Vice President and Director of Litigation, EdChoice
Thomas M. Fisher served as a Deputy Attorney General for 22 years and as Indiana’s first Solicitor General from 2005-2023. In that role he handled high profile litigation for the State, defended state statutes against constitutional attack, advised the Attorney General on a range of legal policy issues, and managed the State’s U.S. Supreme Court docket. A two-time recipient of the National Association of Attorneys General Best Brief Award, Fisher has argued five times before the High Court.
His U.S. Supreme Court experience also includes authorship of dozens of cert-stage and merits-stage amicus curiae briefs on a wide range of issues. In addition, Fisher has argued dozens of important and high-profile cases before both the Indiana Supreme Court and the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Fisher is a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and was recently named a Sagamore of the Wabash by Governor Eric Holcomb.
A native Hoosier, Fisher is a graduate of Wabash College and Indiana University Maurer School of Law, where he serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law.
Senior Advisor, Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program
Lisa Kelly has been with the Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program since its inception, serving as President and Executive Director for 15 years. Prior to joining GOAL, Lisa served as Vice President and CFO of Brand Velocity, Inc., an international IT consulting firm, and Manager of Quality Assurance for Management Science America, Inc., at that time the largest application software company in the world. Lisa also worked for EY in the consulting group and for PwC in the audit group. She earned her accounting degree from the University of Georgia and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Lisa now serves as Senior Advisor for GOAL, continuing her engagement in the strategic direction and operations for the organization.
Shareholder, Maynard Nexsen
Jenny McCain is a Shareholder of Maynard Nexsen and Co-Chair of the firm’s Banking Practice. She also is President of Stonegate Real Estate Investments, LLC, a multi-state commercial real estate company. Ms. McCain is also the Founder, Director, and President (2013-2015) of Scholarships for Kids, Inc.
Ms. McCain provides specialized regulatory and general corporate advice to financial institutions of all sizes, including public and private banks, savings associations, credit unions, insurance companies, and other non-depository financial institutions. Ms. McCain’s clients include many of the nation’s largest banking corporations, insurance companies and credit unions based on asset size, as well as numerous community banks.
In 2010, Ms. McCain led the corporate reorganization/restructuring of a privately owned, $100 million commercial real estate company and has served for the past seven years as its President. Ms. McCain is active in both local and regional philanthropic initiatives. In 2013, Ms. McCain founded Scholarships for Kids, Inc. a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships to low income children throughout the state of Alabama. Ms. McCain actively ran the organization from 2013 until 2015, during which time Scholarships for Kids raised over $18 million, partnered with 36 schools throughout the state, and provided more than 3400 scholarships to kindergarten to 12th grade students in Alabama. A twenty-year veteran of the Federalist Society, Ms. McCain has served in leadership positions with the organization since the early 2000s.
Ms. McCain has earned numerous professional and personal accolades, including recognition by both Chambers USA and America’s Best Lawyers as a Leading Practitioner in the area of Banking and Finance. In 2015, Ms. McCain was selected as a member of the inaugural class of the Presidential Leadership Scholars, a national leadership program created by the George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Libraries.
Ms. McCain is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Texas School of Law. She was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama.
General Counsel, Office of the Governor, State of Alabama
Will Parker was named General Counsel to Alabama Governor Kay Ivey in December 2019 after serving for almost two and a half years as Governor Ivey's Chief Deputy General Counsel. Before joining the Ivey Administration, he served as an assistant attorney general in the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, where for almost ten years he defended state officials in constitutional litigation in state and federal courts. Mr. Parker holds an undergraduate degree from Davidson College and a law degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Alabama School of Law. Following law school, Will clerked for Judge Ed Carnes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Will currently serves as a trustee of the Eleventh Circuit Historical Society and as a member of the Court Advisory Committee for the US District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit (ret.)
