Former EVP and GC, CSRA Inc; former EVP and GC, SIGA Technologies; former Chief Corporate Counsel, Chevron Corporation; former GC of the Dept of Defense
Jim Haynes is a corporate executive advising early-stage companies in emerging technologies.
Mr. Haynes has served at the highest levels in the private sector (as executive vice president and chief legal officer of two publicly traded corporations) and the public sector (with senateconfirmed appointments by two United States presidents.) Most recently, Mr. Haynes was executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of CSRA Inc., a next generation information technologies solutions and services company, until CSRA was acquired by General Dynamics Corporation for $9.7 billion.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Haynes was executive vice president and general counsel of SIGA Technologies, Inc. (biotechnology); chief corporate counsel of Chevron Corporation (energy); and staff vice president and associate general counsel of General Dynamics Corporation (government contractor).
Mr. Haynes is the longest serving General Counsel of the Department of Defense (2001-2008), holding that office under Secretaries Donald H. Rumsfeld and Robert M. Gates during the administration of President George W. Bush. From 1990-1993, Mr. Haynes served as General Counsel of the Department of the Army during the administration of President George H. W. Bush.
Mr. Haynes was twice a partner in Jenner & Block, a national law firm. Mr. Haynes also was a volunteer in central Asia for Mercy Corps International, helping manage a micro-credit program.
After graduating from Davidson College and Harvard Law School, Mr. Haynes clerked for Judge James B. McMillan in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mr. Haynes then served four years active duty as a captain in the U. S. Army.
Mr. Haynes has earned numerous honors and awards, including various medals from the Department of Defense; the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force; and the Department of Justice. Mr. Haynes holds an honorary Doctor of Laws from Stetson University Law School. Mr. Haynes is a member of the advisory committee of the National Security Institute of the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University; a member of the advisory council of the United States Court of Federal Claims; a trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society; and a trustee of the Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts of America.
Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Eric Kadel is engaged in a wide variety of corporate, transactional and regulatory matters. He is a member of the Firm’s Corporate and Finance, Financial Services, Investment Management, Alternative Investment Management, Cybersecurity, and Commodities, Futures and Derivatives Groups. With regard to financings, Mr. Kadel regularly represents participants in capital markets transactions, and dealers and end users in connection with structuring and documenting a wide variety of swaps and other derivatives, including equity, credit default and commodity swaps, options and forwards. Mr. Kadel’s work in the investment management area includes advising public and private investment companies and investment advisers on a wide variety of transactional, regulatory, compliance and other matters, including registration and regulation. Mr. Kadel also advises clients of the Firm regarding developments in the laws regulating the financial services industry and on cybersecurity issues. Mr. Kadel is currently an adjunct professor at George Washington University Law School.
In addition, Mr. Kadel is one of the principal partners in the Firm’s International Trade and Investment practice. He counsels and represents clients on questions about U.S. economic sanctions, including those administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), United States antiboycott requirements under the Export Administration Regulations administered and enforced by the Commerce Department’s Office of Antiboycott Compliance within the Bureau of Industry and Security, Bank Secrecy Act/anti‐money laundering laws and the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). Mr. Kadel’s practice includes analysis of proposed transactions and business relationships; due diligence and design and review of compliance procedures and strategies; and internal investigations, voluntary disclosures and government enforcement actions. Mr. Kadel also regularly advises clients regarding questions arising under Exon-Florio and the transaction review process administered by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), and has represented clients before CFIUS on many national security reviews.
Partner, Mayer Brown
Prof. Tim Keeler, an attorney in the Government and International Trade Group, joined Mayer Brown in 2009, and brings an in-depth knowledge of international trade law and economic policy matters, and a history of working in the Executive Branch and Congress on major economic, legislative and regulatory issues.
Prior to joining Mayer Brown, Professor Keeler served in a variety of senior positions in the U.S. Government for almost 12 years. Most recently he was the Chief of Staff in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) from 2006 - 2009, where he oversaw implementation of U.S. policy, strategy and negotiations involving all aspects of international trade and investment matters. He worked on a number of key issues including: climate change and trade; US and China relations; WTO negotiations and litigation; free trade agreement negotiations and implementation; and CFIUS decisions.
Before working for USTR, Prof. Keeler spent more than five years at the Treasury Department from 2001 – 2006. He joined the Office of Legislative Affairs in 2001 as a Deputy to the Assistant Secretary for International Issues, where he was responsible for Treasury’s legislative strategy on issues including capital market sanctions, foreign exchange rate policy testimony, appropriations for U.S. agreements to replenish the World Bank and other Multilateral Development Banks, multilateral debt relief, and U.S. participation in the International Monetary Fund. He later managed the Office of Legislative Affairs from 2002 - 2006 and assisted on all policy and personnel issues in the Office. This included leading Treasury nominees through the U.S. Senate confirmation process, legislative strategy on Treasury Intelligence and Terrorist Financing matters, and advising on major economic legislative initiatives such as the 2003 tax cuts and social security reform proposals.
Prof. Keeler also served on the Presidential Transition Team in 2000–2001 as a policy coordinator on export control and trade remedy policy, handling the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Export Administration (now called the Bureau of Industry and Security) and the International Trade Commission (ITC).
Earlier in his career, Prof. Keeler served as a professional staff member for international trade on the US Senate Finance Committee under Chairman William V. Roth (R-DE). There he worked on legislation establishing permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) between the U.S. and China, preferential trade programs for Sub-Saharan Africa (the African Growth and Opportunity Act) and the Caribbean basin, the Generalized System of Preferences, legislation to bring the U.S. into compliance with the WTO decision on the Foreign Sales Corporation provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, and the miscellaneous tariff bill.
In recognition of his government service, Prof. Keeler was awarded the USTR Distinguished Service Award, the Treasury Distinguished Service Award, and the Treasury Secretary’s Honor Award twice.
Prof. Keeler is also an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University School of Law, co-teaching a course on U.S. and WTO law, policy, and politics; is a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington International Trade Foundation; and is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Prof. Keeler has spoken at conferences on international trade and economic issues sponsored by, inter alia, the American Bar Association (Climate Change and Trade, March 2009), the Korea Economic Institute (the U.S. – Korea Free Trade Agreement, October 2010), and the U.S.-China Business Council (Sec. 421 tires safeguard case, July 2009; and the U.S. – China Economic and Political Relationship, January 2010).
Co-Chair, NYU Center for Cybersecurity; Distinguished Fellow, Center on Law and Security; Professor of Practice, New York University School of Law
Randal Milch is the Co-Chair of the NYU Center for Cybersecurity, a Distinguished Fellow at the Center on Law and Security, and a Professor of Practice at NYU School of Law. He was most recently executive vice president and strategic policy adviser to Verizon’s chairman and CEO. He served as the company’s general counsel from 2008 to 2014, and before that was general counsel of several business divisions within Verizon. At Verizon, Milch chaired the Verizon Executive Security Council, which was responsible for information security across all Verizon entities. Milch was responsible for national security matters at Verizon beginning in 2006, and has served as the senior cleared executive at Verizon. Earlier in his career, Milch was a partner in the Washington, DC office of Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine. Milch holds a JD from New York University School of Law and a BA from Yale University.
Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, Qualcomm
Donald J. Rosenberg is executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Qualcomm Incorporated. Mr. Rosenberg reports directly to CEO Steve Mollenkopf and is a member of the company's Executive Committee. In his role as chief legal officer, he is responsible for overseeing Qualcomm's worldwide legal affairs including litigation, intellectual property and corporate matters. Qualcomm's Government Affairs, Internal Audit and Compliance organizations also report to him.
Prior to joining Qualcomm, Mr. Rosenberg served as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Apple Inc. Prior to that, he was senior vice president and general counsel of IBM Corporation where he had also held numerous positions including vice president and assistant general counsel for litigation and counsel to IBM's mainframe division.
Mr. Rosenberg has had extensive experience in corporate governance, compliance, law department management, litigation, securities regulation, intellectual property and competition issues.
Mr. Rosenberg is a board member of NuVasive, Inc., Corporate Directors Forum, CONNECT, La Jolla Music Society, La Jolla Playhouse and a trustee of Rady Children's Hospital San Diego and the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. He is immediate past National Co-Chairman of the Board of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, where he continues to serve on the Board and the Executive Committee.
Mr. Rosenberg is a member of the International Advisory Board, University of California San Diego (UCSD) School of Global Policy and Strategy. He is also a member of the China Leadership Board for the 21st Century China Center at the UCSD. He has served as an adjunct professor of law at New York's Pace University School of Law, where he taught courses in intellectual property and antitrust law.
Mr. Rosenberg received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and his juris doctor from St. John's University School of Law.
Secretary, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Alex M. Azar II was sworn in as the Secretary of Health and Human Services on Jan. 29, 2018. Azar has spent his career working in both the public and private sectors, as an attorney and in senior leadership roles focused on advancing healthcare reform, research and innovation.
From 2001 to 2007, Azar served at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – first as its General Counsel (2001–2005) and then as Deputy Secretary. During his time as Deputy Secretary, Azar was involved in improving the department’s operations; advancing its emergency preparedness and response capabilities as well as its global health affairs activities; and helping oversee the rollout of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program.
In 2007, Azar rejoined the private sector as senior vice president for corporate affairs and communications at Eli Lilly and Co. From 2012 to 2017, he served as president of Lilly USA LLC, the company’s largest affiliate.
Azar clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia prior to practicing law for several years.
Azar graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in economics and government from Dartmouth College and earned his law degree from Yale University.
For the past 10 years, Azar has lived in Indiana with his wife and their two children.
Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
Dean Reuter is Executive Vice President at the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. He has served in two federal government agency Offices of the Inspector General, as Counsel to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General, responsible for policing the use of federal funds granted and contracted through those agencies. As such, he helped conduct and oversee criminal investigations across the country. He is the principal author of the non-fiction book, The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America's Deal with the Devil, and editor of Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State and Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security. He was appointed by the President and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and recently served as an appointee on the U.S. Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is a graduate of Hood College (BA with Honors) and the University of Maryland School of Law.
Secretary, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Alex M. Azar II was sworn in as the Secretary of Health and Human Services on Jan. 29, 2018. Azar has spent his career working in both the public and private sectors, as an attorney and in senior leadership roles focused on advancing healthcare reform, research and innovation.
From 2001 to 2007, Azar served at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – first as its General Counsel (2001–2005) and then as Deputy Secretary. During his time as Deputy Secretary, Azar was involved in improving the department’s operations; advancing its emergency preparedness and response capabilities as well as its global health affairs activities; and helping oversee the rollout of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program.
In 2007, Azar rejoined the private sector as senior vice president for corporate affairs and communications at Eli Lilly and Co. From 2012 to 2017, he served as president of Lilly USA LLC, the company’s largest affiliate.
Azar clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia prior to practicing law for several years.
Azar graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in economics and government from Dartmouth College and earned his law degree from Yale University.
For the past 10 years, Azar has lived in Indiana with his wife and their two children.
Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
Dean Reuter is Executive Vice President at the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. He has served in two federal government agency Offices of the Inspector General, as Counsel to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General, responsible for policing the use of federal funds granted and contracted through those agencies. As such, he helped conduct and oversee criminal investigations across the country. He is the principal author of the non-fiction book, The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America's Deal with the Devil, and editor of Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State and Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security. He was appointed by the President and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and recently served as an appointee on the U.S. Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is a graduate of Hood College (BA with Honors) and the University of Maryland School of Law.
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, T-Mobile
As Senior Vice President, Government Affairs for T-Mobile, Kathleen O’Brien Ham is the chief public policy advocate for the Un-carrier. Kathleen manages all public policy issues before federal and state governments impacting the company. Her team regularly engages Congress, the FCC, state agencies, and other governmental bodies on a wide range of regulatory and policy issues, including spectrum, consumer, public safety, and competition matters. She has led numerous successful efforts to gain additional radio spectrum for the company, including most recently, the acquisition of 600 MHz frequencies to expand T-Mobile’s coverage and deploy 5G technology. She has also testified before Congress numerous times in support of the company’s public policy positions.
Prior to joining T-Mobile, she worked for fourteen years at the FCC in several top policy positions, including Deputy Chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. She was the first Chief of the FCC’s Spectrum Auctions Program where she was responsible for the early landmark PCS spectrum auctions. She also served on the FCC’s Spectrum Management Task Force and was involved in the Intergovernmental Advisory Committee that negotiated the reallocation of third generation (3G) wireless spectrum from government to commercial use.
A graduate of Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law, she received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado, with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. For several years, she taught telecommunications as an adjunct professor at Catholic University. She has received numerous industry honors and recognition, most recently being named as one of 50 of the Most Influential Women in Wireless to Watch in 2017 by Global Telecoms Business. The Hill named her as one of the Top Lobbyists in 2016. In 2014 the Competitive Carriers Association celebrated her contributions to the industry with an Outstanding Achievement Award for her work in support of spectrum auction rules that benefit smaller carriers and help promote competition in the wireless ecosystem. And, since 2010 she has been named four times as one of the Most Influential Women in Wireless by FierceWireless.
President & CEO, Center for Democracy & Technology
Nuala O’Connor is the President & CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology, a global nonprofit committed to advancing our digital rights. She is a vocal advocate for harnessing the potential of the internet and emerging technologies to increase equality, amplify voices, and promote human rights. At CDT, Nuala leads a diverse team that is driving policy solutions that advance the rights of the individual in the digital age. Her experience working in the federal government, multinational corporations, tech start-ups, and noted law firms informs her innovative and collaborative leadership approach.
