Meet District of Columbia's 101 Top Directors in the Non Profit Space

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This list showcases the top District of Columbia based Director operating in the Non Profit space. If you think a Director is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.us.

The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:

Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.

Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.

Joseph Broz

Director, National Security Program Development of SRI International

Joseph Broz, Ph.D., is director of national security program development in SRI International’s Advanced Technology and Systems Division. He brings 30 years of experience in both the public and private sectors, and deep subject matter expertise in solid state physics, nuclear magnetic resonance, the energy domain, gas and oil recovery, alternative fossil production, renewable energy, and energy security. His experience also includes significant projects in homeland security, defense, and in the areas of climate change, environmental protection and remediation. Before joining SRI in 2014, Broz worked for the Spectrum Group in Alexandria, VA from 2005 to 2013. From 2011 to 2013, he was a Senior Fellow in the Security, Energy, and Environment department at NORC at the University of Chicago. He is also the managing member of Defense Capital Advisors, LLC, a technical consulting firm, founded in 2000. From 1992 to 2000, Broz served in four senior management positions at Tenneco and at TIMET in the U.S. and Europe; He was the laboratory, environmental, and quality director at Tenneco, and served as vice president of business development and laboratory director for the Titanium Metals Corporation. Broz served as a White House Fellow and as a Special Assistant to the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and as Special Assistant to Allan Bromley, Science Advisor to President George H.W. Bush in 1991 and 1992. He has been a member of the Homeland Security Standards Panel of the American National Standards Institute since 2002, which supported the 9-11 Commission in its recommendations on private sector preparedness. He has worked closely with state governors and national laboratories on renewable energy and economic development issues around energy, economic development, and technology transfer. Broz has also participated on a number of international commissions and boards regulating industrial standards including ISO, and is a technical advisor to several ANSI standards working groups and committees. A former British-American Fellow of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (1995), Broz is a member the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Swiss Physical Society. He has published numerous technical papers, and has been awarded several U.S. and foreign patents. Broz has a B.S. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His Ph.D. in physics is from the Swiss Federal Institute (ETH) in Zurich.

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About SRI International: SRI International is a nonprofit, independent research center serving government and industry.

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Bernadette Meehan

Executive Director of International Programs of Obama Foundation

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About Obama Foundation: The Obama Foundation is a start-up for citizenship and an ongoing project for people to shape, together, what it means to be a good citizen.

Scott Dworkin

Executive Director of Democratic Coalition Against Trump

Scott Dworkin is the Founder and President of Bulldog Finance Group and was a Senior Advisor on both the Draft Biden and Run Warren Run campaigns. He is also a veteran of both the 2008 and 2012 Obama campaigns. To date, Scott has worked in all 50 states.. Scott also serves on the Advisory Boards for the New Leaders Council and Democratic GAIN. He was named to the Campaigns & Elections Magazine’s 2011 class of Rising Stars. He received a BA in Political Science and a BA in Sociology at North Carolina State University.

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About Democratic Coalition Against Trump: Democratic Coalition Against Trump is the home of the anti-Trump movement.

Constance Tzioumis

Director of Partnerships, The Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships of U.S. Department of State

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About The Awesome Foundation, U.S. Department of State: The United States Department of State, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the leading foreign affairs agency of the United States.

Stephen Colbert

Member of the Board of Directors of DonorsChoose

Stephen is the host, writer and executive producer of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central as well as an accomplished author and actor. Recently, he starred as Harry in the New York Philharmonic presentation of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” along with Jon Cryer, Neil Patrick Harris, Christina Hendricks, Patti LuPone and Martha Plimpton, among others. “The Colbert Report” launched on October 17, 2005 and has received a prestigious Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting in 2008 and 18 Primetime Emmy nominations. In 2010, Stephen and his writing team won the show’s second Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program. “The Colbert Report” deployed to Iraq in June 2009 on a USO tour entitled “Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando” to tape and perform shows in front of the troops. “The Colbert Report” is the first TV show in USO history to produce a week of shows in a combat zone. Stephen’s book, I AM AMERICA (And So Can You!), spent 29 weeks on The New York Times Bestseller’s List; debuting and occupying the #1 spot for 13 weeks. The Colbert Report opened 2010 updated for high-definition broadcast and sporting a brand-new set. Iconic items from the original set, including Stephen’s “C” desk, interview table and portrait, were auctioned off to benefit the American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development effort. Born and raised near Charleston, South Carolina, Stephen graduated from Northwestern University and quickly made a name for himself as a member of Chicago’s famed Second City improv troupe where he met Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello. The threesome moved to New York City where they created and starred in “Exit 57,” a half-hour sketch comedy series which ran for three seasons on Comedy Central. “Exit 57” received five CableACE nominations for Best Writing, Performing and Comedy Series. Stephen reunited with Sedaris and Dinello to create Comedy Central’s first-ever live-action narrative series, the cult hit “Strangers with Candy.” Colbert’s other on-camera appearances include shows such as HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and NBC’s Law and Order: Criminal Intent.” He was a cast member and writer on ABC’s “The Dana Carvey Show,” wrote for “Saturday Night Live” and was the voice of Ace on the “SNL” animated series “The Ambiguously Gay Duo.” He was also the voice of the President of the United States in Dreamworks animated film, “Monsters Vs. Aliens.”

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About : DonorsChoose is a nonprofit classroom funding site for public school teachers.

