Senior Director of Thought Leadership, FiscalNote
Becca Bycott is the Director of Thought Leadership and Engagement for the FiscalNote Executive Institute, where she develops programs, events, and thought leadership content that uniquely responds to timely, pressing issues affecting global companies. She brings 15 years of experience advising CEOs, academic leaders, and government officials in strategic communications, digital marketing, and event planning. Her roles have included supporting university presidents in speech writing, crisis communications, and comprehensive rebranding campaigns; spearheading digital engagement for assistant secretaries at the U.S. Department of State; leading PR trainings for international CEOs and partner organizations in affiliation with U.S. Government-sponsored exchange programs; and developing content strategy as a part of consulting for nonprofits, startups and public affairs teams.
Becca attended the University of Texas at Austin for a bachelor’s degree in journalism and the University of Kansas, Lawrence, for a master’s degree in American Studies. She has a certificate in international communications from Southern Methodist University.
Director, Global Sustainability
Sonay Aykan is a sustainability expert and believes in creating a more sustainable future by translating environmental and social impacts into business performance. Sonay serves as Director, Global Sustainability at Colgate-Palmolive Company, where he leads the creation, management and disclosure of sustainability data, as well as integration of sustainability metrics into business risks and opportunities. He leads the efforts to embed UN Sustainable Development Goals into Colgate’s Sustainability & Social Impact Strategy by creating roadmaps and educational material. Sonay has a PhD. in Urban Systems from Rutgers & NJIT, an MA in Sociology and a BA in Economics from Bogazici University. He also holds a SASB FSA credential. He is an avid cyclist. Sonay is also an adjunct professor at Columbia University, teaching the course Sustainability Metrics.
Co-Chair, Sustainability & ESG Advisory Practice, Paul, Weiss
Dave is the Co-Chair of Sustainability & ESG Advisory at Paul, Weiss one of the world’s most prestigious law firms. Dave came to Paul, Weiss after having served as SVP, Chief Business Officer at FiscalNote where he helped establish and lead the Executive Institute.
Dave came to FiscalNote from Thomson Reuters where he was the Global Director, Risk & Compliance. Dave began his career as a media trial and appellate lawyer before moving to senior in-house legal, compliance and regulatory affairs positions.More recently, Dave has led a variety of organizations that leverage technology, AI, data & analytics to help companies mitigate risk and drive growth. Prior to his role at Thomson Reuters, Dave led four RegTech companies, including Risk Readiness Corp., a technology and advisory business he co-founded that focused on proactively eliminating risk for complex organizations with cutting-edge approaches.
Chief Technology Officer, FiscalNote
Vlad currently leads the AI Research team at FiscalNote, focusing on using machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) to create practical applications for analyzing, modeling, and extracting knowledge from the growing amount of mostly unstructured data related to government, policy and law. He created the first version of the company’s patented technology to help organizations understand and act on policy changes. He has more than a decade ofexperience developing state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms for a broad range of NLP applications including entity extraction, structured prediction, machine translation, text classification, and information retrieval.
His work has led to 10 patent applications, he has published more than 20 peer-reviewed papers in and serves on the program committees for top-tier conferences, such as ACL, NAACL, and EMNLP, and has been covered by media such as Wired, Vice News, and Washington Post. His research awards include the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, and he has conducted research in academia (Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland), industry (Raytheon, BBN Technologies, JHU Applied Physics Laboratory), and government.
Vlad completed his Ph.D. in Computer Science with Philip Resnik at the University of Maryland, and his B.S. in Computer Science and Philosophy at Columbia University.
SVP Head of Europe and NATO Affairs, Airbus
Nathalie Errard has been appointed SVP Head of Europe and NATO Affairs of Airbus in 2021. Prior to this position, Nathalie served as SVP Head of Investor Relations and Financial Communication from April 2008 to 2012. She had been in the investor relations department since 2005.
