Vice President and Director, Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, Cato Institute
Norbert Michel is vice president and director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, where he specializes on issues pertaining to financial markets and monetary policy. Michel was most recently the Director for Data Analysis at the Heritage Foundation where he edited, and contributed chapters, to two books: The Case Against Dodd–Frank: How the “Consumer Protection” Law Endangers Americans, and Prosperity Unleashed: Smarter Financial Regulation
Michel was previously a tenured professor at Nicholls State University’s College of Business, teaching finance, economics and statistics. Before that, he worked at Heritage as a tax policy analyst in the think tank’s Center for Data Analysis from 2002 to 2005. He previously was with the global energy company Entergy, where he worked on models to help predict bankruptcies of commercial clients.
Michel holds a doctoral degree in financial economics from the University of New Orleans. He received his bachelor of business administration degree in finance and economics from Loyola University. He currently resides in Virginia.
Co-Chair, Actum LLC; Former Director, Office of Management and Budget
Mick Mulvaney is a co-chair at Actum LLC, a global consultancy designed to solve diverse public and private sector challenges. Mulvaney previously served as Acting White House Chief of Staff from January 2019 until March 2020.
Mulvaney also served as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He was nominated to the post by President Donald J. Trump in December 2016 and confirmed by the Senate on February 16, 2017. Prior to his time as the director of OMB, he served the people of the 5th District of South Carolina as their Congressman where he was first elected in 2010, he is the first Republican member to hold the seat in 128 years.
A lifelong Carolinas resident, he attended Georgetown University, graduating with honors in International Economics, Commerce, and Finance and graduated as an Honor Scholar – the highest award given to students of the Georgetown School of Foreign Service.
After college, Mick received his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a full academic scholarship. He completed his formal education at Harvard Business School's OPM program in 2006.
In addition to practicing law and opening his own firm, he also ran the family real estate business, started a small homebuilding company, and became a minority shareholder in a local family restaurant franchise.
While in Congress, he served on the Budget Committee, Joint Economic Committee, Small Business Committee, Financial Services Committee, and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
He was a founding member of the Indian Land Rotary, a member of St. Philip Neri Catholic Church, and founding member of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Mission.
Mick and Pam were married in 1998, and are the proud parents of triplets: James, Caroline, and Finnegan, and two great danes: Guiness and Harper.
Head of Regulatory, a16z Crypto
Michele Korver is the head of regulatory at a16z crypto, a leading venture capital fund that invests in crypto and web3 companies, where she works with policymakers to shape cryptocurrency regulation and helps web3 startups navigate the landscape.
Prior to joining a16z, Michele spent more than 25 years in government and law enforcement and has been at the forefront of the rapidly-evolving web3 space. Michele started her career in the Secret Service, advancing to become one of the foremost federal prosecutors in crypto, and was the U.S. Department of Justice’s first dedicated subject matter expert in cryptocurrency-related prosecutions and forfeitures, creating and managing the Criminal Division’s Digital Currency Initiative. Most recently she served as Chief Digital Currency Advisor at the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), advising on digital asset-related matters while advancing FinCEN’s leadership role within the space.
Michele participated in the Treasury-led U.S. delegation to the Financial Action Task Force, consulting on standards involving virtual asset activities and service providers, and was a contributing author to the Department of Justice’s 2020 Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework. She also co-authored the articles “Attribution in Cryptocurrency Cases” (Feb. 2019) and “Surfing the First Wave of Cryptocurrency Money Laundering” (May 2021) published in the DOJ Journal of Federal Law and Practice.
She received her B.A. from the University of Florida, her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law, and clerked for the Honorable William P. Dimitrouleas in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Solidus Labs; Former Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The Honorable Kathleen L. Kraninger is the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Solidus Labs where she leads the firm’s regulatory strategy and works to advance market integrity and responsible innovation in digital asset markets. Solidus Labs is the first automated, comprehensive, and testable market surveillance and risk monitoring hub tailored for digital assets.
Previously, she served as the Senate-confirmed Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from December 2018 until January 2021, leading the 1,500-person independent, regulatory and law enforcement agency. She made her mark on all aspects of the agency’s mission and operations, particularly in facilitating innovation, promoting financial inclusion and leading through the economic uncertainty of the global pandemic. In addition, Kraninger served on the board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Financial Stability Oversight Board, and as chair of the Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council.
Her distinguished public sector career spans senior roles at the Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security, the Office of Management and Budget, and in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Kraninger graduated magna cum laude from Marquette University and earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. She served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine.