Beth Gombala

Creative Director of Internet Society

Marketing Communications Manager at Internet Society

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About Internet Society: The Internet Society engages in a wide spectrum of internet issues, including policy, governance, technology, and development.

Marshall Fitz

Managing Director, Immigration of Emerson Collective

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About Center for American Progress – CAP, Emerson Collective: Emerson Collective strengthens schools, secures rights for immigrants, and restores relationship between humanity and nature.

Alister Smith

Executive Director at World Bank Group for Canada, Ireland & Caribbean of THE WORLD BANK

Alister Smith is Executive Director for Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines at the World Bank Group since January 2014. Prior to the World Bank Group, he held a number of senior positions in the Canadian government, including Senior Advisor to the Privy Council Office and Associate Secretary of the Treasury Board. Earlier, he was General Director of the International Trade and Finance branch of the Department of Finance. In that capacity, he served as Alternate Governor for the regional development banks. Previously, he worked for CIBC, a Canadian bank, as Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. Mr. Smith was educated in economics at Queen’s University and Carleton University. More recently, he completed the Directors’ Education program at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors. Mr. Smith is on the International Advisory Committee of the Institute for the Study of Development (ISID) at McGill University.

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About : The World Bank Group provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries.

Jorg Frieden

Executive Director of Swiss National of THE WORLD BANK

Jörg Giovanni Frieden, a Swiss national, serves as Executive Director on the Board of the World Bank Group since March 2011, and represents nine constituency countries: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Poland, Serbia, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Since 2013, he is the Chairman of the Board’s Budget Committee. From 1994 to 1996, Mr. Frieden was an Advisor to the Swiss Executive Director at the World Bank. Between 1986 and 2003, Mr. Frieden held positions at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in different capacities: Country Director in Mozambique and Nepal, and Head of the East and Southern Africa Division. From 1992 to 1993, he was responsible for the UN-led Civilian Component of the Demobilization Program in Maputo, Mozambique, and from 1999 to 2003, he was a Vice Director at the Federal Office for Migration, in Berne, Switzerland, and responsible for the Directorate of Finance and Social Affairs. Mr. Frieden earned a PhD in Economics in 1982 from the University of Fribourg. He also holds a license degree in Economics from the same university.

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About : The World Bank Group provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries.

Merza Hasan

Dean of the Board of Executive Directors of THE WORLD BANK

Merza Hasan, a Kuwaiti national, was elected in 2006 to represent thirteen countries as Executive Director to the World Bank Group. Additionally, in 2012, Mr. Hasan became the Dean of the Board of Executive Directors. As an Executive Director, Mr. Hasan has a dual responsibility, as he represents the interests and concerns of his constituency to the Boards and the Bank’s management, as well as the interests and concerns of the Bank to the group of countries that elected him. In his role, Mr. Hasan considers and decides on the proposals made by the President on: IBRD loans and guarantees, IDA credits and grants, IFC investments, MIGA guarantees; and decides on policies that impact the World Bank’s general operations. He was the Undersecretary of the Industrial Sector in Kuwait, and held various positions at the University of Kuwait and the Embassy of Kuwait in the United States, as well as the private sector. Mr. Hasan was also a Board Member of several institutions. Mr. Hasan holds a Ph.D in Management Science from the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, U.K. Mr. Hasan had a diverse career prior to assuming his position at the World Bank.

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About : The World Bank Group provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries.

Vera Songwe

Country Director of THE WORLD BANK

Ms. Vera Songwe is the International Finance Corporation (IFC – the private sector arm of the World Bank Group) Director for West and Central Africa, based in Dakar. She oversees the corporations’ investment decisions and public relations in these countries. Prior to joining the IFC, she was Country Director of the World Bank Senegal, Mauritania, The Gambia, Cabo Verde and Guinea Bissau. Ms. Songwe joined the World Bank Group as a Young Professional. She has experience working in the Middle East and North Africa and extensive experience on the East Asia and Pacific region where she worked as a policy economist on micro and macroeconomic issues as well supporting project implementation in the area of fiscal policy, trade, and governance among others.

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About THE WORLD BANK: The World Bank Group provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries.

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

Social Media Director of American Association for the Advancement of Science

Gadi Ben-Yehuda is the Social Media Director for the AAAS, the American Association for the Advancement of Science . He is a frequent speaker, panelist and moderator for events with State Department, Department of Labor, Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and other agencies. He has also delivered presentations both nationally and internationally, at SxSW Interactive, the Global eGovernment Forum in Seoul, South Korea, and conferences in venues ranging from Washington, DC, to New York City, and Las Vegas, NV, to Burlington, VT. He is a prolific writer, with articles appearing on the Center’s blog, in Government Executive and Fast CoExist. He is active on Facebook, Twitter, and Vine. Mr. Ben-Yehuda has worked on the Web since 1994, when he received an email from Maya Angelou through his first Web site. He has an MFA in poetry from American University, has taught writing at Howard University, and has worked in Washington, DC, for nonprofits, lobbying organizations, and government.

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About American Association for the Advancement of Science: American Association For The Advancement Of Science promotes scientific education, science outreach, cooperation among scientists, and more.