Nathalie began her career as an external auditor with PriceWaterhouse in 1995. She joined the Mergers & Acquisitions team of Aérospatiale in 1998 to participate in the merger with Matra and the creation of EADS (previous name of Airbus).
From 2000 to 2005, Nathalie held several positions in mergers & acquisitions and business development at Technicolor in France and in the U.S. Nathalie served also as Head of Thomson’s Europe & Asia Corporate Audit. Nathalie holds a degree from France’s Institut Mines Télécom-Business School.
Executive Director of State & Local Government Relations, General Motors
Kia is the Executive Director of State & Local Government Relations at General Motors. Prior to General Motors, Kia served as the Director of U.S. Public Policy, State & Local for Meta, the world’s largest social network.
A veteran attorney and government affairs professional, Kia leads the company’s regional U.S. public policy strategy with a focus on shaping fair and balanced regulation for the Meta family of apps: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, What’sApp and Oculus AR/VR.
Kia has more than a decade of experience representing global technology companies, leading their legislative and regulatory strategies, advocacy campaigns and stakeholder engagement initiatives. Accordingly, Kia has been at the forefront of some of the nation’s hottest public policy debates impacting technology sector growth and innovation, from online consumer privacy to data security, online safety, content moderation and internet platform community standards.
Before joining Meta, Kia led public policy strategy for the RELX Group, the parent company of LexisNexis, Law360, Elsevier Publishing, and other business IT solution brands. She has been recognized as an outstanding public policy and community leader by City & State Magazine– The Power Players (2020); Connecticut Magazine–40 Under 40 (2012); and the American Council of Young Political Leaders (2014).
Kia is a public spokesperson for Meta with national and local media on public affairs and community engagement. She is civically active and currently serves on the boards of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, TechUnited, Tech:NYC, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce and the Villanova Law School Alumni Association.
Vice President & Global Head of Government Relations, ServiceNow, Inc.
Nichole Francis Reynolds is the Vice President & Global Head of Government Relations at ServiceNow, Inc. She leads the company’s global government relations, public policy, and advocacy agenda domestically and internationally. As a lawyer and the company’s top lobbyist, she works with Administration officials, Members of Congress, State and local public officials, the diplomatic community and industry associations on domestic and international technology policy issues.
Prior to joining ServiceNow, she served as Vice President of Government and Public Affairs for the Interstate Natural Gas Association. Prior to that, she served for five years as Vice President of Public Policy & Community Relations at Mastercard. Prior to joining Mastercard, she spent ten years in Washington D.C. in a variety of senior roles on Capitol Hill including Chief of Staff to two Members of Congress, as District Director, and as counsel on the Homeland Security Committee. She also gained political experience working on national presidential elections and congressional races.
Ms. Francis Reynolds graduated cum laude and with honors with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Spanish from Eastern Michigan University and received her law degree from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. She is a Member of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Postsecondary Values Commission and serves as a Trustee on the Governing Board for Beauvoir, the National Cathedral Elementary School, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Teach for America DC Region, Imagination Stage DC, Ed Farm, and the Corporate Advisory Council for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and two children.
Assistant General Counsel, Microsoft
Dennis Garcia is an Assistant General Counsel for Microsoft Corporation based in Chicago. He practices at the intersection of law, technology and business and leads the legal support function to Microsoft’s U.S. Enterprise Commercial sales team – one of Microsoft’s largest commercial businesses. Prior to joining Microsoft, Dennis worked as an in-house counsel for Accenture and IBM.
Dennis received his B.A. in Political Science from Binghamton University and his J.D. from Columbia Law School. He is admitted to practice in New York, Connecticut and Illinois (House Counsel). Dennis is a Fellow of Information Privacy, a Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States and a Certified Information Privacy Technologist with the International Association of Privacy Professionals.
Principal, Glidelane
Chris Genteel (he/him) has been a visionary leader and champion of equitable business and product development, leading the Business & Product Inclusion movement to transform how tech can drive business value through values. As Founder and Principal at Glidelane, Chris advises CEOs and their companies on strategies to win in the market by embedding equity, diversity and inclusion in their products, services and business operations.
