counsel to the House Energy & Commerce Committee for Communications and Technology. As Chief Counsel, Robin collaborated with majority and minority House and Senate Committee members and staff to secure enactment of major legislation including FOSTA/SESTA, protecting victims of online trafficking, and RAY BAUM’s Act, which funded repacking of spectrum following the broadcast incentive auction and included bicameral, bipartisan priorities such as MOBILE NOW and DIG ONCE.
Most recently, Robin served at the White House National Economic Council under former President Trump as a senior advisor to Director Larry Kudlow, developing Administration policy and leading interagency implementation of priorities including 5G deployment, security, and innovative network architecture; spectrum allocation; rural broadband deployment; data privacy and security; and domestic supply chain security. She was a key White House leader in the successful 2020 initiative to make a significant allocation of prime mid-band spectrum available to be auctioned in December 2021 for rapid U.S. deployment of commercial 5G networks.
Managing Partner, Crest Hill Advisors
The founder and Managing Partner of Crest Hill Advisors, Scott Blake Harris has been a legal and policy professional in Washington, D.C. for forty-eight years, primarily focused on telecommunications, technology, and energy issues. He has deep experience both in government and in the private sector.
Prior to founding Crest Hill Advisors, Scott served as the Senior Spectrum Advisor and Director of the National Spectrum Strategy at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in the U.S. Department of Commerce. He previously served in government as General Counsel of the Department of Energy, as the first Chief of the International Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission, and as Chief Counsel for Export Administration at the Department of Commerce. While at DOE, Scott also served as Co-Chair of the Broadband Subcommittee of the White House National Science and Technology Council.
In 1998, Scott co-founded the law firm of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP (now HWG LLP) and served as its first Managing Partner and later its first Chairman. Scott has also served as General Counsel of Neustar, Inc. and as Co-Managing Partner of Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP. Earlier in his career, he was a partner at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, where he was Chair of the Communications practice, and at Williams & Connolly, where began his career in private practice as a litigator in 1977. Scott served as a law clerk to the Hon. Gerhard A. Gesell on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia upon graduation from law school. He is a magna cum laude graduate of both Brown University and Harvard Law School.
Scott has received many honors during his career. He was named both as a “Visionary” and as one of the Top Ten Communications Lawyers by the Legal Times. He has been honored as a “Dean of the Bar” by, and received an award for Distinguished Service from, the Federal Communications Bar Association. He has also received awards for Outstanding Service from the National Association of State Energy Officials and for Special Achievement from the Chairman of the FCC. The National Association of Radio and Telecommunications Engineers presented Scott with the Marconi-Bell Award for his private sector work on unlicensed spectrum. He has also been deemed an “Eminent Practitioner” and “Senior Statesperson” by Chambers USA for his work in the telecommunications sector.
Senior Vice President & General Counsel, CTIA
Umair Javed serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel. He joined CTIA in 2023 as Senior Vice President, Spectrum, where he was responsible for advancing the wireless industry’s spectrum priorities both domestically and internationally.
Prior to joining CTIA, Umair influenced global and domestic law and policy as Chief Counsel to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. He served as the FCC designee on President Biden’s Competition Council, led the FCC’s National Security Policy Council, and represented the agency at international treaty-writing conferences. During his time at the FCC, Umair also crafted the FCC’s Spectrum Coordination Initiative, oversaw the third-highest grossing spectrum auction in FCC history, coordinated the deployment of 5G services in the C-band, and partnered with Congress on passage and FCC implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, and Secure Equipment Act.
From October 2017 to January 2019, Umair served as Legal Advisor, Wireless and International in the Office of FCC Commissioner Rosenworcel. He joined the FCC from Wiley Rein LLP, where he was an attorney in the firm’s Telecom, Media, and Technology Group.
Umair was named to the inaugural Lawyers of Color Hot List. He is also a 2021 HTTP “Tech Innovadores” recipient and the 2023 Public Safety Communications Leadership in Regulatory Service award recipient for his service at the FCC.
Umair has a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law and a bachelor of arts in Political Philosophy, Policy, and Law from the University of Virginia. He is a member of the bar in the District of Columbia and Virginia. Umair also is a volunteer firefighter in Loudoun County, Virginia.
Senior Fellow for Law, Economics, and Technology, The Heritage Foundation; Professor, Florida International University
Mario Loyola is a Senior Fellow for Law, Economics, and Technology at The Heritage Foundation.