Nuala began her career in the private sector, working at the law firms of Venable, Hudson Cook, and Sidley. She entered the technology sector when she joined the start-up DoubleClick as Deputy General Counsel. While there, and in her later position as Vice President & Chief Privacy Officer of Email & Emerging Technologies, she worked on numerous class actions, a multistate settlement with state attorneys general, and an FTC investigation before helping to create the company’s privacy compliance department, which still serves as an influential model for companies in the technology sector and beyond. She later served as Global Privacy Leader at General Electric (GE) and was responsible for privacy policy and practices across GE’s numerous divisions. Her most recent corporate experience was at Amazon.com, where she served as Vice President, Compliance & Consumer Trust, and Associate General Counsel Data & Privacy Protection.
Between her stints in the private sector, Nuala served in various capacities within the federal government. At the U.S. Department of Commerce she worked on global technology policy, including internet governance and industry best practices, in her roles as Deputy Director of the Office of Policy & Strategic Planning, Chief Privacy Officer, and Chief Counsel for the Technology Administration. She later became the first statutorily appointed Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) in federal service when she was named as CPO at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). At DHS she was responsible for groundbreaking policy creation and implementation regarding the use of personal information in national security and law enforcement. Under her leadership, the DHS Privacy Office issued a seminal report criticizing the use of private-sector data in national security efforts.
Nuala serves on several nonprofit boards, and is the recipient of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) Vanguard Award, the Executive Women’s Forum’s Woman of Influence Award, and was named as “Geek of the Week” by the Minority Media & Telecom Council. She served as a member of the board of the IAPP for six years, including a term as chairman. Nuala has also been known to serve as a “class mom” on more than one occasion.
Nonresident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Ajit Pai, a former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is a nonresident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on issues pertaining to technology and innovation, telecommunications regulatory policy, and market-based incentives for investment in broadband deployment. Concurrently, he is a partner at Searchlight Capital Partners, a global investment firm.
Mr. Pai’s distinguished career at the FCC includes two leadership roles following presidential appointments. He was appointed commissioner by President Barack Obama in 2012, designated chairman by President Donald Trump in 2017, and twice confirmed by the US Senate. While at the helm of the FCC, Mr. Pai had a transformative impact on the future of US technology and communications policy, implementing major initiatives to help close the digital divide; advance US leadership in 5G and other wireless technologies; promote innovation; protect consumers, public safety, and national security; and make the agency itself more open, transparent, and data-driven.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Pai served in various public-sector positions in the FCC’s Office of General Counsel, the US Department of Justice, the US Senate Judiciary Committee, and the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. He also worked as a partner at Jenner & Block and associate general counsel at Verizon Communications.
Mr. Pai graduated with honors from Harvard University, where he received a bachelor’s degree, and from the University of Chicago Law School, where he received a law degree and was an editor on the University of Chicago Law Review.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
Judge Smith was appointed U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit by President Reagan and entered on duty in January 1988. He attended public schools in Lubbock, Texas, and graduated from Yale University, receiving a B.A. in 1969 and a J.D. in 1972.
Judge Smith was a Law Clerk to U.S. District Judge Halbert Woodward, Northern District of Texas, 1972-1973; with the Houston law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski as an Associate, 1973-1981, and as Partner, 1981-1984; and as City Attorney, City of Houston, 1984-1988. He was Chairman, Civil Service Commission, City of Houston, 1982-1984; and a Director, Harris County Housing Authority, 1978-1980.
Judge Smith lives in Houston and is married to Mary Jane Smith and has four children: Ruth Ann, Clark, J.J., and Brandon. He formerly was Chair of the Advisory Committee on Federal Rules of Evidence of the Judicial Conference of the United States. He assists LexisNexis/Matthew Bender & Co. in periodic revisions of several chapters of Moore’s Federal Practice.
President & CEO, Internet Association
K. Dane Snowden is the President and CEO of Internet Association. Under his leadership, IA advocates for public policy that fosters innovation, promotes economic growth, and empowers people through a free and open internet.
Prior to joining IA, Dane served as Chief Operating Officer of The Internet & Television Association (NCTA). In this position, he led the Association’s day-to-day operations including its policy planning and strategic initiatives.
His past experience also includes a tenure at CTIA – The Wireless Association as Vice President of External and State Affairs where he focused on promoting policies to grow the wireless ecosystem. Dane’s government experience features his appointment as Chief of the Federal Communications Commission’s Consumer & Governmental Bureau where he was responsible for the development and execution of vision, strategic direction, telecommunication policy, and management of the Bureau’s activities and 300 employees. He began his career working in the private and non-profit sectors for MissionFish.com, America’s Promise- The Alliance for Youth, and the United Negro College Fund. He is a graduate of The College of William and Mary.
Legislative Director for Senator Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Senate
Jamie Susskind is the Legislative Director for Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). Prior to becoming Legislative Director, she served for two years as the Senator’s Technology Policy Advisor. In that role, she advised on issues such as data privacy, cybersecurity, broadband, spectrum, content moderation, and antitrust, in addition to staffing the Senator on the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security. Susskind previously worked on the Hill as Chief Counsel to Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) and as an FCC Detailee for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. She also served as Chief of Staff to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and as Vice President of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at the Consumer Technology Association. A native Michigander, Susskind earned a Juris Doctor from the Antonin Scalia Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!).
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, T-Mobile
As Senior Vice President, Government Affairs for T-Mobile, Kathleen O’Brien Ham is the chief public policy advocate for the Un-carrier. Kathleen manages all public policy issues before federal and state governments impacting the company. Her team regularly engages Congress, the FCC, state agencies, and other governmental bodies on a wide range of regulatory and policy issues, including spectrum, consumer, public safety, and competition matters. She has led numerous successful efforts to gain additional radio spectrum for the company, including most recently, the acquisition of 600 MHz frequencies to expand T-Mobile’s coverage and deploy 5G technology. She has also testified before Congress numerous times in support of the company’s public policy positions.
Prior to joining T-Mobile, she worked for fourteen years at the FCC in several top policy positions, including Deputy Chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. She was the first Chief of the FCC’s Spectrum Auctions Program where she was responsible for the early landmark PCS spectrum auctions. She also served on the FCC’s Spectrum Management Task Force and was involved in the Intergovernmental Advisory Committee that negotiated the reallocation of third generation (3G) wireless spectrum from government to commercial use.
A graduate of Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law, she received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado, with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. For several years, she taught telecommunications as an adjunct professor at Catholic University. She has received numerous industry honors and recognition, most recently being named as one of 50 of the Most Influential Women in Wireless to Watch in 2017 by Global Telecoms Business. The Hill named her as one of the Top Lobbyists in 2016. In 2014 the Competitive Carriers Association celebrated her contributions to the industry with an Outstanding Achievement Award for her work in support of spectrum auction rules that benefit smaller carriers and help promote competition in the wireless ecosystem. And, since 2010 she has been named four times as one of the Most Influential Women in Wireless by FierceWireless.