The Honorable Janice Rogers Brown was confirmed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on June 8, 2005. She retired from the court in 2017. From 1996 to 2005, she was an associate justice of the California Supreme Court. Prior to this, she served as associate justice of the Third District Court of Appeals in Sacramento and as legal affairs secretary to California Governor Pete Wilson. Earlier in her career, she served as Deputy Secretary and General Counsel for California’s Business, Transportation and Housing Agency after having worked in the criminal appellate and civil trial divisions of the California Attorney General’s Office. She currently chairs the Advisory Board of the New Civil Liberties Alliance, and serves on the Board of the Coolidge Foundation and the Association of College Trustees and Alumni. She is the Darling Foundation Jurist-in-Residence and visiting professor of Law at the University of California Boalt School of Law. Brown has been honored with the Jurisprudence Award of Claremont Institute’s Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, the Baroness Thatcher Award of the Pacific Research Institute, the Edwin Meese III, Originalism and Religious Liberty Award from the Alliance Defending Freedom, the James Wilson Institute Leadership and the Law Award, and the 2019 Bradley Award. She earned her law degree from the University of California – Los Angeles School of Law, and a Master of Laws in judicial process from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Head of Corporate Governance, Strive Asset Management
Justin Danhof is the Head of Corporate Governance at Strive Asset Management. Previously, he served as General Counsel for the National Center for Public Policy Research, as well as Director of the Center’s Free Enterprise Project. He also worked in the Miami-Dade State’s Attorney’s Office in the Economic Crimes and Cybercrimes Division, for the Massachusetts Alliance for Economic Development and at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mr. Danhof’s work has been widely published and quoted in major newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Politico, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Boston Globe, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Washington Post. He has also appeared on the Fox News Channel, One America News Network, and the Fox Business Channel, among others.
Mr. Danhof is a member of the Federalist Society and Christian Legal Society.
Mr. Danhof is a graduate of Bentley University (Waltham, MA), where he received a Bachelor of Science in economics and finance and pitched for three seasons on the school’s NCAA Division II baseball team. Mr. Danhof completed his graduate studies at the University of Miami School of Law where he received his Juris Doctor and Master of Laws in Taxation.
Mr. Danhof is licensed to practice law in New York and Washington, D.C.
Vice President for Legal Strategy, Stand Together
Casey Mattox is Vice President for Legal Strategy at Stand Together and Senior Advisor at
Americans for Prosperity. In these roles he advocates for and creates strategies and
partnerships to ensure a constitutionally limited government that protects the civil liberties of all
Americans. Prior to joining Stand Together and AFP Casey’s legal career focused on defending
the First Amendment rights of students, faculty, healthcare workers and religious organizations.
Casey has a J.D. from Boston College School of Law and an undergraduate degree from the
University of Virginia. You can find him on Twitter at @CaseyMattox_ and on LinkedIn at
@Casey-Mattox-ST.
Professor of Law, University of Alabama School of Law
Professor Rosen received his LLM with honors from the University of London, London School of Economics, in 1997, his JD from Yale Law School in 1994, and his BS from Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, in 1991 as a Merill Presidential Scholar. He served as a Senior Editor of the Yale Law Journal and an Editor of the Yale Journal of International Law. Upon graduation from Yale, he clerked for the Honorable Edward E. Carnes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Montgomery, Alabama. From 1995 to 1996, he was an associate with the Washington, D.C. firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. From 1998 to 2002, he worked in Washington, D.C. for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Market Regulation, where he achieved the rank of Special Counsel. During his time at the Commission, he provided counsel on matters before the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, aided the restoration of financial markets following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, assisted with legislative drafting, and worked on matters including foreign market access, financial derivatives, market structure, and the regulation of exchanges and over-the-counter markets. While at the SEC, Professor Rosen received the Commission's Law and Policy Award and the Manuel F. Cohen Award from the Securities Law Committee of the Federal Bar Association. Before arriving at the University of Alabama, he served as the first Fellow for the Fordham University School of Law's Center for Corporate, Securities and Financial Law in New York City. He has spoken both in the United States and abroad at events sponsored by such organizations as the Association of American Law Schools, the American Society of International Law, the Law and Society Association, the Southeastern Association of Law Schools, Futures Industry Association, the Small Business Committee of the American Bar Association's Section on Business Law, the Washington Campus, National Regulatory Services, and the United Kingdom's City and Financial Conferences.
Professor Rosen has taught multiple courses at the law school including business organizations, securities regulation, international business transactions, economy in crisis (public policy-making role-playing simulation course), integrated financial regulation (banking, commodities, securities, and insurance law), and conflict of laws. He also holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Economics, Finance, and Legal Studies at The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration and has been appointed to The University of Alabama Graduate School faculty in connection with his work on PhD dissertation committees. His focus on inter-disciplinary matters also has led to his membership in organizations such as the American Economic Association, American Finance Association, and American Law and Economics Association. He has advised The Journal of the Legal Profession and was awarded the Edward M. Friend Jr. Award in the year he coached the law school's team to its first appearance in the national final rounds as a super-regional champion in the American Bar Association's National Appellate Advocacy Competition. He has served as Director of the law school's successful judicial clerkship program, and the law school's students selected him for the 2007-2008 Outstanding Faculty Member Award.