Counsel, Government Affairs and Strategy, Paul Hastings
Dina Ellis Rochkind is Of Counsel in the Paul Hastings Government Affairs practice and is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. Her practice focuses on representing clients before Members of Congress on Capitol Hill and the Executive Branch. Ms. Rochkind represents clients in matters involving regulatory initiatives, policymaking and legislation, and enforcement actions. Ms. Rochkind's legislative experience allows her to advise her clients on the latest client initiatives, from starting a business to crowdsourcing; bitcoin ($bitcoin) and ICOs; and blockchain technologies.
Ms. Rochkind has over 20 years of experience on Capitol Hill, lobbying, and working for the Executive Branch. Prior to joining Paul Hastings, she served as Washington Director in the office of Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO). Other Capitol Hill experience includes serving as senior staff for various Congressional Committees and for Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA). Ms. Rochkind also served in the George W. Bush Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Treasury Department. She has been involved in drafting major pieces of legislation over the last two decades, including: the 2005 bankruptcy reform legislation, the FACT Act, E-Sign, Check 21, Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and, most recently, the comprehensive and bipartisan JOBS Act, for which she was the lead staffer in the Senate.
Ms. Rochkind has worked across party lines on both sides of the aisle to achieve key legislative successes and has a reputation for "getting things done" in Washington. She is also experienced in crisis management. During the auto industry crisis, Ms. Rochkind led the lobby to rescue Chrysler and handled the consequences and fallout from its bankruptcy. She has led legislative advocacy on behalf of major corporate entities and advised congressional leaders on issues such as banking, bankruptcy, insurance, other financial services, and economic development.
Prior to leading Rep. Coffman’s office, Ms. Rochkind served as Vice President of Federal Government Affairs for a leading mortgage lending company.
Ms. Rochkind is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania.
Counsel, Government Affairs and Strategy, Paul Hastings
Dina Ellis Rochkind is Of Counsel in the Paul Hastings Government Affairs practice and is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. Her practice focuses on representing clients before Members of Congress on Capitol Hill and the Executive Branch. Ms. Rochkind represents clients in matters involving regulatory initiatives, policymaking and legislation, and enforcement actions. Ms. Rochkind's legislative experience allows her to advise her clients on the latest client initiatives, from starting a business to crowdsourcing; bitcoin ($bitcoin) and ICOs; and blockchain technologies.
Ms. Rochkind has over 20 years of experience on Capitol Hill, lobbying, and working for the Executive Branch. Prior to joining Paul Hastings, she served as Washington Director in the office of Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO). Other Capitol Hill experience includes serving as senior staff for various Congressional Committees and for Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA). Ms. Rochkind also served in the George W. Bush Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Treasury Department. She has been involved in drafting major pieces of legislation over the last two decades, including: the 2005 bankruptcy reform legislation, the FACT Act, E-Sign, Check 21, Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and, most recently, the comprehensive and bipartisan JOBS Act, for which she was the lead staffer in the Senate.
Ms. Rochkind has worked across party lines on both sides of the aisle to achieve key legislative successes and has a reputation for "getting things done" in Washington. She is also experienced in crisis management. During the auto industry crisis, Ms. Rochkind led the lobby to rescue Chrysler and handled the consequences and fallout from its bankruptcy. She has led legislative advocacy on behalf of major corporate entities and advised congressional leaders on issues such as banking, bankruptcy, insurance, other financial services, and economic development.
Prior to leading Rep. Coffman’s office, Ms. Rochkind served as Vice President of Federal Government Affairs for a leading mortgage lending company.
Ms. Rochkind is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania.
Head of Regulatory, a16z Crypto
Michele Korver is the head of regulatory at a16z crypto, a leading venture capital fund that invests in crypto and web3 companies, where she works with policymakers to shape cryptocurrency regulation and helps web3 startups navigate the landscape.
Prior to joining a16z, Michele spent more than 25 years in government and law enforcement and has been at the forefront of the rapidly-evolving web3 space. Michele started her career in the Secret Service, advancing to become one of the foremost federal prosecutors in crypto, and was the U.S. Department of Justice’s first dedicated subject matter expert in cryptocurrency-related prosecutions and forfeitures, creating and managing the Criminal Division’s Digital Currency Initiative. Most recently she served as Chief Digital Currency Advisor at the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), advising on digital asset-related matters while advancing FinCEN’s leadership role within the space.