President & CEO, Center for Democracy & Technology
Nuala O’Connor is the President & CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology, a global nonprofit committed to advancing our digital rights. She is a vocal advocate for harnessing the potential of the internet and emerging technologies to increase equality, amplify voices, and promote human rights. At CDT, Nuala leads a diverse team that is driving policy solutions that advance the rights of the individual in the digital age. Her experience working in the federal government, multinational corporations, tech start-ups, and noted law firms informs her innovative and collaborative leadership approach.
Nuala began her career in the private sector, working at the law firms of Venable, Hudson Cook, and Sidley. She entered the technology sector when she joined the start-up DoubleClick as Deputy General Counsel. While there, and in her later position as Vice President & Chief Privacy Officer of Email & Emerging Technologies, she worked on numerous class actions, a multistate settlement with state attorneys general, and an FTC investigation before helping to create the company’s privacy compliance department, which still serves as an influential model for companies in the technology sector and beyond. She later served as Global Privacy Leader at General Electric (GE) and was responsible for privacy policy and practices across GE’s numerous divisions. Her most recent corporate experience was at Amazon.com, where she served as Vice President, Compliance & Consumer Trust, and Associate General Counsel Data & Privacy Protection.
Between her stints in the private sector, Nuala served in various capacities within the federal government. At the U.S. Department of Commerce she worked on global technology policy, including internet governance and industry best practices, in her roles as Deputy Director of the Office of Policy & Strategic Planning, Chief Privacy Officer, and Chief Counsel for the Technology Administration. She later became the first statutorily appointed Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) in federal service when she was named as CPO at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). At DHS she was responsible for groundbreaking policy creation and implementation regarding the use of personal information in national security and law enforcement. Under her leadership, the DHS Privacy Office issued a seminal report criticizing the use of private-sector data in national security efforts.
Nuala serves on several nonprofit boards, and is the recipient of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) Vanguard Award, the Executive Women’s Forum’s Woman of Influence Award, and was named as “Geek of the Week” by the Minority Media & Telecom Council. She served as a member of the board of the IAPP for six years, including a term as chairman. Nuala has also been known to serve as a “class mom” on more than one occasion.
Nonresident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Ajit Pai, a former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is a nonresident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on issues pertaining to technology and innovation, telecommunications regulatory policy, and market-based incentives for investment in broadband deployment. Concurrently, he is a partner at Searchlight Capital Partners, a global investment firm.
Mr. Pai’s distinguished career at the FCC includes two leadership roles following presidential appointments. He was appointed commissioner by President Barack Obama in 2012, designated chairman by President Donald Trump in 2017, and twice confirmed by the US Senate. While at the helm of the FCC, Mr. Pai had a transformative impact on the future of US technology and communications policy, implementing major initiatives to help close the digital divide; advance US leadership in 5G and other wireless technologies; promote innovation; protect consumers, public safety, and national security; and make the agency itself more open, transparent, and data-driven.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Pai served in various public-sector positions in the FCC’s Office of General Counsel, the US Department of Justice, the US Senate Judiciary Committee, and the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. He also worked as a partner at Jenner & Block and associate general counsel at Verizon Communications.
Mr. Pai graduated with honors from Harvard University, where he received a bachelor’s degree, and from the University of Chicago Law School, where he received a law degree and was an editor on the University of Chicago Law Review.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
Judge Smith was appointed U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit by President Reagan and entered on duty in January 1988. He attended public schools in Lubbock, Texas, and graduated from Yale University, receiving a B.A. in 1969 and a J.D. in 1972.
Judge Smith was a Law Clerk to U.S. District Judge Halbert Woodward, Northern District of Texas, 1972-1973; with the Houston law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski as an Associate, 1973-1981, and as Partner, 1981-1984; and as City Attorney, City of Houston, 1984-1988. He was Chairman, Civil Service Commission, City of Houston, 1982-1984; and a Director, Harris County Housing Authority, 1978-1980.
Judge Smith lives in Houston and is married to Mary Jane Smith and has four children: Ruth Ann, Clark, J.J., and Brandon. He formerly was Chair of the Advisory Committee on Federal Rules of Evidence of the Judicial Conference of the United States. He assists LexisNexis/Matthew Bender & Co. in periodic revisions of several chapters of Moore’s Federal Practice.
President & CEO, Internet Association
K. Dane Snowden is the President and CEO of Internet Association. Under his leadership, IA advocates for public policy that fosters innovation, promotes economic growth, and empowers people through a free and open internet.
Prior to joining IA, Dane served as Chief Operating Officer of The Internet & Television Association (NCTA). In this position, he led the Association’s day-to-day operations including its policy planning and strategic initiatives.
His past experience also includes a tenure at CTIA – The Wireless Association as Vice President of External and State Affairs where he focused on promoting policies to grow the wireless ecosystem. Dane’s government experience features his appointment as Chief of the Federal Communications Commission’s Consumer & Governmental Bureau where he was responsible for the development and execution of vision, strategic direction, telecommunication policy, and management of the Bureau’s activities and 300 employees. He began his career working in the private and non-profit sectors for MissionFish.com, America’s Promise- The Alliance for Youth, and the United Negro College Fund. He is a graduate of The College of William and Mary.
Legislative Director for Senator Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Senate
Jamie Susskind is the Legislative Director for Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). Prior to becoming Legislative Director, she served for two years as the Senator’s Technology Policy Advisor. In that role, she advised on issues such as data privacy, cybersecurity, broadband, spectrum, content moderation, and antitrust, in addition to staffing the Senator on the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security. Susskind previously worked on the Hill as Chief Counsel to Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) and as an FCC Detailee for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. She also served as Chief of Staff to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and as Vice President of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at the Consumer Technology Association. A native Michigander, Susskind earned a Juris Doctor from the Antonin Scalia Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!).
Professor of Law, Georgetown Law
William W. Buzbee is a professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center. In his teaching and scholarship, he specializes in environmental law, legislation and regulation, and administrative law. Recent publications focus on climate regulation, deregulation and law governing agency policy change, and federalism. He also offers seminars on advanced environmental, regulatory, and constitutional law subjects, with his most recent seminar focused on “The Art of Regulatory War.”
Professor Buzbee’s books include the recently published Fighting Westway: Environmental Law, Citizen Activism, and the Regulatory War that Transformed New York City (Cornell University Press 2014) and Preemption Choice: The Theory, Law and Reality of Federalism’s Core Question(Cambridge University Press, hardcover 2009, paperback 2011) (William W. Buzbee editor and contributor). He has been a co-author of the 5th , 6th, 7th and forthcoming 8th editions of Environmental Protection: Law and Policy (Aspen/Wolters Kluwer). Law review scholarship includes publications in New York University Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Stanford Law Review (co-authored), Cornell Law Review (co-authored), Duke Law Journal (forthcoming), George Washington Law Review, Iowa Law Review, The Journal of Law and Politics and in an array of other journals, books, news outlets, and blogs. Three of his articles have been named among the 10 best environmental or land use law articles of that year and republished in the Land Use and Environment Law Review. He regularly assists with appellate and Supreme Court environmental, federalism, and regulatory litigation, and also has testified before congressional committees on environmental and regulatory matters. He has published op-eds on regulatory and environmental issues with The New York Times, The Hill, CNN, and been quoted and interviewed by numerous press and media outlets.