For over 15 years at Google, Chris was the founder of global, company-wide efforts to achieve DEI, racial equity and climate action. Chris catalyzed public Google goals on Supplier Diversity, Product Inclusion and Net Zero Decarbonization. He was the architect of new teams who created business strategy and programs to drive digital transformation and economic impact outcomes for marginalized communities. Programs his teams created – such as Google’s Product Inclusion, Supplier Diversity, Accelerate with Google, Grow with Google Digital Coaches, Connected Churches, the Dartmouth/Tuck Digital Excellence Program and Net Zero supply chain – led to Billions of dollars of direct economic impact for entrepreneurs from communities of color, women & lgbtq entrepreneurs while driving Google’s bottom-line and reputation outcomes. He has helped create jobs and businesses for practitioners of Business & Product Inclusion across the field.
Chris is a skilled advisor of executive teams on topics like Business & Product Inclusion practices, leading cross-industry Supplier Diversity initiatives and supporting and investing in the black tech ecosystem. Chris advised Google’s first 3 CEOs on implementing DEI and ESG policy and practice across corporate enterprise. He is a member of the FiscalNote Executive Institute’s Advisory Board, the Tuck Executive Education at Dartmouth Advisory Board and a Sustaining Director of the University Musical Society. Chris invests energy and capital in founders and other talent from communities of color and other marginalized communities, helping them create inroads to corporate customers and new revenue sources.
Chris’s leadership has been written about and celebrated, including in HBR’s research on Product Inclusion. His Digital Coaches program won the 2022 Fast Company Innovation by Design Award. Chris was a Council of Urban Professionals (CUP) Catalyst in Technology, a Fellow of the inaugural cohorts of MLT’s SELF & Career Advancement Programs, and has received numerous awards for advancing minority business development for his leadership in economic equity and civil rights including the 2021 Rainbow PUSH Tech Influencer by Rev’d Jesse Jackson, Sr..
More about Chris: in/chrisgenteel/
Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton
Mr. Gesser is a litigation partner and a core member of our Data Strategy & Security practice. Having joined Debevoise in January 2020, Mr. Gesser brings to the firm extensive experience advising major companies on a wide range of data, cybersecurity and incident response matters, including artificial intelligence and data minimization. He has represented international financial services firms, private equity firms, hedge funds and media organizations throughout full cybersecurity incident cycles, including managing large-scale data breaches, coordinating with law enforcement, responding to regulatory investigations, advising boards and executives on critical data liability issues, and defending against civil lawsuits. Mr. Gesser is a primary author of the firm’s Data Blog and the architect of the Firm’s Data Portal, an online tool that helps clients quickly assess and comply with their cyber breach notification obligations.
Mr. Gesser also represents companies and financial institutions in investigations relating to anti-money laundering, sanctions and FCPA compliance. He has advised several U.S. and international financial institutions on cross-border tax investigations conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Department of Financial Services and on the subsequent enhancement of their compliance policies.
Mr. Gesser has been recognized for his outstanding work throughout his career by legal directories and trade publications, and in 2013, he was the recipient of both the Attorney General’s Exceptional Service Award and the FBI Director’s Award for Excellence – Outstanding Criminal Investigation. From 2010 to 2012, Mr. Gesser served as Counsel to the Chief of the Fraud Section, Criminal Division at the Department of Justice.
He received his B.S. from the University of Manitoba in 1991, his LL.B. from the University of Manitoba in 1994, his LL.M. from the University of Cambridge in 1995 and his LL.M. from New York University in 1998, where he served as the graduate editor of the Journal of International Law and Politics.
Vice President, Head of Legislative & Regulatory Affairs, T. Rowe Price
Bob Grohowski is a vice president of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and a managing legal counsel at the firm. Bob is the head of T. Rowe Price’s legislative and regulatory affairs team, which is responsible for coordinating T. Rowe Price’s engagement in public policy initiatives that are important to the firm.