Michele participated in the Treasury-led U.S. delegation to the Financial Action Task Force, consulting on standards involving virtual asset activities and service providers, and was a contributing author to the Department of Justice’s 2020 Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework. She also co-authored the articles “Attribution in Cryptocurrency Cases” (Feb. 2019) and “Surfing the First Wave of Cryptocurrency Money Laundering” (May 2021) published in the DOJ Journal of Federal Law and Practice.
She received her B.A. from the University of Florida, her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law, and clerked for the Honorable William P. Dimitrouleas in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Solidus Labs; Former Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The Honorable Kathleen L. Kraninger is the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Solidus Labs where she leads the firm’s regulatory strategy and works to advance market integrity and responsible innovation in digital asset markets. Solidus Labs is the first automated, comprehensive, and testable market surveillance and risk monitoring hub tailored for digital assets.
Previously, she served as the Senate-confirmed Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from December 2018 until January 2021, leading the 1,500-person independent, regulatory and law enforcement agency. She made her mark on all aspects of the agency’s mission and operations, particularly in facilitating innovation, promoting financial inclusion and leading through the economic uncertainty of the global pandemic. In addition, Kraninger served on the board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Financial Stability Oversight Board, and as chair of the Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council.
Her distinguished public sector career spans senior roles at the Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security, the Office of Management and Budget, and in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Kraninger graduated magna cum laude from Marquette University and earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. She served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine.
Vice President and Director, Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, Cato Institute
Norbert Michel is vice president and director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, where he specializes on issues pertaining to financial markets and monetary policy. Michel was most recently the Director for Data Analysis at the Heritage Foundation where he edited, and contributed chapters, to two books: The Case Against Dodd–Frank: How the “Consumer Protection” Law Endangers Americans, and Prosperity Unleashed: Smarter Financial Regulation
Michel was previously a tenured professor at Nicholls State University’s College of Business, teaching finance, economics and statistics. Before that, he worked at Heritage as a tax policy analyst in the think tank’s Center for Data Analysis from 2002 to 2005. He previously was with the global energy company Entergy, where he worked on models to help predict bankruptcies of commercial clients.
Michel holds a doctoral degree in financial economics from the University of New Orleans. He received his bachelor of business administration degree in finance and economics from Loyola University. He currently resides in Virginia.
Co-Chair, Actum LLC; Former Director, Office of Management and Budget
Mick Mulvaney is a co-chair at Actum LLC, a global consultancy designed to solve diverse public and private sector challenges. Mulvaney previously served as Acting White House Chief of Staff from January 2019 until March 2020.
Mulvaney also served as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He was nominated to the post by President Donald J. Trump in December 2016 and confirmed by the Senate on February 16, 2017. Prior to his time as the director of OMB, he served the people of the 5th District of South Carolina as their Congressman where he was first elected in 2010, he is the first Republican member to hold the seat in 128 years.
A lifelong Carolinas resident, he attended Georgetown University, graduating with honors in International Economics, Commerce, and Finance and graduated as an Honor Scholar – the highest award given to students of the Georgetown School of Foreign Service.
After college, Mick received his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a full academic scholarship. He completed his formal education at Harvard Business School's OPM program in 2006.
In addition to practicing law and opening his own firm, he also ran the family real estate business, started a small homebuilding company, and became a minority shareholder in a local family restaurant franchise.
While in Congress, he served on the Budget Committee, Joint Economic Committee, Small Business Committee, Financial Services Committee, and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
He was a founding member of the Indian Land Rotary, a member of St. Philip Neri Catholic Church, and founding member of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Mission.
Mick and Pam were married in 1998, and are the proud parents of triplets: James, Caroline, and Finnegan, and two great danes: Guiness and Harper.
Counsel, Government Affairs and Strategy, Paul Hastings
Dina Ellis Rochkind is Of Counsel in the Paul Hastings Government Affairs practice and is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. Her practice focuses on representing clients before Members of Congress on Capitol Hill and the Executive Branch. Ms. Rochkind represents clients in matters involving regulatory initiatives, policymaking and legislation, and enforcement actions. Ms. Rochkind's legislative experience allows her to advise her clients on the latest client initiatives, from starting a business to crowdsourcing; bitcoin ($bitcoin) and ICOs; and blockchain technologies.
Ms. Rochkind has over 20 years of experience on Capitol Hill, lobbying, and working for the Executive Branch. Prior to joining Paul Hastings, she served as Washington Director in the office of Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO). Other Capitol Hill experience includes serving as senior staff for various Congressional Committees and for Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA). Ms. Rochkind also served in the George W. Bush Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Treasury Department. She has been involved in drafting major pieces of legislation over the last two decades, including: the 2005 bankruptcy reform legislation, the FACT Act, E-Sign, Check 21, Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and, most recently, the comprehensive and bipartisan JOBS Act, for which she was the lead staffer in the Senate.