Since joining the legal academy, Professor Rosen continues his public policy work and has advised federal and state government officials. His expertise is sought in various contexts. For example, he has testified before the Committee on Financial Services of the United States House of Representatives. Professor Rosen also currently serves as a Uniform Law Commissioner. He was appointed to represent Alabama on the Uniform Law Commission by the Governor for a term of service that runs to April 4, 2023.
Professor Rosen also continues to be involved in legal matters around the globe. He has advised on business law curricula in Ethiopia and has been selected to teach courses at Australia National University in Canberra, Pusan National University in Korea, and the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. He has served as Director of the law school's exchange program with the University of Fribourg. In addition, he has served as a Corresponding Editor for the American Society of International Law's International Legal Materials and as Co-Chair of ASIL’s Teaching International Law Interest Group. His work for the American Bar Association has included service to the Section of International Law and Practice. His interest in development issues also has led to his participation in the World Bank's Law, Justice, and Development Week program and the International Finance Corporation's Doing Business Project. Moreover, he has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Comparative Law and has been selected to be the United States Reporter on Company Law and the Law of Succession for the Congress of the Academy of International Comparative Law in Vienna, Austria.
Stone Hilton, Founding Partner
A founding partner of Stone Hilton, Judd Stone is well respected both in Texas and across the nation as an insightful and tenacious appellate litigator. A lifelong Texan, Judd has argued dozens of appeals in both federal and state court, including arguing eight cases before the United States Supreme Court.
Judd began his legal career clerking for United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Fifth Circuit Chief Judge Edith H. Jones. With a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law where he graduated first in his class, Judd's academic and professional credentials place him among the most distinguished lawyers in the profession. At the helm of countless major legal battles and emergency appeals for the State of Texas, Judd's deep understanding of the law and persuasive advocacy have been instrumental in shaping legal precedents. His tenure as the Solicitor General of Texas is a testament to his expertise and the trust placed in him by high-ranking state officials. Judd's strategic prowess extends beyond the courtroom; his advisory roles have made him a respected figure among policymakers.
His contributions to Stone Hilton and the legal community are characterized by his meticulous approach to cases, his acumen as a counselor, and his unwavering commitment to justice. As a partner at Stone Hilton, Judd continues to apply his formidable talents to advocate for his clients with the utmost dedication and to uphold the pillars of integrity and excellence that the firm stands for.
Partner, Luther Strange & Associates
Annie Donaldson Talley is Partner at Luther Strange and Associates. She recently departed the White House after serving as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to the President. Over the past four years, she provided outside counsel to the Donald J. Trump for President campaign; helped stand up and manage the White House Counsel’s Office; interfaced with agencies across the federal government; and advised the President of the United States, White House Counsel, Chief of Staff and other senior staff across the Executive Office of the President on a broad range of issues from regulatory reform to executive nominations to the day-to-day issues facing the Administration.
Prior to her White House service, Annie Donaldson Talley counseled clients in the non-profit, for-profit, political, and government sectors, as well as high-profile individuals in private practice at Jones Day and Patton Boggs. She provided strategic counseling to clients structuring their affairs to ensure compliance with a web of state and federal laws and represented clients in complex, multi-faceted investigations, leading teams navigating issues of intense public scrutiny.
Annie Donaldson Talley is also a veteran of three presidential campaigns and served in state government. She holds a B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Alabama and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she served on the Harvard Law Review. She lives in Montgomery, Alabama with her husband, Brett.
Partner, Hilgers Graben PLLC
Alice LaCour is a litigation partner at Hilgers Graben PLLC and the co-host of two legal true crime podcasts: The Prosecutors Podcast and Legal Briefs, which have been downloaded over ten million times and featured on Apple Podcast's top 100 podcasts. Recently, she served as First Assistant and Criminal Chief at the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Middle District of Alabama, where she prosecuted cases spanning from guns and drugs to complex white collar crimes. Alice also served as Counselor to the Attorney General and Senior Advisor and Counselor to Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Division. During these stints at the Justice Department, Alice also served on the confirmation teams to elevate Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Alice clerked for the Hon. Keith P. Ellison of the Southern District of Texas and the Hon. Jennifer Walker Elrod of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Alice received her J.D. from Yale Law School, and she graduated summa cum laude from Washington and Lee University with a degree in Economics and a concentration in Poverty and Human Capabilities.