Before joining T. Rowe Price in 2017, Bob was General Counsel of the Investment Adviser Association. Prior to the IAA, Bob spent 17 years with the Investment Company Institute in a number of domestic and international roles. He actively participates in many industry committees and working groups, including as a member of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce’s Board and Executive Committee.
Bob began his career in private law practice with the firms now known as Kilpatrick Townsend and Eversheds Sutherland. He received a B.A. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. He also received his law degree from the University of Virginia, where he was a member of the editorial board for the Virginia Journal of International Law.Bob is married with four children and lives in McLean, Virginia and Baltimore, Maryland.
CEO, Predata & Head of Product, Geopolitical and Market Intelligence, FiscalNote
Josh Haecker is the CEO and Co-Founder of Predata and Head of Product, Geopolitical & Market Intelligence, FiscalNote. Josh started Predata to tackle the challenges of understanding the internet beyond the realm of traditional social monitoring. Over the last seven years, Predata has worked hand in hand with partners in both the USG and private sector to uncover insights in online activity and develop a cutting edge platform designed to deliver those insights to national security professionals. Prior to founding Predata, Josh spent 10 years in the intelligence community focused on SIGINT tradecraft and analysis—both in the military and as a civilian.
Vice President Group Government Affairs, Solvay
Marcel Halma is Vice President Group Government & Public Affairs at Solvay and also leading country management for Solvay, based at the company’s global headquarters in Brussels. A diplomat by background and a veteran in corporate affairs, having held senior positions in diplomacy, business, government and industry associations, and working in Europe, Asia and the US.
Before joining Solvay, Marcel worked as Vice President Government Affairs at AkzoNobel and its spin-off Nouryon (the former chemicals business of AkzoNobel). At Nouryon he was also interim Chief Communications Officer, and in that capacity part of the company’s Executive Leadership Team in 2019. Between 2010-2013 Marcel was deputy Director-General for an industry association in the energy sector. Marcel started his career as a Dutch diplomat, having served for almost 14 years in Brussels (EU), Geneva and New York (UN), and The Hague, and as Director of Communications for the Dutch minister for European Affairs Frans Timmermans (the current First Vice-President of the European Commission).
Marcel is also Member of the Board of Advisors of FiscalNote (a Washington DC-based tech and media company at the cutting edge of AI and government affairs), advisor to the Public Affairs Council in Washington DC. Marcel is a former Chair on Corporate Citizenship at the European Association of Communication Directors (EACD), former Chairman of the EU Affairs Committee of the leading Dutch business federation VNO-NCW, and former President of the Dutch Association for Public Affairs professionals (BVPA).
He is a regular speaker and lecturer on public affairs, lobbying, communications, EU-affairs and association management. Marcel graduated in Political Science and in American Studies.
Vice President, U.S. Public Affairs Policy & Strategy, John Deere
Collis leads the team responsible for managing U.S. federal and state government relations activities on behalf of Deere. These efforts are aimed at supporting legislation and public policies that are favorable to the interests of the company’s employees, customers and business partners. Collis brings over 20 years of governmental strategic, tactical and policy development experience to this role and is one of Deere’s key contributors in delivering client-focused business initiatives within the organization. His 30-year career began at John Deere Financial and has included various marketing, sales and public policy leadership roles across the enterprise.
Senior Account Executive, FiscalNote
Molly is a Senior Account Executive on the Public Policy & Issues Management team. She works with government affairs leaders to help them monitor legislation and regulation at the local, state, federal, and global levels. She analyzes complex policy, streamlines stakeholder management for organizations that meet with Congress and mobilizes advocacy efforts and grassroots campaigns.