Professor Buzbee joined Georgetown from Emory Law School, where he was a professor of law and directed its Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program. He also co-directed Emory’s Center on Federalism and Intersystemic Governance. He has been a visiting professor of law at Columbia, Cornell and Illinois law schools. He has also served as a professor for the Leiden-Amsterdam-Columbia Law School Summer Program in American Law. Professor Buzbee is a founding Member Scholar of the Center for Progressive Reform, a Washington D.C.-based regulatory think tank. Professor Buzbee was awarded the 2007-2008 Emory Williams Teaching Award for excellence in teaching. Professor Buzbee clerked for United States Judge Jose A. Cabranes, and before becoming a professor was an attorney-fellow at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and did environmental, land use and litigation work for the New York City law firm, Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler. JD, Columbia Law School, 1986; BA, Amherst College, magna cum laude, 1983.
Dr. John Eastman is the former Henry Salvatori Professor of Law & Community Service and former Dean at Chapman University's Dale E. Fowler School of Law, where he had been a member of the faculty since 1999, specializing in Constitutional Law, Legal History, and Property. He is a founding director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, a public interest law firm affiliated with the Claremont Institute that he founded in 1999. He has a Ph.D. in Government from the Claremont Graduate School and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, and a B.A. in Politics and Economics from the University of Dallas. He serves as the Chairman of the Board of the National Organization for Marriage.
Prior to joining the Chapman law faculty, Dr. Eastman served as a law clerk to the Honorable Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States, and to the Honorable J. Michael Luttig, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and practiced law with the national law firm of Kirkland & Ellis. Dr. Eastman has also represented numerous clients in important constitutional law matters and has argued before the Supreme Court. On behalf of the Claremont Institute Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, he has participated as amicus curiae before the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Courts of Appeals, and State Supreme Courts in more than one hundred cases of constitutional significance, including Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (the school vouchers case), Kelo v. New London, Ct. (eminent domain), and Van Orden v. Perry (the 10 Commandments case). He has also appeared as an expert legal commentator on numerous television and radio programs, including C-SPAN, Fox News, PBS, NewsHour, and The O'Reilly Factor.
Special Counsel, Office of Special Counsel
Henry Kerner graduated from Harvard Law School and spent 18 years working as a career prosecutor in California. In 2011, he joined the staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the chief investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. Under Chairman Darrell Issa, and later, Chairman Jason Chaffetz, he led investigations of the federal bureaucracy and fought on behalf of whistleblowers to protect American taxpayers. Mr. Kerner was also the staff director under Ranking Member Sen. John McCain of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, the lead investigative committee of the Senate. He left the Hill in early 2016 and joined Cause of Action Institute as assistant vice president for investigations. Cause of Action is a nonpartisan oversight group committed to exposing waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government. It has worked with whistleblowers and good government groups throughout the country.
Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Hon. Jennifer Mascott served as Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Separation of Powers Institute at The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law before her appointment to the federal bench. On July 16, 2025, President Donald J. Trump nominated her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Delaware), and she was confirmed on October 9, 2025.
Prior to her confirmation, Judge Mascott wrote extensively in administrative and constitutional law, statutory interpretation, and the separation of powers. Her scholarship—published in leading journals including the Stanford Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review, and Supreme Court Review—was cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and multiple federal courts. She also contributed Supreme Court commentary for NBC Universal.
Before joining Catholic Law, she was an Assistant Professor and Co-Director of The C. Boyden Gray Center at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. In 2022 she became co-author of Beermann, Cass & Diver’s Administrative Law: Cases and Materials (9th ed.). In 2023 she received the Justice Joseph Story Award for excellence in scholarship, teaching, and advancing the rule of law.
Judge Mascott also served as a Council Member of the ABA’s Administrative Law Section and as a Public Member of the Administrative Conference of the United States. She frequently testified before Congress on executive power, regulatory reform, and judicial jurisdiction, and participated in multiple Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
From 2019 to 2021, she took leave from academia to serve as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel and later as Associate Deputy Attorney General, where she argued federal cases and assisted with Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation. Earlier in her career, she clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas and for then-Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh on the D.C. Circuit.
Judge Mascott earned her J.D. summa cum laude from the George Washington University Law School and her B.A. from the same institution.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
Judge Sykes was nominated to the Seventh Circuit by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate in 2004. Prior to her appointment to the federal bench, Judge Sykes served as a justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Governor Tommy G. Thompson appointed her in September 1999 to fill a mid-term vacancy on the state supreme court, and she was elected to a full ten-year term in April 2000. From 1992-1999, Judge Sykes served on the state trial bench in Milwaukee County (elected in 1992 and re-elected in 1998). From 1985-1992, Judge Sykes practiced law with the Milwaukee firm of Whyte & Hirschboeck, S.C., and from 1984-1985, was a law clerk to Federal Judge Terence T. Evans.
Born and raised in the Milwaukee area, Judge Sykes earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University in 1980 and a law degree from Marquette University Law School in 1984. Between college and law school, Judge Sykes worked as a reporter for The Milwaukee Journal.
Judge Sykes has two sons.
Secretary, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Alex M. Azar II was sworn in as the Secretary of Health and Human Services on Jan. 29, 2018. Azar has spent his career working in both the public and private sectors, as an attorney and in senior leadership roles focused on advancing healthcare reform, research and innovation.
From 2001 to 2007, Azar served at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – first as its General Counsel (2001–2005) and then as Deputy Secretary. During his time as Deputy Secretary, Azar was involved in improving the department’s operations; advancing its emergency preparedness and response capabilities as well as its global health affairs activities; and helping oversee the rollout of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program.
In 2007, Azar rejoined the private sector as senior vice president for corporate affairs and communications at Eli Lilly and Co. From 2012 to 2017, he served as president of Lilly USA LLC, the company’s largest affiliate.
Azar clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia prior to practicing law for several years.
Azar graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in economics and government from Dartmouth College and earned his law degree from Yale University.
For the past 10 years, Azar has lived in Indiana with his wife and their two children.
Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
Dean Reuter is Executive Vice President at the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. He has served in two federal government agency Offices of the Inspector General, as Counsel to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General, responsible for policing the use of federal funds granted and contracted through those agencies. As such, he helped conduct and oversee criminal investigations across the country. He is the principal author of the non-fiction book, The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America's Deal with the Devil, and editor of Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State and Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security. He was appointed by the President and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and recently served as an appointee on the U.S. Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is a graduate of Hood College (BA with Honors) and the University of Maryland School of Law.
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, T-Mobile
As Senior Vice President, Government Affairs for T-Mobile, Kathleen O’Brien Ham is the chief public policy advocate for the Un-carrier. Kathleen manages all public policy issues before federal and state governments impacting the company. Her team regularly engages Congress, the FCC, state agencies, and other governmental bodies on a wide range of regulatory and policy issues, including spectrum, consumer, public safety, and competition matters. She has led numerous successful efforts to gain additional radio spectrum for the company, including most recently, the acquisition of 600 MHz frequencies to expand T-Mobile’s coverage and deploy 5G technology. She has also testified before Congress numerous times in support of the company’s public policy positions.