Ms. Rochkind has worked across party lines on both sides of the aisle to achieve key legislative successes and has a reputation for "getting things done" in Washington. She is also experienced in crisis management. During the auto industry crisis, Ms. Rochkind led the lobby to rescue Chrysler and handled the consequences and fallout from its bankruptcy. She has led legislative advocacy on behalf of major corporate entities and advised congressional leaders on issues such as banking, bankruptcy, insurance, other financial services, and economic development.
Prior to leading Rep. Coffman’s office, Ms. Rochkind served as Vice President of Federal Government Affairs for a leading mortgage lending company.
Ms. Rochkind is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania.
Head of Regulatory, a16z Crypto
Michele Korver is the head of regulatory at a16z crypto, a leading venture capital fund that invests in crypto and web3 companies, where she works with policymakers to shape cryptocurrency regulation and helps web3 startups navigate the landscape.
Prior to joining a16z, Michele spent more than 25 years in government and law enforcement and has been at the forefront of the rapidly-evolving web3 space. Michele started her career in the Secret Service, advancing to become one of the foremost federal prosecutors in crypto, and was the U.S. Department of Justice’s first dedicated subject matter expert in cryptocurrency-related prosecutions and forfeitures, creating and managing the Criminal Division’s Digital Currency Initiative. Most recently she served as Chief Digital Currency Advisor at the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), advising on digital asset-related matters while advancing FinCEN’s leadership role within the space.
Michele participated in the Treasury-led U.S. delegation to the Financial Action Task Force, consulting on standards involving virtual asset activities and service providers, and was a contributing author to the Department of Justice’s 2020 Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework. She also co-authored the articles “Attribution in Cryptocurrency Cases” (Feb. 2019) and “Surfing the First Wave of Cryptocurrency Money Laundering” (May 2021) published in the DOJ Journal of Federal Law and Practice.
She received her B.A. from the University of Florida, her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law, and clerked for the Honorable William P. Dimitrouleas in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Solidus Labs; Former Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The Honorable Kathleen L. Kraninger is the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Solidus Labs where she leads the firm’s regulatory strategy and works to advance market integrity and responsible innovation in digital asset markets. Solidus Labs is the first automated, comprehensive, and testable market surveillance and risk monitoring hub tailored for digital assets.
Previously, she served as the Senate-confirmed Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from December 2018 until January 2021, leading the 1,500-person independent, regulatory and law enforcement agency. She made her mark on all aspects of the agency’s mission and operations, particularly in facilitating innovation, promoting financial inclusion and leading through the economic uncertainty of the global pandemic. In addition, Kraninger served on the board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Financial Stability Oversight Board, and as chair of the Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council.
Her distinguished public sector career spans senior roles at the Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security, the Office of Management and Budget, and in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Kraninger graduated magna cum laude from Marquette University and earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. She served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine.
Vice President and Director, Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, Cato Institute
Norbert Michel is vice president and director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, where he specializes on issues pertaining to financial markets and monetary policy. Michel was most recently the Director for Data Analysis at the Heritage Foundation where he edited, and contributed chapters, to two books: The Case Against Dodd–Frank: How the “Consumer Protection” Law Endangers Americans, and Prosperity Unleashed: Smarter Financial Regulation
Michel was previously a tenured professor at Nicholls State University’s College of Business, teaching finance, economics and statistics. Before that, he worked at Heritage as a tax policy analyst in the think tank’s Center for Data Analysis from 2002 to 2005. He previously was with the global energy company Entergy, where he worked on models to help predict bankruptcies of commercial clients.
Michel holds a doctoral degree in financial economics from the University of New Orleans. He received his bachelor of business administration degree in finance and economics from Loyola University. He currently resides in Virginia.
Co-Chair, Actum LLC; Former Director, Office of Management and Budget
Mick Mulvaney is a co-chair at Actum LLC, a global consultancy designed to solve diverse public and private sector challenges. Mulvaney previously served as Acting White House Chief of Staff from January 2019 until March 2020.
Mulvaney also served as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He was nominated to the post by President Donald J. Trump in December 2016 and confirmed by the Senate on February 16, 2017. Prior to his time as the director of OMB, he served the people of the 5th District of South Carolina as their Congressman where he was first elected in 2010, he is the first Republican member to hold the seat in 128 years.