Molly brings over 20 years of experience in building relationships for corporate, nonprofit, and government organizations. She has created strategic marketing and advertising campaigns for national, regional, and local businesses, and served as a community builder by developing programs, events, and communications strategies for affordable housing communities. She has also organized successful signature fundraising events for nonprofits.
Molly has served as a domestic violence advocate through the YWCA of Greater Portland, a fundraising chair on the Board of Directors for the Portland Women’s Crisis Line, and as a coach for Girls on the Run, mentoring girls from third to fifth grade.
Molly received her Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Studies at Oregon State University, studying the intersection of gender, race, and class.
Vice President of Corporate Communications, Diageo North America
Communications for leading global spirits producer Diageo North America, parent company of more than 200 iconic brands, including Johnnie Walker whiskey, Guinness beer, and Don Julio Tequila. In his role, Lorenzo is responsible for external and internal communications supporting the company’s strategic initiatives and government relations/policy priorities. Lorenzo is also responsible for telling Diageo’s Society 2030: Spirit of Progress story, which includes the company’s efforts towards grain to glass sustainability, inclusion and diversity/community, and responsible drinking.
Prior to joining Diageo, Lorenzo served as Senior Director of Communications at Walmart. Throughout his career at the global retailer, he held various roles leading national, local, and multicultural media relations, merchandising and marketing communications, public relations efforts, public affairs communications, and crisis communications.
Previously, Lorenzo served as a senior director for FD Dittus, a public affairs and media relations firm in Washington, D.C., where he provided counsel to multiple clients on issue advocacy, community outreach, and media relations strategies.
Lorenzo was also special assistant to the Co-Chairman and director of Hispanic Affairs for the Republican National Committee (RNC). In this capacity he advised Republican Members of Congress and political candidates on local and national issues affecting the Hispanic community and served as spokesperson for Spanish-language and mainstream media. Lorenzo started his career at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, serving the organization in several different roles in the U.S. and Mexico, including Vice President of International and Business Development.
Global Head of Government Affairs & Public Policy, HP
Brittany Masalosalo is the Global Head of Government Affairs & Public Policy at HP Inc. The work that the Government Relations team does is vital to HP, delivering value by proactively identifying, quantifying, and actioning geopolitical trends, influencing government policies, and coordinating HP’s public policy position. Brittany and the Government Relations team partner closely with the Global Business Units to help shape HP’s growth and development strategies, representing HP’s positions before policymakers, legislators, and regulators around the world. This work helps to advance HP’s goals of advocating for policies and fostering relationships that reflect HP’s values and enable success.Prior to joining HP, Brittany worked at 3M as the Head of International Government Affairs, representing 3M’s positions before domestic and international trade institutions, the international diplomatic community, multilateral and bilateral institutions, and other international audiences. She also spent time working at the White House in the Office of the Vice President as a senior advisor for National Security and Foreign Policy. While she was originally hired by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, she continued to serve with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence until deciding to join 3M. Her portfolio includes both regional and functional policy areas such as trade, international economics, and global health security. Prior to working at the White House, Brittany worked for several years at the Pentagon in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. She has also spent time living in Belgium, working with NATO partners and allies. While serving in the U.S. Army, Brittany deployed twice to Iraq and is a decorated veteran. She holds an M. Ed from North Central University and a B.A. from American Military University.
Vice President & Assistant General Counsel, Strategic Public Policy Initiatives, Guardian Life
Ellie Nieves is Vice President & Assistant General Counsel, Strategic Public Policy Initiatives at the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America where she is responsible for forecasting and developing proactive advocacy positions on emerging public policy trends that will define the insurance industry of the future.
Prior to joining Guardian, Ellie served as Chief of Staff to the President of MetLife International. In that capacity, she coordinated all global business activities, projects and functions on behalf of the President in Asia, Latin America, and Europe.
Ellie attained a B.A. in Communications from Fordham University and a J.D. from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. She received her MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business with specializations in Leadership and Global Business.