Loyola served in the Trump Administration as Associate Director for Regulatory Reform at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. In that role, he was one of the principal drafters of the One Federal Decision policy, which helped to streamline the permitting and environmental review of large infrastructure projects. While at CEQ, he was a member of the U.S. delegation to the USMCA free trade negotiations with Mexico and Canada, as well as the United Nations conference on biodiversity on the high seas. Loyola initially joined the White House in February 2017 as a Presidential Speechwriter, employing his expertise in many areas of foreign and domestic policy.
After beginning his career in M&A and corporate finance law, Loyola served in the Bush 43 Administration as a special assistant to the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy. He left that position to start writing on national defense issues in magazines such as National Review and The Weekly Standard, reporting from the front lines of the war on terrorism in Lebanon, Israel, and Iraq. He finished the Bush Administration as Foreign and Defense Counsel to the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee, then under the chairmanship of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas. He subsequently moved to Texas and joined the Texas Public Policy Foundation, where he specialized in energy, environment, and federalism.
Loyola is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, National Review, and The Atlantic, among others. He teaches environmental and administrative law at Florida International University, where he is Founding Director of the Environmental Finance and Risk Management program in FIU’s prestigious Institute of Environment. He received a bachelor’s degree in European history from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a J.D. from Washington University School of Law.
Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Michael H. Park was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in May 2019. He earned his A.B. magna cum laude from Princeton University and his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as Managing Editor of the Yale Law Journal. Upon graduation from law school in 2001, Judge Park served as a law clerk to then-Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. on the Third Circuit, for whom he also clerked on the Supreme Court during the 2008 Term. Judge Park was an associate in the New York office of the Wilmer Hale law firm from 2002 to 2006, and he served as an Attorney-Adviser in the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel from 2006 to 2008. Judge Park worked in the New York office of the Dechert law firm, first as counsel (2009-2011) and then as a partner (2012-2015). In 2015, Judge Park joined the law firm Consovoy McCarthy Park as a name partner, where he specialized in appellate and complex civil litigation. During that time, he also served as an adjunct professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.
General Counsel, Office of Sen. Marsha Blackburn
Jon Adame serves as General Counsel to Senator Marsha Blackburn, where he advises her on all tech-related issues across her committee assignments (Commerce, Judiciary, Armed Services). He previously worked for her on the House Energy & Commerce Committee. Jon graduated from the University of Colorado School of Law, and received his B.A. from the University of New Mexico.
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, CTIA
Kelly Cole is responsible for overseeing the CTIA Hill team and advancing the wireless industry’s priorities before Congress.
Most recently, Ms. Cole ran her own consulting firm, Kelly Cole Strategies, and was a consulting counsel for Wiley Rein. She has had a highly successful career in the private sector as well as public service. She served as the Executive Vice President of Government Relations for the National Association of Broadcasters where she led the association’s lobbying efforts. Ms. Cole has also served as Majority Counsel for the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee managing communications and Internet issues.
She has a Juris Doctor from Willamette University College of Law, a bachelor of arts in Political, Legal and Economic Analysis from Mills College and spent a year studying law at the London School of Economics. Ms. Cole is a member of the bar in the District of Columbia, Washington state and Oregon.
Chief Economist, The Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies
George S. Ford is the chief economist for the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) research organization that studies broad public-policy issues related to governance, social and economic conditions, with a particular emphasis on the law and economics of the digital age.
President, Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies
Lawrence J. Spiwak is President of the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that studies broad public-policy issues related to governance, social and economic conditions, with a particular emphasis on the law and economics of the digital age. Mr. Spiwak is a prolific scholar whose work is frequently cited by policymakers, major news media and academic journals around the world, and is in the top 1.3%of authors downloaded on the Social Science Research Network. Mr. Spiwak currently serves as the co-chair of the Federal Communications Bar Association’s (FCBA) committee responsible for overseeing the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS LAW JOURNAL and is a member of the program committee of the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference (“TPRC”). Mr. Spiwak is also the recipient of the FCBA’s Distinguished Service Award. Prior to joining the Phoenix Center, Mr. Spiwak was a Senior Attorney with the Competition Division in the FCC’s Office of General Counsel from 1994-1998. While in college, Mr. Spiwak was accepted into the Presidential Stay-In School program where he was responsible for delivering classified and confidential material among senior White House and Reagan Administration officials and received a full FBI security clearance. Mr. Spiwak received his B.A. with Special Honors from the George Washington University and his J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Mr. Spiwak is a member in good standing of the bars of New York, Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
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