Prior to joining T-Mobile, she worked for fourteen years at the FCC in several top policy positions, including Deputy Chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. She was the first Chief of the FCC’s Spectrum Auctions Program where she was responsible for the early landmark PCS spectrum auctions. She also served on the FCC’s Spectrum Management Task Force and was involved in the Intergovernmental Advisory Committee that negotiated the reallocation of third generation (3G) wireless spectrum from government to commercial use.
A graduate of Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law, she received her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado, with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. For several years, she taught telecommunications as an adjunct professor at Catholic University. She has received numerous industry honors and recognition, most recently being named as one of 50 of the Most Influential Women in Wireless to Watch in 2017 by Global Telecoms Business. The Hill named her as one of the Top Lobbyists in 2016. In 2014 the Competitive Carriers Association celebrated her contributions to the industry with an Outstanding Achievement Award for her work in support of spectrum auction rules that benefit smaller carriers and help promote competition in the wireless ecosystem. And, since 2010 she has been named four times as one of the Most Influential Women in Wireless by FierceWireless.
President & CEO, Center for Democracy & Technology
Nuala O’Connor is the President & CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology, a global nonprofit committed to advancing our digital rights. She is a vocal advocate for harnessing the potential of the internet and emerging technologies to increase equality, amplify voices, and promote human rights. At CDT, Nuala leads a diverse team that is driving policy solutions that advance the rights of the individual in the digital age. Her experience working in the federal government, multinational corporations, tech start-ups, and noted law firms informs her innovative and collaborative leadership approach.
Nuala began her career in the private sector, working at the law firms of Venable, Hudson Cook, and Sidley. She entered the technology sector when she joined the start-up DoubleClick as Deputy General Counsel. While there, and in her later position as Vice President & Chief Privacy Officer of Email & Emerging Technologies, she worked on numerous class actions, a multistate settlement with state attorneys general, and an FTC investigation before helping to create the company’s privacy compliance department, which still serves as an influential model for companies in the technology sector and beyond. She later served as Global Privacy Leader at General Electric (GE) and was responsible for privacy policy and practices across GE’s numerous divisions. Her most recent corporate experience was at Amazon.com, where she served as Vice President, Compliance & Consumer Trust, and Associate General Counsel Data & Privacy Protection.
Between her stints in the private sector, Nuala served in various capacities within the federal government. At the U.S. Department of Commerce she worked on global technology policy, including internet governance and industry best practices, in her roles as Deputy Director of the Office of Policy & Strategic Planning, Chief Privacy Officer, and Chief Counsel for the Technology Administration. She later became the first statutorily appointed Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) in federal service when she was named as CPO at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). At DHS she was responsible for groundbreaking policy creation and implementation regarding the use of personal information in national security and law enforcement. Under her leadership, the DHS Privacy Office issued a seminal report criticizing the use of private-sector data in national security efforts.
Nuala serves on several nonprofit boards, and is the recipient of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) Vanguard Award, the Executive Women’s Forum’s Woman of Influence Award, and was named as “Geek of the Week” by the Minority Media & Telecom Council. She served as a member of the board of the IAPP for six years, including a term as chairman. Nuala has also been known to serve as a “class mom” on more than one occasion.
Nonresident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Ajit Pai, a former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is a nonresident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on issues pertaining to technology and innovation, telecommunications regulatory policy, and market-based incentives for investment in broadband deployment. Concurrently, he is a partner at Searchlight Capital Partners, a global investment firm.
Mr. Pai’s distinguished career at the FCC includes two leadership roles following presidential appointments. He was appointed commissioner by President Barack Obama in 2012, designated chairman by President Donald Trump in 2017, and twice confirmed by the US Senate. While at the helm of the FCC, Mr. Pai had a transformative impact on the future of US technology and communications policy, implementing major initiatives to help close the digital divide; advance US leadership in 5G and other wireless technologies; promote innovation; protect consumers, public safety, and national security; and make the agency itself more open, transparent, and data-driven.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Pai served in various public-sector positions in the FCC’s Office of General Counsel, the US Department of Justice, the US Senate Judiciary Committee, and the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. He also worked as a partner at Jenner & Block and associate general counsel at Verizon Communications.
Mr. Pai graduated with honors from Harvard University, where he received a bachelor’s degree, and from the University of Chicago Law School, where he received a law degree and was an editor on the University of Chicago Law Review.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
Judge Smith was appointed U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit by President Reagan and entered on duty in January 1988. He attended public schools in Lubbock, Texas, and graduated from Yale University, receiving a B.A. in 1969 and a J.D. in 1972.
Judge Smith was a Law Clerk to U.S. District Judge Halbert Woodward, Northern District of Texas, 1972-1973; with the Houston law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski as an Associate, 1973-1981, and as Partner, 1981-1984; and as City Attorney, City of Houston, 1984-1988. He was Chairman, Civil Service Commission, City of Houston, 1982-1984; and a Director, Harris County Housing Authority, 1978-1980.
Judge Smith lives in Houston and is married to Mary Jane Smith and has four children: Ruth Ann, Clark, J.J., and Brandon. He formerly was Chair of the Advisory Committee on Federal Rules of Evidence of the Judicial Conference of the United States. He assists LexisNexis/Matthew Bender & Co. in periodic revisions of several chapters of Moore’s Federal Practice.
President & CEO, Internet Association
K. Dane Snowden is the President and CEO of Internet Association. Under his leadership, IA advocates for public policy that fosters innovation, promotes economic growth, and empowers people through a free and open internet.
Prior to joining IA, Dane served as Chief Operating Officer of The Internet & Television Association (NCTA). In this position, he led the Association’s day-to-day operations including its policy planning and strategic initiatives.
His past experience also includes a tenure at CTIA – The Wireless Association as Vice President of External and State Affairs where he focused on promoting policies to grow the wireless ecosystem. Dane’s government experience features his appointment as Chief of the Federal Communications Commission’s Consumer & Governmental Bureau where he was responsible for the development and execution of vision, strategic direction, telecommunication policy, and management of the Bureau’s activities and 300 employees. He began his career working in the private and non-profit sectors for MissionFish.com, America’s Promise- The Alliance for Youth, and the United Negro College Fund. He is a graduate of The College of William and Mary.
Legislative Director for Senator Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Senate
Jamie Susskind is the Legislative Director for Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). Prior to becoming Legislative Director, she served for two years as the Senator’s Technology Policy Advisor. In that role, she advised on issues such as data privacy, cybersecurity, broadband, spectrum, content moderation, and antitrust, in addition to staffing the Senator on the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security. Susskind previously worked on the Hill as Chief Counsel to Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) and as an FCC Detailee for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. She also served as Chief of Staff to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and as Vice President of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at the Consumer Technology Association. A native Michigander, Susskind earned a Juris Doctor from the Antonin Scalia Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!).