General Counsel, One Earth Future Foundation
Britton Nohe-Braun is a Managing Associate in Dentons’ White Collar and Government Investigations group. Britton represents and advises Fortune 500 companies and senior executives in government investigations and conducts internal investigations for US domestic and multinational firms. She specializes in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and False Claims Act (FCA) matters and regularly advises companies on compliance with U.S. and international anti-bribery, anti-corruption, and privacy laws.
Britton is also active in civil society and regularly speaks and hosts events related to women’s rights, diversity and inclusiveness, and access to justice. She is on the Board of the Colorado Judicial Institute (CJI), Co-Chair of the Denver Chapter of the Women in White Collar Defense Association, and a member of Denton’s Women LEAD and Pro Bono Committees.
Senior Government Affairs Executive, Temasek
Anne Brady Perron is a senior government affairs executive and currently serves in-house at a large global investment firm headquartered in Singapore with 13 offices worldwide. Her experience spans two decades having worked on Capitol Hill, at a top trade association, lobbying firm, in the Democratic party as well as significant political/campaign experience.
Anne has proven herself as a top-notch strategist on complex policy issues with a keen focus on utilizing a multi-dimensional approach to advocacy, public affairs & intelligence gathering. She is well known as one of Washington’s top strategists and brings a proven ability to lead diverse teams, as well as tested experience as a political operative, coalition builder, and entrepreneur.
Currently, Anne serves in-house at a large investment firm tracking and translating global policy developments and provides guidance around industry, economic, social and political developments relevant to their investment activities. She has extensive public speaking experience and is comfortable speaking with groups of all sizes. She is passionate about strategy, Democratic politics and spending time in the great outdoors with her husband and daughter.
Anne is a graduate of Harvard Business School, Johns Hopkins University with a Masters degree in Government and National Security and holds a B.A. from Pepperdine University.
Chief Marketing Officer, SVP & General Manager, Community, FiscalNote
Krystal oversees marketing and thought leadership at FiscalNote to help customers and prospects better mitigate risk and uncertainty. She brings 20+ years of diversified marketing, branding, and business development experience across both enterprise organizations and startups. Krystal also services as the general manager for FiscalNote’s advocacy business, leading the vision and strategic direction of a portfolio of products.
Before joining FiscalNote, Krystal ran demand generation at EAB. Prior to that, she was VP of Marketing at Localist in Silver Spring, ran marketing for PBS’ education division, and has had a variety of roles in previous marketing departments at Discovery Communications, TrustArc, BearingPoint, and CEB.
She holds an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and a B.S. from Tulane University.
Senior Counsel, Associate General Counsel – Regulatory & Government Affairs, Energizer Holdings
Kevin Rejent joined Energizer Brands in 2020 to serve as its primary Regulatory and Trade Compliance attorney and assist with Government Affairs issues. In 2021, he became Head of Government Affairs, responsible for Energizer’s interactions with governments globally. In coordination with the company’s Battery, Lighting, and Auto Care divisions, Kevin creates and implements strategies to advocate on issues impacting Energizer and the industries in which it operates.
Kevin has twenty years of legal, government affairs, and regulatory experience in a variety of industries, including consumer goods, health care, and financial services. Prior to joining Energizer, Kevin worked at two global law firms, served as General Counsel of an insurance company including leadership of its Government Affairs program, served as a Director of an international political risk consultancy, and coordinated risk management for a European alternative investment fund. He received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Arizona State University, a J.D. from Saint Louis University, and a master’s in Global Risk from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Managing Director, CQ Roll Call
Stephen Salfeety is Vice President of Legislative Research and Analysis for CQ and Roll Call, FiscalNote’s flagship news and legislative tracking platform. He received his undergraduate degree in government and politics from the University of Maryland and earned a master’s degree in international business and policy from Georgetown University.
Steve began his career in the U.S. Senate, spending eight years as a personal staff member focusing on defense, foreign affairs, immigration, veterans, and intelligence issues. He then entered the private sector, serving as the content manager of the legislative tracking tool Cision GR for eight years. Steve was hired as Director of Congressional Data at CQ in 2017 and now oversees all US federal legislative tracking, research and analysis.