Shirley Malcom

Directorate for Education and Human Resources Programs of American Association for the Advancement of Science

Dr. Shirley Malcom directs Education and Human Resources of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). This includes programs in education, activities for underrepresented groups, and public understanding of science and technology. In addition to Digital Promise, Dr. Malcom serves on the boards of the Heinz Endowments and Public Agenda. She is a Regent of Morgan State University and a trustee of Caltech. Dr. Malcom has chaired several national committees addressing education reform and access to scientific and technical education, careers and literacy. She is a fellow of AAAS and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; served on the National Science Board, the policymaking body of the National Science Foundation (1994 to 1998) and on the President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (1994-2001). Dr. Malcom received her Ph.D. in ecology from Penn State; masters in zoology from UCLA; and B.S. with distinction in zoology from the University of Washington. She holds 16 honorary degrees. In 2003 Dr. Malcom received the Public Welfare Medal of the National Academy of Sciences, the highest award given by the Academy.

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John Crews

Staff Director, Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance & Investment of United States Senate

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About United States Senate: U.S. Senate is a legislative chamber in the bicameral legislature of the United States of America.

Rima Cohen

Managing Director, Health Innovators Fellowship of The Aspen Institute

Rima Cohen is the former counselor for health policy to the Secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services where she advised the Secretary on a range of health care matters and helped to develop and lead Obama Administration initiatives related to programs administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Agency for Health Care Quality and Research, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the Office for Civil Rights. During her tenure, Ms. Cohen also stepped in to lead the Department’s planning and evaluation office for six months. As the Acting Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Ms. Cohen advised the Secretary on policy development in areas that include health care, disability, human services, and science; and she provided advice and analysis on economic policy. Prior to assuming this position, Cohen was the Director of Health and Social Services for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, where she oversaw the City’s health care programs and agencies, including Medicaid, the City’s public hospital and health care system, and the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene. Cohen also spent a decade on Capitol Hill as former-Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle’s senior health policy advisor, and she founded and directed Insurance Options for the Uninsured (IOU), a project sponsored by the Greater New York Hospital Foundation that developed and implemented strategies for expanding health insurance coverage in New York. In that position, she developed the original blueprint for the state’s Family Health Plus program – a Medicaid expansion enacted in 2000 that covers up to 500,000 low-income adults – and she created the first web-based tool linking New Yorkers with free and low-cost health and social services. Cohen has a master’s degree in public affairs, with a concentration in economics, from Princeton University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan; she also did undergraduate work at the London School of Economics. After graduate school, Cohen was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study program evaluation methods employed by U.S. NGOs operating in Indonesia. Ms. Cohen sits on the board of the California-based non-profit organization, Social Interest Solutions, and she is on the advisory board of a health care IT start up. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and daughter.

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About The Aspen Institute: The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC.

Maureen Conway

Vp For Policy Programs, Executive Director, Economic Opportunities Program of The Aspen Institute

Maureen Conway serves as Vice President for Policy Programs at the Aspen Institute and as Executive Director of the Institute’s Economic Opportunities Program (EOP). Ms. Conway founded EOP’s Workforce Strategies Initiative (AspenWSI) and has headed up workforce research at the Aspen Institute since 1999. She leads a team of researchers and consultants in a variety of initiatives to identify and advance strategies that help low-income Americans gain ground in today’s labor market. A featured speaker at numerous national and regional conferences, she is a nationally recognized expert in sectoral, or industry-specific, workforce development and has been quoted in a variety of news media including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, National Journal and National Public Radio’s Market Place. Under her leadership, EOP’s Workforce Strategies Initiative has investigated the outcomes of sectoral workforce development, provided innovation seed grants to leading programs in order to illuminate promising practices and explored key operating features of programs in specific industry sectors. Maureen is the author of numerous publications including research reports, case studies and policy briefs, including co-editing, together with Robert P. Giloth, the book Connecting People to Work: Workforce Intermediaries and Sector Strategies, a collection that brings perspectives from philanthropy, policy, research, and practice, together to chart how sector-based workforce development has evolved and the implications for the future. Recently, Maureen led the creation of the Working in America and Reinventing Low Wage Work speaker series at the Aspen Institute, bringing together voices from business, worker advocacy, media, academia and others to discuss the challenges experienced by many in today’s labor markets and new ideas for addressing these challenges. In addition, her current work includes multi-year evaluations of several promising innovations in workforce development and a new project exploring an emerging practice of work that strives to create economic stability as a platform for economic mobility by engaging in strategies that seek to improve job quality while also helping workers improve their job skills. Ms. Conway’s previous experience includes consulting for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris and work for the U.S. Peace Corps, where she advised on the design, management, and evaluation of the organization’s economic development programs in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. Maureen has an M.B.A. from Columbia University, a Masters in Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina, and a B.A. in economics and mathematics from Holy Cross College.

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About Aspen Institute Italy, Aspen Institute Italy, Rutgers’ School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR), The Aspen Institute: The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC.

Joanna Smith Ramani

Associate Director of The Aspen Institute

Joanna Smith-Ramani is the Associate Director at the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program, leading the Expanding Prosperity Impact Collaborative (EPIC), a first-of-its-kind initiative in the field of consumer finance designed to accelerate knowledge synthesis and problem solving among a wide cross section of experts from applied, academic, government, and industry settings working on critical dimensions of financial security. Prior to joining FSP, Joanna served as Senior Innovation Director at the D2D Fund, leading the unit that designs, tests, and evaluates promising financial service innovations. Joanna has led national and state legislative campaigns, resulting in the passage of a federal law and over 10 state laws expanding a savings innovation. Joanna holds a master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a B.A. in Urban Studies from Barnard College, Columbia University. She serves on the Baltimore and Maryland CASH Board.

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About The Aspen Institute, The Aspen Institute: The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC.

