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.
Partner, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP
Kelly Donohue has worked on media and broadcast matters for over a decade, with a particular emphasis on broadcast law. She routinely files pleadings on behalf of clients in application and rulemaking proceedings, and handles matters relating to new station licensing, renewals, changes in communities of license, ownership and attribution, assignments and transfers, facility changes, EEO compliance, sponsorship identification and contest rules. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Donohue spent seven years at the Federal Communications Commission, where she served as an Assistant Division Chief in the Audio Division of the FCC’s Media Bureau and as Special Counsel in the Enforcement Bureau, Office of the Bureau Chief.
Ms. Donohue also manages a growing trademark practice, counseling clients on the selection and clearance of trademarks, and preparing, filing and prosecuting federal trademark and service mark applications. She also negotiates trademark licensing, settlement and consent agreements. Ms. Donohue is well-versed in other intellectual property matters as well, and has counseled clients on issues relating to music licensing, fair use principles under copyright law, and DMCA takedown provisions.
More recently, Ms. Donohue has discovered her passion for working with start-ups and tech companies, ranging from app developers to creators of connected devices (i.e. Internet of Things). It is in this space that Ms. Donohue brings together her broad legal experience, creative "can do" thinking and strong communications skills to find innovative, cost-effective solutions to the legal hurdles new companies often face. She has provided both formal and informal guidance to dozens of companies on issues relating to intellectual property, privacy, regulatory compliance, and corporate structure/governance.
Ms. Donohue herself has an entrepreneurial spirit. She began her career as a professional musician and continues to write music and perform regularly with her “kindie” rock band, Here Comes Trouble. She has won numerous awards for her songwriting and vocal arrangements, including placements in the Mid-Atlantic Songwriting Contest and International Songwriting Competition.
Legislative Director for Senator Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Senate
Jamie Susskind is the Legislative Director for Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). Prior to becoming Legislative Director, she served for two years as the Senator’s Technology Policy Advisor. In that role, she advised on issues such as data privacy, cybersecurity, broadband, spectrum, content moderation, and antitrust, in addition to staffing the Senator on the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security. Susskind previously worked on the Hill as Chief Counsel to Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) and as an FCC Detailee for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. She also served as Chief of Staff to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and as Vice President of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at the Consumer Technology Association. A native Michigander, Susskind earned a Juris Doctor from the Antonin Scalia Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!).
Director for Cybersecurity and Privacy Policy, Global Government, Cisco
Eric Wenger serves as the Director for Cybersecurity and Privacy on Cisco’s Global Government Affairs team in Washington. Mr. Wenger leads Cisco's work on cybersecurity policy globally, as well as on privacy matters relating to the U.S. government, including on issues related to government surveillance and the Internet of Everything.
Mr. Wenger came to Cisco from Microsoft, where he served as Policy Counsel in the Legal and Corporate Affairs Department. His portfolio covered a range of cybersecurity, cybercrime, data breach, and privacy issues, including efforts to reform U.S. surveillance laws.
Prior to Microsoft, Mr. Wenger worked as a Trial Attorney in the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. He also worked as an Attorney in the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection and an Assistant Attorney General in New York State, where he started the first statewide law enforcement unit in the country focused on e-commerce.
United States Senate, Nebraska
A lifelong Nebraskan, Deb Fischer is the senior senator from Nebraska, and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012. Fischer is committed to working with Republicans and Democrats alike to advance sensible policies that will promote strong Nebraska families and communities.
Senator Fischer believes the first duty of Congress is to defend the nation. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, she is committed to neutralizing growing threats to our homeland and our allies. In her capacity as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, she is focused on working with our military to monitor the threats facing our nation and provide the appropriate tools for them to meet these challenges. This subcommittee’s jurisdiction includes cybersecurity policy.
Fischer also serves on the Senate’s Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee as chairman of the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security. This chairmanship enables her to continue leading on transportation issues, which have been one of her top priorities dating back to her chairmanship of the Nebraska Legislature’s Transportation and Telecommunication Committee.