He lives outside Washington, DC, with his husband, Rich, and a rambunctious yellow Lab named Seamus.
Senior Advisor, US Power Policy Shell
Patricia Tamez is responsible for developing strategy and executing federal legislative priorities in Shell’s Power, Tax and Trading group. Throughout her Shell career, Patricia has focused on executing the policy priorities of a broad group of business, including Shell’s Deepwater, Midstream and Renewables Assets. In 2021 her role shifted to focusing primarily on Shell’s expanding portfolio of power businesses, including Shell’s two offshore wind joint venture projects. She currently co-leads Federal Affairs for the Atlantic Shores offshore wind project.
Prior to joining Shell, Patricia spent more than a decade in the U.S. House of Representatives. From 2009-2014 she served as Executive Director of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, responsible for coordinating and implementing policy priorities for the group and serving as a liaison to Congressional Leadership and the Obama Administration. From 2004-2008, she was Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director to former Congressman Solomon Ortiz, a moderate member of the House and senior leader on defense, trade and energy. She also previously served as Policy Director for the Obama for American campaign in New Mexico, worked for Congressman Ciro D. Rodriguez of Texas and as a Legislative Aide in the Texas Legislature.
Patricia is active in organizations focused on youth development and mentorship, and serves on the Advisory Council of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. She is a proud Texan and graduate of Texas A&M University. Her and her husband Adrian live in Northern Virginia and are the proud parents of two children – Valentina and Mateo – and two spoiled Australian Shepherds.
Vice President, External & Corporate Affairs, Meridian
Puru is Managing Director of Corporate Relations, with direct responsibility for the Meridian Corporate Council and leads commercial diplomacy across Meridian. Prior to joining Meridian, Puru has worked across the financial services, policy advocacy and consulting industries. Most recently, Puru was an Associate Director, Services to Government for APCO Worldwide in New Delhi, as well as Deputy Director for the US Chamber of Commerce in India/US-India Business Council. At USIBC, Puru managed the policy advocacy efforts for 300 major US companies across industries, working to strengthen bilateral ties between both the US and India and helping push forward reforms which benefit US companies abroad. Prior to joining the USIBC, Puru worked with private equity secondary transactions in Boston with State Street Financial, Bank of America Private Bank, in Manhattan with Smith Barney Citigroup and Fimeris, a boutique PE firm in London.
Puru is on the board of advisors for World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Project X Global Advisory Committee, Cariluxe Inc. in Barbados and Lazy Eight in New Delhi. He attended Boston University School of Management for a B.Sc in Finance, as well as Babson College Olin, Wellesley Massachusetts for his MBA. Originally from the Greater Boston Area, Puru has lived, worked and studied in Saudi Arabia, England, China and India.
Managing Director, Oxford Analytica
David K. Young is the Managing Director of Oxford Analytica and leads the firm’s business worldwide ensuring Oxford Analytica continues to enable the world’s leading organizations to succeed in complex global environments by providing expert insights and trusted judgments. From 2014 to 2016, Davy served as the Director of Innovation, implementing a variety of internal and external change initiatives throughout the firm.
Prior to joining Oxford Analytica, Davy worked across the sectors of international security, technology, and emerging market development as a management consultant, as the European Director for a US-based, Africa-focused not-for-profit and at Canopy, a joint venture of Atos, EMC2 and VMWare, where he advised senior executives across a variety of industries how best to leverage emerging technologies to achieve strategic objectives. Davy is the co-Founder of a cloud-based, mobile payment company and a boutique due diligence firm, a Trustee of the Committee for Economic Development and continues to advise multiple early-stage and not-for-profit organizations.
Davy has a BA in Government from the College of William and Mary, a MA in Intelligence and International Security from King’s College, University of London, and a MBA from the McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University.