Eric Liu

Executive Director of The Aspen Institute

Eric Liu is the founder and CEO of Citizen University and executive director of the Aspen Institute Citizenship and American Identity Program. He is the author of several books, including “You’re More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen’s Guide to Making Change Happen,” “A Chinaman’s Chance,” “The Gardens of Democracy,” and “The Accidental Asian.” Eric served as a White House speechwriter and policy adviser for President Bill Clinton. He is a regular columnist for CNN.com and a correspondent for TheAtlantic.com.

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About The Aspen Institute: The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC.

Arthur Brooks

President & Board of Directors of American Enterprise Institute

Arthur C. Brooks is president of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He is also the Beth and Ravenel Curry Scholar in Free Enterprise at AEI.Immediately before joining AEI, Brooks was the Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government at Syracuse University, where he taught economics and social entrepreneurship. Brooks is the author of 10 books and hundreds of articles on topics including the role of government, fairness, economic opportunity, happiness, and the morality of free enterprise. His latest book, “The Road to Freedom: How to Win the Fight for Free Enterprise” (2012) was a New York Times bestseller. Among his earlier books are “Gross National Happiness” (2008), “Social Entrepreneurship” (2008), and “Who Really Cares” (2006). Before pursuing his work in public policy, Brooks spent 12 years as a classical musician in the United States and Spain. Brooks is a frequent guest on national television and radio talk shows and has been published widely in publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. Brooks has a Ph.D. and an M.Phil. in policy analysis from RAND Graduate School. He also holds an M.A. in economics from Florida Atlantic University and a B.A. in economics from Thomas Edison State College.

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About American Enterprise Institute: Tech Policy Daily offers research and commentary on broadband, FCC policy, cybersecurity, and competition in high-tech industries.

Agustin Silvani

Managing Director of Conservation International

Agustin Silvani heads CI’s Conservation Finance Division (CFD), which is dedicated to the development and financing of pioneering solutions for lasting change in environmental conservation. For more than a decade, CFD has been one of the most active investors in global conservation, raising and deploying with partners over $250million through varied mechanisms such as trust funds, debt swaps, loans, carbon finance, conservation agreements, and payment for ecosystem services. Working with local partners, we have impacted over 50 million hectares and thousands of people that depend on nature for their wellbeing. Many long-term conservation and sustainability projects, once created, lack the funding and structure to be effective over the length of time necessary to ensure lasting results. As a leading thinker in the field of conservation finance, Agustin has been responsible for creating and executing innovative financial mechanisms to encourage more investment in conservation, including the largest privately financed avoided deforestation project and first sustainable fisheries fund. These projects help support everything from coffee growing farmers in the Amazon to Maasai communities that wish to maintain their traditional ways of life, knowing that finding natural solutions to human problems offers huge un-tapped potential. Agustin moved to CI from the private sector with the goal of using public-private finance to drive natural capital conservation and low carbon development, primarily by catalyzing the growth of ecosystem service markets.

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About Conservation International: Conservation International is a financially accountable and transparent organization that empowers societies to responsibly care for nature.

Muzaffar Chishti

Director, MPI’s office at NYU School of Law of Migration Policy Institute

Muzaffar Chishti, a lawyer, is Director of MPI’s office at New York University School of Law. His work focuses on U.S. immigration policy at the federal, state, and local levels; the intersection of labor and immigration law; immigration enforcement; civil liberties; and immigrant integration. Prior to joining MPI, Mr. Chishti was Director of the Immigration Project of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees (UNITE). Mr. Chishti is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Immigration Law Center and serves on the boards of the New York Immigration Coalition and the Asian American Federation. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Immigration Forum and as a member of the American Bar Association’s Coordinating Committee on Immigration. Mr. Chishti has testified extensively on immigration policy issues before Congress and is frequently quoted in the media. In 1992, as part of a U.S. team, he assisted the Russian Parliament in drafting its legislation on forced migrants and refugees. He is a 1994 recipient of the New York State Governor’s Award for Outstanding Asian Americans and a 1995 recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Mr. Chishti was educated at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi; the University of Delhi; Cornell Law School; and the Columbia School of International Affairs.

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About Migration Policy Institute: The MIP provides analysis, development, and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at local, national, and international levels.

Michelle Mittelstadt

Director of Communications and Public Affairs of Migration Policy Institute

Michelle Mittelstadt is MPI’s Director of Communications and Public Affairs and is responsible for developing and implementing the Institute’s strategic communications, coordinating public and media outreach and events, managing the editing and publishing process, and overseeing the Institute’s websites, social media platforms, and publication of its online journal, the Migration Information Source. A veteran journalist, she joined MPI after covering immigration policy, Congress, and border-related issues in the Washington bureaus of The Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News, and the Houston Chronicle. She has written hundreds of articles examining U.S. immigration policy, border and interior enforcement, and the post-9/11 legislative and executive branch changes that have altered the immigration landscape. She also covered the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security. Prior to coming to Washington, Ms. Mittelstadt was an editor with The Associated Press in Dallas and managing editor of The Courier Herald in Dublin, Ga. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a concentration in global studies from the University of Georgia.

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About Migration Policy Institute: The MIP provides analysis, development, and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at local, national, and international levels.