In addition to the Armed Services and Commerce Committees, Senator Fischer sits on the Committee on Environment and Public Works and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Fischer continues to advocate for policies that will promote innovation, more regulatory certainty for innovators, and modern rules for new technology.
Fischer has led the charge against regulatory overreach by the federal government, focusing on misguided rules issued by federal agencies that hurt middle-class families.
Senator Fischer is a member of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s leadership team, serving as counsel to the Majority Leader as well as a member of Senator John Cornyn’s Whip Team. Both positions give her a unique opportunity to present the concerns of all Nebraskans directly to the Republican Senate leadership.
Before her election to the U.S. Senate, Fischer served in the Nebraska Unicameral, representing the 43rd Legislative District since 2004. During her time in the state legislature, she was also a member of the Revenue Committee, Natural Resources Committee, and the Executive Board.
Born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, Senator Fischer attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and graduated with a degree in education. She and her husband, Bruce, have been married for over 40 years and own a ranching business near Valentine. They have three sons and three grandchildren.
Partner, Antitrust and Competition, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Maureen Ohlhausen is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where she advises industry-leading clients on complex antitrust and litigation matters, with a focus on high-profile cases. Sought after for her depth of experience on antitrust and Federal Trade Commission (FTC)-related issues, Maureen is known for her relationships with officials in the U.S. and abroad.
After finishing law school and clerking at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Maureen joined the FTC in 1997. She held a series of roles at the agency over the next 12 years, rising to the position of Director of the FTC Office of Policy Planning, where she led the agency’s work on e-commerce and headed the FTC’s Internet Access Task Force, which produced an influential report analyzing competition and consumer protection legal issues in the broadband and internet sectors. She then went into private practice at a leading telecommunications law firm, where she headed the FTC practice group.
In 2012, Maureen was confirmed by the Senate as a Commissioner of the FTC and was appointed Acting Chairman in January 2017, a role she held until May 2018. As Acting Chairman, Maureen directed all aspects of the agency’s antitrust work, including merger review, conduct enforcement, and all consumer protection enforcement, with an emphasis on privacy and technology issues. Under her leadership, the FTC won several influential merger challenges in court and reached a number of key digital privacy settlements.
To date, Maureen is the only FTC Commissioner to have received the Robert Pitofsky Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her contributions to the FTC.
Following the end of her term at the FTC, and immediately prior to joining Wilson Sonsini, Maureen was chair of the global antitrust and competition practice at Baker Botts, based in that firm’s Washington, D.C., office.
A recognized thought leader, Maureen is a frequent author and speaker, and is often quoted by leading print and broadcast media on antitrust, FTC, and privacy and data security matters. She has published dozens of articles on antitrust, privacy, intellectual property, regulation, FTC litigation, telecommunications, and international law issues in prestigious publications. During her tenure at the FTC and in private practice, she testified more than two dozen times before Congress, including before the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Antitrust Sub-Committee. She also testified before the Antitrust Modernization Commission.
Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
Dean Reuter is Executive Vice President at the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. He has served in two federal government agency Offices of the Inspector General, as Counsel to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General, responsible for policing the use of federal funds granted and contracted through those agencies. As such, he helped conduct and oversee criminal investigations across the country. He is the principal author of the non-fiction book, The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America's Deal with the Devil, and editor of Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State and Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security. He was appointed by the President and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and recently served as an appointee on the U.S. Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is a graduate of Hood College (BA with Honors) and the University of Maryland School of Law.
United States Senate, Nebraska
A lifelong Nebraskan, Deb Fischer is the senior senator from Nebraska, and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012. Fischer is committed to working with Republicans and Democrats alike to advance sensible policies that will promote strong Nebraska families and communities.
Senator Fischer believes the first duty of Congress is to defend the nation. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, she is committed to neutralizing growing threats to our homeland and our allies. In her capacity as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, she is focused on working with our military to monitor the threats facing our nation and provide the appropriate tools for them to meet these challenges. This subcommittee’s jurisdiction includes cybersecurity policy.