Deputy Secretary of Transportation, US Department of Transportation
Steven G. Bradbury was sworn in as the Deputy Secretary of Transportation on March 13, 2025, following his confirmation by the U.S. Senate on March 11, 2025. In this role, he oversees the Department’s operating administrations and spearheads initiatives to ensure a safe, efficient, and modern transportation system that strengthens economic productivity and global competitiveness. Deputy Secretary Bradbury also assists Secretary Duffy in managing the Department’s activities, including its workforce of over 58,000 employees and an annual budget exceeding $109 billion.
Bradbury previously served as the 23rd General Counsel of the Department of Transportation from 2017 to 2021, as the Acting Deputy Secretary from 2019, and as Acting Secretary of Transportation in 2021. As General Counsel, he was the chief legal officer, advising on all legal matters and ensuring the integrity and compliance of the Department’s policies and programs.
Before rejoining DOT, Bradbury was a Distinguished Fellow at The Heritage Foundation from December 2022 to March 2025. He has extensive experience in the public and private sector, having served as Principal Deputy and Acting Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice and as a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Dechert LLP. Earlier in his career, he clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas and Judge James L. Buckley.
Bradbury holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. in English from Stanford University.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
Michael B. Brennan was confirmed and sworn in as a Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in May 2018.
He previously worked as a partner in the Milwaukee law firm of Gass Weber Mullins LLC, where he tried cases and handled appeals in federal and state courts, as a judge on the Milwaukee County Circuit, where he presided over a variety of criminal and civil calendars, and as an assistant district attorney in the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office.
Brennan’s undergraduate degree is from the University of Notre Dame, and his law degree from Northwestern University School of Law, where he was an editor on the law review and the moot court champion. He served as a law clerk on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Edward B. Shils Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science; Director, Penn Program on Regulation, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Cary Coglianese is the Edward B. Shils Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, where he currently serves as the director of the Penn Program on Regulation and has served as the law school’s Deputy Dean for Academic Affairs. He specializes in the study of regulation and regulatory processes, with an emphasis on the empirical evaluation of alternative regulatory strategies and the role of public participation, negotiation, and business-government relations in policy making. His most recent books include: Achieving Regulatory Excellence; Does Regulation Kill Jobs?; Regulatory Breakdown: The Crisis of Confidence in U.S. Regulation; Import Safety: Regulatory Governance in the Global Economy; and Regulation and Regulatory Processes.
Prior to joining Penn Law, Coglianese spent a dozen years on the faculty at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He also has taught as a visiting law professor at Stanford and Vanderbilt, founded the Law & Society Association’s international collaborative research network on regulatory governance, served as a founding editor of the peer-reviewed journal Regulation & Governance, and created and now advises the daily production of The Regulatory Review. The chair of the Administrative Conference of the United States' committee on rulemaking, he has led a National Science Foundation initiative on e-rulemaking, served on the ABA’s task force on improving Regulations.Gov, and chaired a task force on transparency and public participation in the regulatory process that offered a blueprint to the Obama Administration on open government. He is a co-chair of the American Bar Association’s administrative law section committee on e-government, past co-chair of the section's committee on rulemaking, and a past member of the section's Council. He currently serves as a member of a committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine studying performance-based safety regulation and of an Aspen Institute dialogue on energy policy governance. He has served as a consultant to the Administrative Conference of the United States, Environment Canada, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Director, GW Regulatory Studies Center & Distinguished Professor of Practice, Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration, The George Washington University
Susan Dudley is the Founder and Director of the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center, established in 2009 to raise awareness of regulations’ effects and improve regulatory policy through research, education, and outreach. She is also a distinguished professor of practice in the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration. She is past-president of the Society for Benefit Cost Analysis, a senior fellow of the Administrative Conference of the United States, and on the Regulatory Transparency Project Regulatory Practice Working Group. Her book, Regulation: A Primer, with Jerry Brito, is available on Amazon.com.
From April 2007 through January 2009, Professor Dudley served as the Presidentially-appointed Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and was responsible for the review of draft executive branch regulations under Executive Order 12866, the collection of federal-government-wide information under the Paperwork Reduction Act, the development and implementation of government-wide policies in the areas of information policy, privacy, and statistical policy, and international regulatory cooperation efforts.
Prior to OIRA, she directed the Regulatory Studies Program at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and taught courses on regulation at the George Mason University School of Law. Earlier in her career, Professor Dudley served as an economist at OIRA, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. She was also a consultant to government and private clients at Economists Incorporated. She holds a Master of Science degree from the Sloan School of Management at MIT and a Bachelor of Science degree (summa cum laude) in Resource Economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Segal Family Professor of Regulatory Law and Policy, New York University School of Law
Catherine Sharkey is the Segal Family Professor of Regulatory Law and Policy at NYU School of Law. She is a leading authority on torts, products liability, artificial intelligence in federal administrative agencies, public nuisance, punitive damages, and federal preemption of state tort law. She is a Senior Fellow of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), a member of its Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence in Federal Agencies, author of Algorithmic Tools in Retrospective Review (2023) and co-author of Government by Algorithm: Artificial Intelligence in Federal Administrative Agencies (2020). Sharkey is co-author of Cases and Materials on Torts (13th edition, 2024) and Business, Defamation, and Privacy Torts (1st ed., forthcoming 2025), and co-editor of Foundations of Tort Law (2nd edition, 2009). She is an elected member of the American Law Institute and an adviser to the Restatement Third, Torts: Liability for Economic Harm and Restatement Third, Torts: Remedies projects.
Professor of Law, Georgetown Law
William W. Buzbee is a professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center. In his teaching and scholarship, he specializes in environmental law, legislation and regulation, and administrative law. Recent publications focus on climate regulation, deregulation and law governing agency policy change, and federalism. He also offers seminars on advanced environmental, regulatory, and constitutional law subjects, with his most recent seminar focused on “The Art of Regulatory War.”
Professor Buzbee’s books include the recently published Fighting Westway: Environmental Law, Citizen Activism, and the Regulatory War that Transformed New York City (Cornell University Press 2014) and Preemption Choice: The Theory, Law and Reality of Federalism’s Core Question(Cambridge University Press, hardcover 2009, paperback 2011) (William W. Buzbee editor and contributor). He has been a co-author of the 5th , 6th, 7th and forthcoming 8th editions of Environmental Protection: Law and Policy (Aspen/Wolters Kluwer). Law review scholarship includes publications in New York University Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Stanford Law Review (co-authored), Cornell Law Review (co-authored), Duke Law Journal (forthcoming), George Washington Law Review, Iowa Law Review, The Journal of Law and Politics and in an array of other journals, books, news outlets, and blogs. Three of his articles have been named among the 10 best environmental or land use law articles of that year and republished in the Land Use and Environment Law Review. He regularly assists with appellate and Supreme Court environmental, federalism, and regulatory litigation, and also has testified before congressional committees on environmental and regulatory matters. He has published op-eds on regulatory and environmental issues with The New York Times, The Hill, CNN, and been quoted and interviewed by numerous press and media outlets.