Ken Crognale

Director of Finance and Administration of Migration Policy Institute

Ken Crognale is Director of Finance and Administration at the Migration Policy Institute and is responsible for finance and accounting, human resources, office operations, and grants administration. Prior to joining MPI, Mr. Crognale held senior roles in the accounting and finance departments at the Landon School, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Earlier in his career, he worked in the banking regulation sector of the U.S. federal government. Mr. Crognale is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with more than 15 years in the not-for-profit sector. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in economics from the University of Pittsburgh and did additional coursework in accounting and finance at American University.

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About Migration Policy Institute: The MIP provides analysis, development, and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at local, national, and international levels.

Ken Crognale

Director of Finance and Administration of Migration Policy Institute

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About Migration Policy Institute: The MIP provides analysis, development, and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at local, national, and international levels.

Doris Meissner

Senior Fellow and Director of Migration Policy Institute

Doris Meissner, former Commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), is a Senior Fellow at MPI, where she directs the Institute’s U.S. immigration policy work. Her responsibilities focus in particular on the role of immigration in America’s future and on administering the nation’s immigration laws, systems, and government agencies. Her work and expertise also include immigration and politics, immigration enforcement, border control, cooperation with other countries, and immigration and national security. She has authored and coauthored numerous reports, articles, and op-eds and is frequently quoted in the media. She served as Director of MPI’s Independent Task Force on Immigration and America’s Future, a bipartisan group of distinguished leaders. The group’s report and recommendations address how to harness the advantages of immigration for a 21st century economy and society. From 1993-2000, she served in the Clinton administration as Commissioner of the INS, then a bureau in the U.S. Department of Justice. Her accomplishments included reforming the nation’s asylum system; creating new strategies for managing U.S. borders; improving naturalization and other services for immigrants; shaping new responses to migration and humanitarian emergencies; strengthening cooperation and joint initiatives with Mexico, Canada, and other countries; and managing growth that doubled the agency’s personnel and tripled its budget. She first joined the Justice Department in 1973 as a White House Fellow and Special Assistant to the Attorney General. She served in various senior policy posts until 1981, when she became Acting Commissioner of the INS and then Executive Associate Commissioner, the third-ranking post in the agency. In 1986, she joined the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as a Senior Associate. Ms. Meissner created the Endowment’s Immigration Policy Project, which evolved into the Migration Policy Institute in 2001. Ms. Meissner’s board memberships include CARE-USA and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Inter-American Dialogue, the Pacific Council on International Diplomacy, the National Academy of Public Administration, the Administrative Conference of the United States, and the Constitution Society.

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About Migration Policy Institute: The MIP provides analysis, development, and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at local, national, and international levels.

Dawn Hawkins

Executive Director of Morality In Media

Dawn Hawkins is MIM’s Executive Director and Director of Pornography Harms, which encompasses all of MIM’s educational efforts. Prior to being hired by MIM in February 2011, she was a volunteer working for several hours each week for Mr. Trueman. Her duties included research and writing for PornHarms.com and directing volunteers for the site, development of the Pornography Harms Facebook, Youtube, and Livestream sites and coordination of two conferences on pornography. While volunteering for Mr. Trueman during the fourteen months, she was employed by a political consulting firm helping businesses and political candidates utilize digital strategies to reach expansive audiences and raise funds. Her expertise in social networking and digital strategies contributed to the successful election of several high-profile candidates in the 2010 election cycle. Dawn has worked on a number of high-profile political campaigns, including Romney for President in 2008. Dawn is a graduate of Tufts University and currently resides with her husband, Michael in Arlington, VA.

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About Morality In Media: Morality In Media The leading National Organization opposing pornography and indecency through public education and application of the law.

Steve Ewell

Executive Director & Consumer Technology Association Foundation of Consumer Technology Association

Stephen Ewell is the Executive Director of the Consumer Technology Association Foundation.

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About 48 Fields, Consumer Technology Association: CTA brings a strong, collective voice to advocate on behalf of the entrepreneurs, technologists and innovators.

Darrell West

Vice President and Director, Center for Technology Innovation of The Brookings Institution

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About The Brookings Institution: The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization that focuses on analyzing public policy issues at the national level.

Aaron Klein

Policy Director of the Center on Regulation and Markets of The Brookings Institution

Aaron Klein is a fellow in Economic Studies and serves as policy director of the Center on Regulation and Markets. He focuses on financial regulation and technology, macroeconomics, and infrastructure finance and policy. Previously, Klein directed the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Financial Regulatory Reform Initiative and served at the Treasury Department as deputy assistant secretary for economic policy. Prior to his appointment as deputy assistant secretary in 2009, he served as Chief Economist of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee for Chairmen Chris Dodd and Paul Sarbanes. He worked on financial regulatory reform issues including crafting and helping secure passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. He also played leading roles on housing finance reform, transportation and infrastructure policy. Klein is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Woodrow Wilson School for Public Affairs at Princeton University.

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About The Brookings Institution: The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization that focuses on analyzing public policy issues at the national level.

Martin Indyk

Vice President and Director of The Brookings Institution

Martin Indyk is an American diplomat who has served in senior positions in the U.S. presidential administrations of Clinton, Bush ’43 and Obama. He was twice U.S. Ambassador to Israel, President Clinton’s Middle East Advisor in the National Security Council, President Obama’s Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations, and Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs under Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. From 2001 to 2018, Dr. Indyk managed, built-out and raised funds for the Brookings Institution, a think tank with an annual budget of $100 million. Dr. Indyk currently serves as a distinguished fellow and director of executive education at the Council on Foreign Relations and on several boards, including the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Australia, the Institute for National Security Studies in Israel, the Aspen Institute’s Middle East Investment Initiative, the Israel Democracy Institute and America Abroad Media. He received a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Sydney and a Ph.D. in international relations from the Australian National University.