A lifelong Carolinas resident, he attended Georgetown University, graduating with honors in International Economics, Commerce, and Finance and graduated as an Honor Scholar – the highest award given to students of the Georgetown School of Foreign Service.
After college, Mick received his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a full academic scholarship. He completed his formal education at Harvard Business School's OPM program in 2006.
In addition to practicing law and opening his own firm, he also ran the family real estate business, started a small homebuilding company, and became a minority shareholder in a local family restaurant franchise.
While in Congress, he served on the Budget Committee, Joint Economic Committee, Small Business Committee, Financial Services Committee, and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
He was a founding member of the Indian Land Rotary, a member of St. Philip Neri Catholic Church, and founding member of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Mission.
Mick and Pam were married in 1998, and are the proud parents of triplets: James, Caroline, and Finnegan, and two great danes: Guiness and Harper.
Senior Fellow, National Review
Bestselling author Andrew C. McCarthy is a contributing editor at National Review, a senior fellow at National Review Institute, and a Fox News contributor. He is a former Chief Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York and led the terrorism prosecution against the “Blind Sheikh” (Omar Abdel Rahman) and eleven other jihadists for conducting a war of urban terrorism against the United States that included the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a plot to bomb New York City landmarks. During is 20-year career as a prosecutor, he received numerous honors, including the Justice Department’s highest awards. Andy speaks and writes widely on law and national security, radical Islam, politics, and culture. He has testified before Congress as an expert on issues of constitutional law, counterterrorism, and law-enforcement. He is a columnist for The Hill, and his essays and book reviews appear frequently at The New Criterion. His most recent New York Times bestselling book is Ball of Collusion (Encounter Books, 2019), about the Russiagate controversy (an updated version was published in 2020). His other books include Willful Blindness (2008), The Grand Jihad (2010), Spring Fever: The Illusion of Islamic Democracy (2012), and Faithless Execution (2014). He has also written several pamphlets in the Broadside series published by Encounter Books, most recently Islam and Free Speech (2015).
Author and Founding Member, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center
Roya Hakakian is a writer. Her opinion columns, essays and book reviews appear in English language publications like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and NPR’s All Things Considered among many others. She has collaborated on over a dozen hours of programming for leading journalism units in network television, including CBS 60 Minutes. She currently serves as an editorial board member of World Affairs. An active thinker of foreign relations, Roya is a founding member of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. She has been featured in the Washington Post and the US News and World Report, among other publications. In the book, Political Awakenings by University of California at Berkeley’s Professor Harry Kreisler, she has been highlighted “among the most important activists, academics, and journalists of her generation.”
In 2008, she received a Guggenheim prize in nonfiction. It enabled her to complete the work on her most recent book, Assassins of the Turquoise Palace (Grove/Atlantic), about Iran’s terror campaign against exiled dissidents in Western Europe received the Asian American Literary Award for best non-fiction book in 2013. It was named a New York Times Notable Book in 2011, made Newsweek’s Top Ten Not-to-be-missed books and was among Kirkus Reviews Best Non-Fictions in the same year. Her account of the work of the German prosecutor of the case, a modern day Atticus Finch, moved the US Federal Bar Association to establish “the Rule of Law Award,” the first of which was bestowed upon that prosecutor in 2014 at the Daniel Moynihan Federal Courthouse in New York City.
Her memoir of growing up a Jewish teenager in post-revolutionary Iran, Journey from the Land of No: A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran (Crown) has been a celebrated Freshman Experience book at a number of colleges in the US. It was a Barnes and Noble’s Pick of the Week, Ms. Magazine Must Read of the Summer, Publishers Weekly’s Best Book of the Year, Elle Magazine’s Best Nonfiction Book of 2004, and was named Best Memoir by the Connecticut Center for the Book in 2005 and has been translated into several languages including German, Dutch, and Spanish.
She is currently at work on a new book at the The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars where she has been awarded a fellowship in 2014. Talking to her readers is one of her great joys and she has addressed them at venues ranging from high schools on Native American reservations to the US Capitol and the CIA.
Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center
Professor Koplow specializes in the areas of public international law and national security law. He joined the Georgetown Law faculty in 1981. His principal courses have been International Law I (the introductory survey of public international law topics), a seminar in the area of arms control, non-proliferation and terrorism, and the pro-seminar for LLM students in national security law. In addition, he has directed a clinic, the Center for Applied Legal Studies, in which students provide pro bono representation to refugees who seek asylum in the United States because of persecution in their homelands. His government service has included stints as Special Counsel for Arms Control to the General Counsel of the Department of Defense (2009-2011); as Deputy General Counsel for International Affairs at the Department of Defense (1997-1999); and as Attorney-Advisor and Special Assistant to the Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (1978-1981). He is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School and a Rhodes Scholar. Most of his scholarly writing concentrates on the intersection between international law and U.S. constitutional law, especially in the areas of arms control and national security and treaty negotiation and implementation.