Counsel, Consovoy McCarthy PLLC
Ms. Meehan represents clients in all phases of litigation, with a focus on constitutional litigation and appellate matters. She has assisted clients on a broad range of matters, including those involving constitutional issues, the interpretation of federal statutes and regulations, contractual disputes and other complex commercial issues.
Ms. Meehan has served as a court-appointed amicus curiae for the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in an en banc appeal involving the federal habeas statute. She has successfully petitioned the Seventh Circuit to halt the deposition of a high-ranking public official, and she has served as trial counsel in related redistricting litigation. Previously, Ms. Meehan was a partner at Bartlit Beck, where she served as trial and appellate counsel for a variety of complex commercial disputes, patent disputes, and cases involving constitutional claims.
Ms. Meehan is a former law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge William H. Pryor Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She graduated with high honors from the University of Chicago Law School, where she was selected for Order of the Coif and served as Managing Editor of the Law Review. Ms. Meehan is also a graduate, summa cum laude, from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Ms. Meehan is located in Illinois and is a member of the Illinois and District of Columbia bars. Her application to the Virginia bar is pending.
Senior Advisor and Research Fellow, The Heritage Foundation
Allen Mendenhall is a Senior Advisor for the Capital Markets Initiative and Research Fellow in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. Previously, he served as Associate Dean and Grady Rosier Professor in the Sorrell College of Business at Troy University, where he also directed the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy. He is also a Visiting Fellow at the Madden Center for Value Creation at Florida Atlantic University.
His books include Literature and Liberty: Essays in Libertarian Literary Criticism (2014), Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Pragmatism, and the Jurisprudence of Agon: Aesthetic Dissent and the Common Law (2017), Of Bees and Boys: Lines from a Southern Lawyer (2017), The Southern Philosopher: Collected Essays of John William Corrington (2017), Writers on Writing: Conversations with Allen Mendenhall (2019), The Three Ps of Liberty: Pragmatism, Pluralism, and Polycentricity (2020), Shouting Softly: Essays on Law, Literature, and Culture (2021), A Glooming Peace This Morning (2023, a novel), and Controversies Among Conservatives: Conversations on Conservatism, Vol. II (2024, edited with Marcus Witcher and Kevin Hughes). His monthly segment “Word to the Wise” appears on Troy Public Radio (WTSU 89.9, WRWA 88.7, WTJB 91.7), and he writes a weekly column for 1819 News, Alabama’s bold and innovative conservative news outlet.
Mendenhall holds a B.A. in English from Furman University, an M.A. in English from West Virginia University, a J.D. from West Virginia University College of Law, an LL.M. in transnational law from Temple University Beasley School of Law, and a Ph.D. in English from Auburn University.
From 2016 to 2020, he was Associate Dean and Founding Executive Director of the Blackstone & Burke Center for Law & Liberty at Faulkner University’s Thomas Goode Jones School of Law in Montgomery, Alabama. He edited Southern Literary Review for over a decade (2011–2022) and has served as a visiting scholar (2020) and trustee (2023) at the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER), an adjunct legal associate at the Cato Institute (2009), a Mises Canada Emerging Scholar with the Ludwig von Mises Institute Canada (2014), an elected member of the Mont Pelerin Society (2024), an associate of the Abbeville Institute (2011–present), a Humane Studies Fellow with the Institute for Humane Studies (2011–2012), a staff attorney for Chief Justice Roy S. Moore of the Supreme Court of Alabama (2013–2016), an Assistant Attorney General in the State of Alabama Office of Attorney General Luther Strange (2016), an AmPhil Fundraising Fellow with the Center for Civil Society of American Philanthropic (2023–2024), an Advisory Council Member of the Law & Liberty Circle at the Universidad Francisco Marroquín (2024–present), an elected member (2012) and former trustee (2018–2022) of the Philadelphia Society, an associated scholar at the Ludwig von Mises Institute (2017–present), a policy adviser for the Heartland Institute (2016–present), former president of the Alabama Association of Scholars (2017–2020), president of the Montgomery Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society (2013–present), and Chairman of the Board of Managers of the Alabama Center for Law & Liberty (2022–2024). In 2023, he was an inaugural recipient of the Freedom and Opportunity Academic Prize from the Heritage Foundation. In 2024, he was a Club For Growth Foundation Fellow and a Lincoln Fellow with the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey appointed him to the 2025–26 State Textbook Committee of the Alabama Department of Education.
He has taught in university English departments, business schools, a humanities department, a law school, a Japanese private school (juku), and a penitentiary, and he serves or has served on numerous boards of organizations as wide-ranging as the Alabama Public Television Foundation Authority (2019–2025), the Young Professionals Board of the Alabama Humanities Foundation (2015–2016), the Society for Law and Culture (a division of the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal) (2017–present), Trinity Christian School (2017–2020), Ivy Classical Academy (2025–present), and the Philadelphia Society (2018–2022). He served on the advisory council of the Ludwig von Mises Institute’s Master of Arts degree and Certificate Program in Austrian Economics from 2021–2023. While in private practice in Atlanta, he represented non-profit corporations and litigated cases involving real property, contracts, collections, foreclosures, restrictive covenants, and real estate transactions. He graduated from Leadership Lee County (Alabama), the Alabama State Bar Leadership Forum (Class 14), and the Atlas Leadership Academy of Atlas Network. He has authored hundreds of publications, including fiction and poetry, and studied under the creative writers Gilbert Allen, Michael Blumenthal, William Aarnes, and Chantel Acevedo.
His academic writing has appeared or is forthcoming in such peer-reviewed journals as The Journal Jurisprudence, The Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence, Public Choice, The Political Science Reviewer, Journal of Markets & Morality, Journal of Private Enterprise, The Texas Review of Law and Politics, European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy, Contemporary Pragmatism, The South Carolina Review, Academic Questions, The Independent Review, Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, Modernist Cultures, The British Journal of American Legal Studies, and in law reviews published by Georgetown University Law Center, UC Berkeley School of Law, The University of Texas School of Law, Emory University School of Law, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Texas A&M University School of Law, and Michigan State University College of Law.
His writing for popular media has appeared in Newsweek, Fox News, Fox Business, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, Pacific Standard, The Hill, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The American Conservative, City Journal, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, Public Discourse, Law & Liberty, The Epoch Times, The American Mind, The Freeman, Liberty, RealClearMarkets, The University Bookman, The Daily Signal, Chronicles, The Christian Lawyer, Writer’s Digest, The Conversation, and elsewhere. He has spoken at Harvard University, Brown University, Georgetown University Law Center, Francisco Marroquín University, Furman University, George Mason University, University of British Columbia, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Auburn University, West Virginia University, the Alabama State Capitol, the Alabama Supreme Court, and other universities and locations.
He has been quoted or cited in Fox Business, Fox News, Forbes, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The National Review, The Daily Caller, Le Monde, Times Higher Education, The College Fix, The Blaze Media, Campus Reform, Inside Higher Education, and U.S. News and World Report, and published by such organizations as the Ludwig von Mises Institute, the Ludwig von Mises Institute Canada, the Mercatus Center, the Foundation for Economic Education, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, the American Institute for Economic Research, the Charlemagne Institute, the Independent Institute, the Rockford Institute, the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal, the American Ideas Institute, Atlas Society, the Heartland Institute, the Abbeville Institute, the National Association of Scholars, the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, and the Libertarian Alliance. He frequently appears on radio and television on networks as wide-ranging as Fox News, Newsmax, Alabama Public Television, NewsNation, Al Jazeera, C-SPAN, Bill O’Reilly’s “No Spin News,” NTD News, The Daily Wire, Steve Bannon’s “War Room,” and BBC World News.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Andrew Brasher served as a United States District Judge for the Middle District of Alabama. Before taking the bench in May 2019, Judge Brasher was the Solicitor General of the State of Alabama, where he argued cases before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the Alabama Supreme Court. He previously served for several years as the Deputy Solicitor General and practiced in the litigation and white-collar criminal defense practice groups in the Birmingham, Alabama office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Brasher served as a law clerk to Judge William H. Pryor Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Judge Brasher earned his B.A., summa cum laude, from Samford University and his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where he was a member of the Harvard Law Review.
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.
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.
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.
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Insights on the National Spectrum Strategy