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About The Brookings Institution: The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization that focuses on analyzing public policy issues at the national level.

Mark Muro

Senior Fellow and Policy Director of The Brookings Institution

Mark Muro, a senior fellow and the director of policy at the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings, leads the program’s advanced and inclusive economy activities. Mark is an expert on regional technology ecosystems and economic development and has published extensively on manufacturing, digital trends, energy issues, and regional industry clusters. Mark’s most recent work has focused on the industry underpinnings of building an “advanced economy that works for all.” Mark is currently leading working the “digitization” of the economy and recently released a major state and metro benchmarking report entitled “America’s Advanced Industries: New Trends.” In recent years Muro has led the development of state advanced industries strategies for Rhode Island, Tennessee’s automotive industry, and Colorado’s space / aerospace sector and wrote the report “Powering Advanced Industries, State by State.” Mark is also an advisor to the American Lightweight Materials Manufacturing Innovation Institute and the author of numerous publications on regional technology ecosystems and economic development strategies, including “The New `Cluster Moment’: How Regional Innovation Clusters Can Foster the Next Economy.” Mark holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and a master’s degree in American studies from the University of California, Berkeley.

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About The Brookings Institution: The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization that focuses on analyzing public policy issues at the national level.

David Wessel

Senior Fellow & Director of The Brookings Institution

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About The Brookings Institution: The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization that focuses on analyzing public policy issues at the national level.

Amy Liuv

Vice President and Director, Metropolitan Policy Program of The Brookings Institution

An expert on metropolitan areas, Amy Liu is committed to helping city leaders make their cities more prosperous and inclusive. Liu combines empirical analysis with on-the-ground research to identify local challenges and design strategies to address them. She recently authored Remaking Economic Development: The Markets and Civics of Continuous Growth and Prosperity to explain why city leaders should abandon inefficient strategies to promote economic growth and articulate how they can embrace a broader vision that connects more people to opportunity. And she’s in a position to know, having worked variously with city leaders in Chicago, Kansas City, Phoenix and New Orleans, to name just a few.

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About The Brookings Institution: The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization that focuses on analyzing public policy issues at the national level.

David Wessel

Senior Fellow & Director of The Brookings Institution

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About The Brookings Institution: The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization that focuses on analyzing public policy issues at the national level.

Karen O’Keefe

Director of State Policies of Marijuana Policy Project

As MPP’s director of state policies, Karen O’Keefe manages MPP’s grassroots and direct lobbying efforts in state legislatures.Karen has worked at MPP since 2003. She played a significant role in MPP’s successful medical marijuana campaigns in Montana (2004) and Rhode Island (2006). Karen has managed MPP’s state legislative department during medical marijuana victories in Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Illinois, and during successful decriminalization campaigns in Maryland, Rhode Island, and Vermont. She is responsible for updating MPP’s model legislation, which formed the basis for several laws. In 2011, she was appointed by Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley to serve on the state’s medical marijuana work group.Karen earned her J.D. from Loyola School of Law, New Orleans, where she received the Gillis Long Public Service award and the Crowe Scholar award. She is admitted to the Bar in the District of Columbia.

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About Marijuana Policy Project, MPP Global: Marijuana Policy Project is a U.S-based organization focused solely on ending marijuana prohibition.

Scott Snyder

Senior Fellow for Korea Studies and Director, Program on U.S.-Korea Policy of The Council on Foreign Relations

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About The Council on Foreign Relations: Council on Foreign Relations operates as a non-partisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher.

Ben Moskowitz

Director of Development, R&D and Innovation of International Rescue Committee

Ben Moskowitz bridges open web R&D with innovators inside news and media organizations, foundations and industry. He has led development on Popcorn.js, Popcorn Maker, the Knight Mozilla news fellows, and other initiatives in Mozilla’s portfolio of media projects. Ben previously founded the Open Video Alliance, a coalition dedicated to promoting free and open technologies, policies and practices in online video, and the Open Video Conference, a gathering of international technology, creative, and policy experts driving innovation in web video. Ben also serves as an Adjunct Professor at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program.

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About International Rescue Committee: IRC responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises & helps some of the most vulnerable people from harm to home.

Marco Torres

Director of Story of Digital Promise

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About Apple, Digital Promise: Digital Promise provides support to advance technologies that can transform teaching and learning.

Alfred Solis

Director of Professional Services of Digital Promise

Alfred comes to Digital Promise from the Buck Institute for Education(BIE), where he was the director of innovation. Alfred developed and identified education technologies and online resources to support and advance project-based learning. He co-developed BIE’s flagship PBL 101 Workshop and co-authored the “PBL 101 Workbook.” Alfred also established the online curriculum and classes for PBLU. Prior to the BIE, Alfred taught math & physics at High Tech High in San Diego. Alfred graduated with honors in mechanical engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Alfred then chose a career with Andersen Consulting, currently Accenture, doing business/internet consulting and later joined a Bay Area venture fund.

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About Accenture, Digital Promise, XQ Institute: Digital Promise provides support to advance technologies that can transform teaching and learning.

Adwoa Jones

Director, Human Resources of The Atlantic Council

Adwoa Jones is Director, Human Resources @ Atlantic Council.