Legal Counsel, Global Religious Freedom, ADF International
Sean Nelson serves as Legal Counsel for Global Religious Freedom with ADF International, where he advocates on behalf of Christians and other religious minorities being persecuted for their faith around the world.
East Asia Team Leader, Christian Solidarity Worldwide
Benedict Rogers is a journalist and human rights advocate based in London. His work focuses mainly on Burma, North Korea and Indonesia. He is a regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Huffington Post and has appeared on BBC, CNN, Sky, Al Jazeera and other television and radio stations. He is the co-founder and deputy chairman of the Conservative Party's human rights commission and the co-founder of the International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea. He is also the East Asia Team Leader at Christian Solidarity Worldwide and the founder of Hong Kong Watch. He has written three books which focus on Burma, including A Land Without Evil: Stopping the Genocide of Burma's Karen People (Monarch, 2004) and Burma: A Nation at the Crossroads (2012), and co-authored two others on Christian human rights obligations.
Counsel, Government Affairs and Strategy, Paul Hastings
Dina Ellis Rochkind is Of Counsel in the Paul Hastings Government Affairs practice and is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. Her practice focuses on representing clients before Members of Congress on Capitol Hill and the Executive Branch. Ms. Rochkind represents clients in matters involving regulatory initiatives, policymaking and legislation, and enforcement actions. Ms. Rochkind's legislative experience allows her to advise her clients on the latest client initiatives, from starting a business to crowdsourcing; bitcoin ($bitcoin) and ICOs; and blockchain technologies.
Ms. Rochkind has over 20 years of experience on Capitol Hill, lobbying, and working for the Executive Branch. Prior to joining Paul Hastings, she served as Washington Director in the office of Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO). Other Capitol Hill experience includes serving as senior staff for various Congressional Committees and for Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA). Ms. Rochkind also served in the George W. Bush Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Treasury Department. She has been involved in drafting major pieces of legislation over the last two decades, including: the 2005 bankruptcy reform legislation, the FACT Act, E-Sign, Check 21, Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and, most recently, the comprehensive and bipartisan JOBS Act, for which she was the lead staffer in the Senate.
Ms. Rochkind has worked across party lines on both sides of the aisle to achieve key legislative successes and has a reputation for "getting things done" in Washington. She is also experienced in crisis management. During the auto industry crisis, Ms. Rochkind led the lobby to rescue Chrysler and handled the consequences and fallout from its bankruptcy. She has led legislative advocacy on behalf of major corporate entities and advised congressional leaders on issues such as banking, bankruptcy, insurance, other financial services, and economic development.
Prior to leading Rep. Coffman’s office, Ms. Rochkind served as Vice President of Federal Government Affairs for a leading mortgage lending company.
Ms. Rochkind is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania.
Head of Regulatory, a16z Crypto
Michele Korver is the head of regulatory at a16z crypto, a leading venture capital fund that invests in crypto and web3 companies, where she works with policymakers to shape cryptocurrency regulation and helps web3 startups navigate the landscape.
Prior to joining a16z, Michele spent more than 25 years in government and law enforcement and has been at the forefront of the rapidly-evolving web3 space. Michele started her career in the Secret Service, advancing to become one of the foremost federal prosecutors in crypto, and was the U.S. Department of Justice’s first dedicated subject matter expert in cryptocurrency-related prosecutions and forfeitures, creating and managing the Criminal Division’s Digital Currency Initiative. Most recently she served as Chief Digital Currency Advisor at the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), advising on digital asset-related matters while advancing FinCEN’s leadership role within the space.
Michele participated in the Treasury-led U.S. delegation to the Financial Action Task Force, consulting on standards involving virtual asset activities and service providers, and was a contributing author to the Department of Justice’s 2020 Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework. She also co-authored the articles “Attribution in Cryptocurrency Cases” (Feb. 2019) and “Surfing the First Wave of Cryptocurrency Money Laundering” (May 2021) published in the DOJ Journal of Federal Law and Practice.
She received her B.A. from the University of Florida, her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law, and clerked for the Honorable William P. Dimitrouleas in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Solidus Labs; Former Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The Honorable Kathleen L. Kraninger is the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Solidus Labs where she leads the firm’s regulatory strategy and works to advance market integrity and responsible innovation in digital asset markets. Solidus Labs is the first automated, comprehensive, and testable market surveillance and risk monitoring hub tailored for digital assets.
Previously, she served as the Senate-confirmed Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from December 2018 until January 2021, leading the 1,500-person independent, regulatory and law enforcement agency. She made her mark on all aspects of the agency’s mission and operations, particularly in facilitating innovation, promoting financial inclusion and leading through the economic uncertainty of the global pandemic. In addition, Kraninger served on the board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Financial Stability Oversight Board, and as chair of the Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council.
Her distinguished public sector career spans senior roles at the Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security, the Office of Management and Budget, and in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Kraninger graduated magna cum laude from Marquette University and earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. She served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine.
Vice President and Director, Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, Cato Institute
Norbert Michel is vice president and director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, where he specializes on issues pertaining to financial markets and monetary policy. Michel was most recently the Director for Data Analysis at the Heritage Foundation where he edited, and contributed chapters, to two books: The Case Against Dodd–Frank: How the “Consumer Protection” Law Endangers Americans, and Prosperity Unleashed: Smarter Financial Regulation
Michel was previously a tenured professor at Nicholls State University’s College of Business, teaching finance, economics and statistics. Before that, he worked at Heritage as a tax policy analyst in the think tank’s Center for Data Analysis from 2002 to 2005. He previously was with the global energy company Entergy, where he worked on models to help predict bankruptcies of commercial clients.
Michel holds a doctoral degree in financial economics from the University of New Orleans. He received his bachelor of business administration degree in finance and economics from Loyola University. He currently resides in Virginia.
Co-Chair, Actum LLC; Former Director, Office of Management and Budget
Mick Mulvaney is a co-chair at Actum LLC, a global consultancy designed to solve diverse public and private sector challenges. Mulvaney previously served as Acting White House Chief of Staff from January 2019 until March 2020.
Mulvaney also served as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He was nominated to the post by President Donald J. Trump in December 2016 and confirmed by the Senate on February 16, 2017. Prior to his time as the director of OMB, he served the people of the 5th District of South Carolina as their Congressman where he was first elected in 2010, he is the first Republican member to hold the seat in 128 years.
A lifelong Carolinas resident, he attended Georgetown University, graduating with honors in International Economics, Commerce, and Finance and graduated as an Honor Scholar – the highest award given to students of the Georgetown School of Foreign Service.
After college, Mick received his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a full academic scholarship. He completed his formal education at Harvard Business School's OPM program in 2006.
In addition to practicing law and opening his own firm, he also ran the family real estate business, started a small homebuilding company, and became a minority shareholder in a local family restaurant franchise.
While in Congress, he served on the Budget Committee, Joint Economic Committee, Small Business Committee, Financial Services Committee, and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
He was a founding member of the Indian Land Rotary, a member of St. Philip Neri Catholic Church, and founding member of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Mission.
Mick and Pam were married in 1998, and are the proud parents of triplets: James, Caroline, and Finnegan, and two great danes: Guiness and Harper.
Author and Founding Member, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center
Roya Hakakian is a writer. Her opinion columns, essays and book reviews appear in English language publications like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and NPR’s All Things Considered among many others. She has collaborated on over a dozen hours of programming for leading journalism units in network television, including CBS 60 Minutes. She currently serves as an editorial board member of World Affairs. An active thinker of foreign relations, Roya is a founding member of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. She has been featured in the Washington Post and the US News and World Report, among other publications. In the book, Political Awakenings by University of California at Berkeley’s Professor Harry Kreisler, she has been highlighted “among the most important activists, academics, and journalists of her generation.”
In 2008, she received a Guggenheim prize in nonfiction. It enabled her to complete the work on her most recent book, Assassins of the Turquoise Palace (Grove/Atlantic), about Iran’s terror campaign against exiled dissidents in Western Europe received the Asian American Literary Award for best non-fiction book in 2013. It was named a New York Times Notable Book in 2011, made Newsweek’s Top Ten Not-to-be-missed books and was among Kirkus Reviews Best Non-Fictions in the same year. Her account of the work of the German prosecutor of the case, a modern day Atticus Finch, moved the US Federal Bar Association to establish “the Rule of Law Award,” the first of which was bestowed upon that prosecutor in 2014 at the Daniel Moynihan Federal Courthouse in New York City.