Professor Buzbee joined Georgetown from Emory Law School, where he was a professor of law and directed its Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program. He also co-directed Emory’s Center on Federalism and Intersystemic Governance. He has been a visiting professor of law at Columbia, Cornell and Illinois law schools. He has also served as a professor for the Leiden-Amsterdam-Columbia Law School Summer Program in American Law. Professor Buzbee is a founding Member Scholar of the Center for Progressive Reform, a Washington D.C.-based regulatory think tank. Professor Buzbee was awarded the 2007-2008 Emory Williams Teaching Award for excellence in teaching. Professor Buzbee clerked for United States Judge Jose A. Cabranes, and before becoming a professor was an attorney-fellow at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and did environmental, land use and litigation work for the New York City law firm, Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler. JD, Columbia Law School, 1986; BA, Amherst College, magna cum laude, 1983.
Dr. John Eastman is the former Henry Salvatori Professor of Law & Community Service and former Dean at Chapman University's Dale E. Fowler School of Law, where he had been a member of the faculty since 1999, specializing in Constitutional Law, Legal History, and Property. He is a founding director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, a public interest law firm affiliated with the Claremont Institute that he founded in 1999. He has a Ph.D. in Government from the Claremont Graduate School and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, and a B.A. in Politics and Economics from the University of Dallas. He serves as the Chairman of the Board of the National Organization for Marriage.
Prior to joining the Chapman law faculty, Dr. Eastman served as a law clerk to the Honorable Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States, and to the Honorable J. Michael Luttig, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and practiced law with the national law firm of Kirkland & Ellis. Dr. Eastman has also represented numerous clients in important constitutional law matters and has argued before the Supreme Court. On behalf of the Claremont Institute Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, he has participated as amicus curiae before the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Courts of Appeals, and State Supreme Courts in more than one hundred cases of constitutional significance, including Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (the school vouchers case), Kelo v. New London, Ct. (eminent domain), and Van Orden v. Perry (the 10 Commandments case). He has also appeared as an expert legal commentator on numerous television and radio programs, including C-SPAN, Fox News, PBS, NewsHour, and The O'Reilly Factor.
Special Counsel, Office of Special Counsel
Henry Kerner graduated from Harvard Law School and spent 18 years working as a career prosecutor in California. In 2011, he joined the staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the chief investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. Under Chairman Darrell Issa, and later, Chairman Jason Chaffetz, he led investigations of the federal bureaucracy and fought on behalf of whistleblowers to protect American taxpayers. Mr. Kerner was also the staff director under Ranking Member Sen. John McCain of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, the lead investigative committee of the Senate. He left the Hill in early 2016 and joined Cause of Action Institute as assistant vice president for investigations. Cause of Action is a nonpartisan oversight group committed to exposing waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government. It has worked with whistleblowers and good government groups throughout the country.
Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Hon. Jennifer Mascott served as Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Separation of Powers Institute at The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law before her appointment to the federal bench. On July 16, 2025, President Donald J. Trump nominated her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Delaware), and she was confirmed on October 9, 2025.
Prior to her confirmation, Judge Mascott wrote extensively in administrative and constitutional law, statutory interpretation, and the separation of powers. Her scholarship—published in leading journals including the Stanford Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review, and Supreme Court Review—was cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and multiple federal courts. She also contributed Supreme Court commentary for NBC Universal.
Before joining Catholic Law, she was an Assistant Professor and Co-Director of The C. Boyden Gray Center at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. In 2022 she became co-author of Beermann, Cass & Diver’s Administrative Law: Cases and Materials (9th ed.). In 2023 she received the Justice Joseph Story Award for excellence in scholarship, teaching, and advancing the rule of law.
Judge Mascott also served as a Council Member of the ABA’s Administrative Law Section and as a Public Member of the Administrative Conference of the United States. She frequently testified before Congress on executive power, regulatory reform, and judicial jurisdiction, and participated in multiple Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
From 2019 to 2021, she took leave from academia to serve as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel and later as Associate Deputy Attorney General, where she argued federal cases and assisted with Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation. Earlier in her career, she clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas and for then-Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh on the D.C. Circuit.
Judge Mascott earned her J.D. summa cum laude from the George Washington University Law School and her B.A. from the same institution.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
Judge Sykes was nominated to the Seventh Circuit by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate in 2004. Prior to her appointment to the federal bench, Judge Sykes served as a justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Governor Tommy G. Thompson appointed her in September 1999 to fill a mid-term vacancy on the state supreme court, and she was elected to a full ten-year term in April 2000. From 1992-1999, Judge Sykes served on the state trial bench in Milwaukee County (elected in 1992 and re-elected in 1998). From 1985-1992, Judge Sykes practiced law with the Milwaukee firm of Whyte & Hirschboeck, S.C., and from 1984-1985, was a law clerk to Federal Judge Terence T. Evans.
Born and raised in the Milwaukee area, Judge Sykes earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University in 1980 and a law degree from Marquette University Law School in 1984. Between college and law school, Judge Sykes worked as a reporter for The Milwaukee Journal.
Judge Sykes has two sons.
National Security Law & Doing Business Abroad
William J. Haynes, Eric J. Kadel, Timothy J. Keeler, Randal S. Milch, Donald J. Rosenberg
U.S. businesses operating in the global economy, and non-U.S. businesses operating or looking to invest...
Address by Alex Azar
2018 National Lawyers Convention
Washington, DCAddress by Alex Azar
Alex M. Azar, Dean Reuter
On November 16, 2018, Secretary Alex Azar offered an address on the unintended consequences of...
Address by Alex Azar
Alex M. Azar, Dean Reuter
On November 16, 2018, Secretary Alex Azar offered an address on the unintended consequences of...
The Current Landscape of Telecommunications Law
Kathleen Ham, Nuala O'Connor, Ajit V. Pai, Jerry E. Smith, K. Dane Snowden, Jamie Susskind
The Trump administration has emphasized the importance of ensuring existing regulations are not stifling innovation...
The Current Landscape of Telecommunications Law
Kathleen Ham, Nuala O'Connor, Ajit V. Pai, Jerry E. Smith, K. Dane Snowden, Jamie Susskind
The Trump administration has emphasized the importance of ensuring existing regulations are not stifling innovation...
The Current Landscape of Telecommunications Law
2018 National Lawyers Convention
Washington, DCShowcase Panel II: Balancing Insulation and Accountability of Agency Decisions
2018 National Lawyers Convention
Washington, DCIndependent Agencies: How Independent is Too Independent?
2018 National Lawyers Convention
Washington, DCIndependent Agencies: How Independent is Too Independent?
William W. Buzbee, John C. Eastman, Henry J. Kerner, Jenn L. Mascott, Diane S. Sykes
Justice Scalia put it bluntly in Morrison v. Olson: “There are now no lines.” Morrison,...