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About The Atlantic Council: Renewing the Atlantic community for global challenges

Barry Pavel

Vice President and Director of The Atlantic Council

Barry Pavel is Vice President and Director @ Atlantic Council.

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About The Atlantic Council, The Atlantic Council: Renewing the Atlantic community for global challenges

Colleen D’Orazio

Associate Director, Development Operations of The Atlantic Council

Colleen D’Orazio is Associate Director, Development Operations @ Atlantic Council.

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About The Atlantic Council: Renewing the Atlantic community for global challenges

Karl Hopkins

Member of the Board of Directors of The Atlantic Council

Karl Hopkins is a Member of the Board of Directors at Atlantic Council.

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About : Renewing the Atlantic community for global challenges

John Schmitz

Member of the Board of Directors of The Atlantic Council

John Schmitz is a Member of the Board of Directors at Atlantic Council.

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About : Renewing the Atlantic community for global challenges

Thomas Egan

Member of the Board of Directors of The Atlantic Council

Thomas Egan is a Member of the Board of Directors at Atlantic Council.

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About : Renewing the Atlantic community for global challenges

Frances Burwell

Vice President and Director, Transatlantic Relations of The Atlantic Council

Frances Burwell is Vice President and Director, Transatlantic Relations @ Atlantic Council.

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About The Atlantic Council: Renewing the Atlantic community for global challenges

Paula Stern

Member of the Board of Directors of The Atlantic Council

Paula Stern is a Member of the Board of Directors at Atlantic Council.

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About : Renewing the Atlantic community for global challenges

Frances Burwell

Vice President and Director, Transatlantic Relations of The Atlantic Council

Frances Burwell is Vice President and Director, Transatlantic Relations @ Atlantic Council.

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About The Atlantic Council: Renewing the Atlantic community for global challenges

Don Thibeau

Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Open Identity Exchange (OIX)

Don Thibeau is the Executive Director of The OpenID Foundation. Thibeau is also Chairman of the Board of the Open Identity Exchange (OIX), a non-profit, technology-agnostic, multi-tenant platform for certification listing services and trust frameworks for identity authentication in global internet and telecommunications applications. OIX was the first US government-authorized certification authority and was founded by companies including Google, PayPal, AT&T, Symantec, Verizon and Equifax. His expertise includes the data, identity and social layers of identity authentication and authorization. He has held senior management positions with Kodak, LexisNexis, Qsent and TransUnion. Thibeau, a former Presidential appointee, has testified before Congress and speaks and writes white papers on data privacy, identity standards and technologies and related regulatory issues. He blogs on these issues at openid.net.

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About : The Open Identity Exchange (OIX) builds trust in online identity.

Jerry Brito

Executive Director of Coin Center

Jerry Brito is executive director of Coin Center, a non-profit research and advocacy center focused on the public policy issues facing cryptocurrency technologies such as Bitcoin. Previously he directed the Technology Policy Program at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and served as adjunct professor of law at George Mason University. His research has focused on technology and Internet policy, copyright, and the regulatory process. Jerry is the recipient of the Public Knowledge IP3 Award and was named one of Washington’s 100 top tech leaders by Washingtonian magazine and to the POLITICO 50 list of D.C. influencers. He lives in Annandale, Virginia, with his wife Kathleen O’Hearn and their dog Jerkface.

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About Coin Center: Court Innovations develops and implements online negotiation systems for courts and constituents.

Randi Parker

Senior Director of CompTIA

Randi Parker focuses on cybersecurity as well as workforce development issues including IT and cybersecurity job training and certification, and immigration reform. She advocates on behalf of the IT industry to members of Congress, the Executive Branch and government agencies. Ms. Parker serves on the Executive Committee for the IT-Sector Coordinating Council and is the Board of Directors of the Cybersecurity Credentials Collaborative. Parker also sits on the Advisory Board for the California Cybersecurity Information Sharing Organization. Prior to joining CompTIA, Parker served as director of counsel of federal government relations for TechAmerica, before it was acquired by CompTIA. In this role, Parker was responsible for issues related to cybersecurity, immigration, smart grid, and STEM education. She managed various association committees while actively lobbying on Capitol Hill. Parker began her career in Washington as legislative counsel to Congressman John Shadegg (R-AZ). She was the Congressman’s lead staffer on the Energy & Commerce Committee’s Communications, Technology and Internet Subcommittee, as well as the office attorney. In addition, she was responsible for judiciary, immigration, national security, and foreign relations issues. Parker graduated cum laude from American University and holds a law degree from New York Law School.

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About CompTIA: Computing Technology Industry Association focuses on advancing the growth of the information technology industry.

Jim Lewis

Director, Strategic Technology Program of Center for Strategic and International Studies

James Andrew Lewis is a Senior Vice President and Program Director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Before joining CSIS, he worked at the Departments of State and Commerce. He was the advisor for the 2010, 2013 and 2015 United Nations Group of Governmental Experts on Information Security and leads a long-running Track II dialogue on cybersecurity with the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations. Lewis has authored many publications and has testified numerous times before Congress.

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About Center for Strategic and International Studies: Center for Strategic and International Studies is a non-profit organization conducting research, analysis and develops policy initiatives.

James Lewis

Senior Fellow & Program Director of Center for Strategic and International Studies

James (Jim) Lewis is a Senior Fellow and Program Director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Before joining CSIS, he worked at the Departments of State and Commerce as a Foreign Service officer and as a member of the Senior Executive Service. His government experience includes work on Asian politico-military issues, as a negotiator on conventional arms and technology transfers, and on military and intelligence-related technologies. Jim led the U.S. delegation to the Wassenaar Arrangement Experts Group on advanced civil and military technologies and was the rapporteur for the UN Group of Government Experts on Information Security for their successful 2010, 2013 and 2015 sessions.