Her memoir of growing up a Jewish teenager in post-revolutionary Iran, Journey from the Land of No: A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran (Crown) has been a celebrated Freshman Experience book at a number of colleges in the US. It was a Barnes and Noble’s Pick of the Week, Ms. Magazine Must Read of the Summer, Publishers Weekly’s Best Book of the Year, Elle Magazine’s Best Nonfiction Book of 2004, and was named Best Memoir by the Connecticut Center for the Book in 2005 and has been translated into several languages including German, Dutch, and Spanish.
She is currently at work on a new book at the The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars where she has been awarded a fellowship in 2014. Talking to her readers is one of her great joys and she has addressed them at venues ranging from high schools on Native American reservations to the US Capitol and the CIA.
Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center
Professor Koplow specializes in the areas of public international law and national security law. He joined the Georgetown Law faculty in 1981. His principal courses have been International Law I (the introductory survey of public international law topics), a seminar in the area of arms control, non-proliferation and terrorism, and the pro-seminar for LLM students in national security law. In addition, he has directed a clinic, the Center for Applied Legal Studies, in which students provide pro bono representation to refugees who seek asylum in the United States because of persecution in their homelands. His government service has included stints as Special Counsel for Arms Control to the General Counsel of the Department of Defense (2009-2011); as Deputy General Counsel for International Affairs at the Department of Defense (1997-1999); and as Attorney-Advisor and Special Assistant to the Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (1978-1981). He is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School and a Rhodes Scholar. Most of his scholarly writing concentrates on the intersection between international law and U.S. constitutional law, especially in the areas of arms control and national security and treaty negotiation and implementation.
Legal Counsel, Global Religious Freedom, ADF International
Sean Nelson serves as Legal Counsel for Global Religious Freedom with ADF International, where he advocates on behalf of Christians and other religious minorities being persecuted for their faith around the world.
East Asia Team Leader, Christian Solidarity Worldwide
Benedict Rogers is a journalist and human rights advocate based in London. His work focuses mainly on Burma, North Korea and Indonesia. He is a regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Huffington Post and has appeared on BBC, CNN, Sky, Al Jazeera and other television and radio stations. He is the co-founder and deputy chairman of the Conservative Party's human rights commission and the co-founder of the International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea. He is also the East Asia Team Leader at Christian Solidarity Worldwide and the founder of Hong Kong Watch. He has written three books which focus on Burma, including A Land Without Evil: Stopping the Genocide of Burma's Karen People (Monarch, 2004) and Burma: A Nation at the Crossroads (2012), and co-authored two others on Christian human rights obligations.
Senior Fellow, Cato Institute
Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, specializing in foreign policy and civil liberties. He worked as special assistant to President Reagan and editor of the political magazine Inquiry. He writes regularly for leading publications such as Fortune magazine, National Interest, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Times. Bandow speaks frequently at academic conferences, on college campuses, and to business groups. Bandow has been a regular commentator on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC. He holds a J.D. from Stanford University.
Deep Dive Episode 227 – Crypto Wars: Balancing Privacy versus National Security
Norbert J. Michel, Mick Mulvaney, Michele Korver, Kathy Kraninger, Dina Ellis Rochkind
Senior officials in the Administration have expressed concern about cryptocurrencies being used for criminal activity...
Crypto Wars: Balancing Privacy versus National Security
Dina Ellis Rochkind, Michele Korver, Kathy Kraninger, Norbert J. Michel, Mick Mulvaney
Senior officials in the Administration have expressed concern about cryptocurrencies being used for criminal activity...
Crypto Wars: Balancing Privacy versus National Security
Dina Ellis Rochkind, Michele Korver, Kathy Kraninger, Norbert J. Michel, Mick Mulvaney
Senior officials in the Administration have expressed concern about cryptocurrencies being used for criminal activity...
Crypto Wars: Balancing Privacy versus National Security
TeleforumTopics
Public Discourse Article: Abortion Laws across the Globe and at Home
Within the next three months, likely near the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court...
Topics
Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community
On April 9, 2021, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released the Annual...
The Accidental Defender of the Constitution
Andrew McCarthy
A Review of Defender in Chief: Donald Trump’s Fight for Presidential Power, by John Yoo,...
Nuclear Arms Agreements and Human Rights
Roya Hakakian, David Koplow, Sean Nelson, Benedict Rogers
Governments that seek to acquire nuclear weapons, such as Iran and North Korea, are sometimes...
Nuclear Arms Agreements and Human Rights
TeleforumFriendly Neighborhood ...China and North Korea?
Florida International Student Chapter
Miami, FL