Fischer also serves on the Senate’s Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee as chairman of the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security. This chairmanship enables her to continue leading on transportation issues, which have been one of her top priorities dating back to her chairmanship of the Nebraska Legislature’s Transportation and Telecommunication Committee.
In addition to the Armed Services and Commerce Committees, Senator Fischer sits on the Committee on Environment and Public Works and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Fischer continues to advocate for policies that will promote innovation, more regulatory certainty for innovators, and modern rules for new technology.
Fischer has led the charge against regulatory overreach by the federal government, focusing on misguided rules issued by federal agencies that hurt middle-class families.
Senator Fischer is a member of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s leadership team, serving as counsel to the Majority Leader as well as a member of Senator John Cornyn’s Whip Team. Both positions give her a unique opportunity to present the concerns of all Nebraskans directly to the Republican Senate leadership.
Before her election to the U.S. Senate, Fischer served in the Nebraska Unicameral, representing the 43rd Legislative District since 2004. During her time in the state legislature, she was also a member of the Revenue Committee, Natural Resources Committee, and the Executive Board.
Born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, Senator Fischer attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and graduated with a degree in education. She and her husband, Bruce, have been married for over 40 years and own a ranching business near Valentine. They have three sons and three grandchildren.
Partner, Antitrust and Competition, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Maureen Ohlhausen is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where she advises industry-leading clients on complex antitrust and litigation matters, with a focus on high-profile cases. Sought after for her depth of experience on antitrust and Federal Trade Commission (FTC)-related issues, Maureen is known for her relationships with officials in the U.S. and abroad.
After finishing law school and clerking at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Maureen joined the FTC in 1997. She held a series of roles at the agency over the next 12 years, rising to the position of Director of the FTC Office of Policy Planning, where she led the agency’s work on e-commerce and headed the FTC’s Internet Access Task Force, which produced an influential report analyzing competition and consumer protection legal issues in the broadband and internet sectors. She then went into private practice at a leading telecommunications law firm, where she headed the FTC practice group.
In 2012, Maureen was confirmed by the Senate as a Commissioner of the FTC and was appointed Acting Chairman in January 2017, a role she held until May 2018. As Acting Chairman, Maureen directed all aspects of the agency’s antitrust work, including merger review, conduct enforcement, and all consumer protection enforcement, with an emphasis on privacy and technology issues. Under her leadership, the FTC won several influential merger challenges in court and reached a number of key digital privacy settlements.
To date, Maureen is the only FTC Commissioner to have received the Robert Pitofsky Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her contributions to the FTC.
Following the end of her term at the FTC, and immediately prior to joining Wilson Sonsini, Maureen was chair of the global antitrust and competition practice at Baker Botts, based in that firm’s Washington, D.C., office.
A recognized thought leader, Maureen is a frequent author and speaker, and is often quoted by leading print and broadcast media on antitrust, FTC, and privacy and data security matters. She has published dozens of articles on antitrust, privacy, intellectual property, regulation, FTC litigation, telecommunications, and international law issues in prestigious publications. During her tenure at the FTC and in private practice, she testified more than two dozen times before Congress, including before the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Antitrust Sub-Committee. She also testified before the Antitrust Modernization Commission.
Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
Dean Reuter is Executive Vice President at the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. He has served in two federal government agency Offices of the Inspector General, as Counsel to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General, responsible for policing the use of federal funds granted and contracted through those agencies. As such, he helped conduct and oversee criminal investigations across the country. He is the principal author of the non-fiction book, The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America's Deal with the Devil, and editor of Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State and Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security. He was appointed by the President and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and recently served as an appointee on the U.S. Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is a graduate of Hood College (BA with Honors) and the University of Maryland School of Law.
Trillions of Dollars at Stake: The Internet of Things
TeleforumAddress by Senator Deb Fischer
Deb Fischer, Maureen K. Ohlhausen, Dean Reuter
United States Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska delivered this address at the Fourth Annual Executive...
Address by Senator Deb Fischer
Fourth Annual Executive Branch Review Conference
Washington, DCTopics
Executive Branch Review Conference Live Streams
The Fourth Annual Executive Branch Review Conference was live streamed on May 17. The theme...