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About Center for Strategic and International Studies: Center for Strategic and International Studies is a non-profit organization conducting research, analysis and develops policy initiatives.

Dahna goldstein

Board of Directors of JustGive

Dahna Goldstein (she/her) is committed to increasing access to capital for world-changing organizations. As the Director of Halcyon Angels, a regional network of angel investors, she is helping to build the social entrepreneurship ecosystem, building on experience as a social entrepreneur and advisor to social impact organizations.

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About Halcyon: Destation for Online Charitable Giving

Emily McMahan

Executive Member of the Board of Directors of Bunker Labs

Emily McMahan launched Bunker Labs DC and is the Director of Capitol Post. Prior to creating Capitol Post, Emily served as a partner and Chief Financial Officer at Halfaker and Associates, LLC; a successful start-up technology firm serving the federal government. As CFO, Emily was responsible for all company’s financial operations, including corporate accounting, financial strategy, and business planning. After graduation from West Point, Emily was commissioned as a military police officer, and her military experience includes combat deployments supporting Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and Noble Eagle. Emily holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point. She’s an active member of the local community and has lived in the area for eight years with her husband, two sons, and daughter.

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About : Bunker Labs provides a peer-learning environment for veteran entrepreneurs.

Jamika Burge

Director of Assessment Technology Product and Research of Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium

Jamika Burge serves as the director of assessment technology product and research for the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. She oversees the Smarter App suite of open source software as well as leads efforts to identify, prioritize, and manage system requirements using a user research approach. She is also responsible for developing a strategic vision to sustain and enhance the Smarter Balanced assessment system to better improve teaching and learning among member states. Burge has served as a technical and research program management professional to a number of educational and government organizations, which is complemented by her teaching experience at the college level. Her research interests lie in human-computer interaction (HCI), specifically in the design of technologies that support a range of communication and interaction needs. She uses a variety of user research methods (attitudinal and behavioral; qualitative and quantitative, etc.) to assess user behavior, needs, and motivations. She is active in computer science education and STEM preparedness efforts, providing expertise for a host of funded programs funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Computing Research Association (CRA), including those seeking to broaden participation in computer science. Burge holds a Ph.D. in computer science, with a focus on human-computer interaction (HCI) from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

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About Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium: Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium is a state-led consortium that develops next-generation assessments.

Anastasia Christman

Deputy Program Director of National Employment Law Project

Anastasia Christman, Senior Policy Analyst, joined NELP in 2011, after nine years of working with the Service Employees International Union. She has worked with labor unions and community groups to design responsible development policies and to promote living wage jobs in service industries. She has lobbied at the federal, state and local levels on behalf of working people. She earned a PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2000.

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About National Employment Law Project: National Employment Law Project is a national advocacy organization for employment rights of lower-wage workers.

Anastasia Christman

Deputy Program Director of National Employment Law Project

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About National Employment Law Project: National Employment Law Project is a national advocacy organization for employment rights of lower-wage workers.

Amanda Bennett

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author and Investigative Journalist Director of the VOA, Founder of TheDream.US

Amanda Bennett is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, investigative journalist and editor. Through 2013, she was Executive Editor, Bloomberg News. She was also co-founder of Bloomberg News’ Women’s project. She was editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer from June, 2003, to November, 2006, and prior to that was editor of the Herald-Leader in Lexington, Kentucky. She also served for three years as managing editor/projects for The Oregonian in Portland. Bennett served as a Wall Street Journal reporter and editor for more than 20 years. A graduate of Harvard College, she held numerous posts at the Journal, including auto industry reporter in Detroit in the late 70s and early 80s, Pentagon and State Department reporter, Beijing correspondent, management editor/reporter, national economics correspondent and, finally, chief of the Atlanta bureau until 1998, when she moved to The Oregonian. Most recently, she has been a contributing columnist for The Washington Post. Bennett shared the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting with her Journal colleagues, and in 2001 led a team from The Oregonian to a Pulitzer for public service. Projects by the Bloomberg Projects and Investigations team won numerous awards, including Loeb, Polk, Barlett & Steele, Headliners, Society of American Business Editors and Writers and Overseas Press Club Awards. She is the author of six books including “In Memoriam” (1998), co-authored with Terence B. Foley; “The Man Who Stayed Behind” (1993), co-authored with Sidney Rittenberg; “Death of the Organization Man” (1991) and “The Quiet Room” (1996), co-authored with Lori Schiller. “The Cost of Hope,” her memoir of the battle she and Foley, her late husband, fought against his kidney cancer, was published in June, 2012 by Random House.

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About TheDream.US, Voice of America: TheDream.US is a scholarship fund that offers individual students scholarship aid to help them cover the cost of tuition, fees, and books.

Courtney Chapin

Executive Director of The Better Angels Society

Courtney Chapin is Chief of Staff – Office of the Chairman at National Endowment for the Humanities.

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About The Better Angels Society: The Better Angels Society is a non-profit organization supports documentary films.

Brooks Rainwater

Senior Executive and Director, Center for City Solutions of National League of Cities – NLC

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About National League of Cities – NLC, National League of Cities – NLC: The National League of Cities is a national membership association dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities.