The Speakers
index
Alyssa Quinn
Alyssa is the Sr. Policy & Advocacy Advisor at the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), a position she has held since August 2018. She also serves on the steering committee for the Canadian Internet Governance Forum (CIGF), and the Internet Society Canada Chapter (ISCC) Board of Directors. In 2016, Alyssa was elected to serve a three year term on the Advisory Council to the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN). She is involved in both the names and numbers communities of internet governance.
Amedeo Bernardi
Amedeo provides consulting services to communities and service providers that are trying to navigate the complex Canadian telecommunications landscape. His practice currently focuses on the challenges of planning and implementing sustainable rural and remote broadband services. In addition to his past experiences as an executive at several small to mid-tier service providers, Amedeo credits his selection to the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference themed "Leadership and Sustainable Communities", for providing a practical understanding of the influence organizations have on the general welfare of communities and Canada as a whole.
Amedeo is also the founder of Bridging the Digital Divide Canada (Green Hexagon Inc.), an organization that hosts Canada’s Rural & Remote Broadband Communities events. CRRBC provides a tremendous information sharing forum for community leaders, rural advocates, service providers and government. The series is a unique opportunity for stakeholders to come together and share their knowledge, experiences, and lessons learned on the challenges and realities of creating a sustainable and ubiquitous digital economy for the rural and remote regions of our country.
H. Rose Trostle, MUEP
A citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Trostle is an activist and researcher. They are Two-Spirit and use They/Them pronouns. Trostle is a current Research Professional at the American Indian Policy Institute at Arizona State University and a former Project Manager at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Trostle holds a Master’s in Urban and Environmental Planning from Arizona State University, where they focused on Indigenous planning. They have a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Classical Languages from Macalester College.
Jessica Engle
The Yurok Tribal Council selected Yurok Information Service Department Director, Jessica Engle to serve as the Yurok Telecommunications Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer. During the last four years, Engle has more than quadrupled the size of the Information Services Department, optimized the Tribal government’s use of technology and led the effort to increase access to high-speed internet on the Yurok Reservation.
Lee Rainie
Lee Rainie is the Director of Internet and Technology Research at Pew Research Center. Under his leadership, the Center has issued more than 650 reports based on its surveys that examine people’s online activities and the internet’s role in their lives. The American Sociological Association gave Rainie its award for “excellence in the reporting on social issues” in 2014 and described his work as the “most authoritative source of reliable data on the use and impact of the internet and mobile connectivity.”
Rainie is a co-author of Networked: The new social operating system and five books about the future of the internet that are drawn from the Center’s research. He gives several dozen speeches a year to government officials, media leaders, scholars and students, technology executives, librarians, and nonprofit groups about the changing media ecosystem.
Prior to launching Pew Research Center’s technology research, Rainie was managing editor of U.S. News & World Report. He is a graduate of Harvard University and has a master’s degree in political science from Long Island University.
Loris Taylor
Loris Taylor (Hopi/Acoma), President and CEO
As President and CEO of Native Public Media, Taylor represents the media ianterests of Indian Country, including new media technologies, radio, television, broadband, journalism, and public policy. Native Public Media serves sixty radio and three television stations serving Indian Country with federal regulatory compliance, station operations, training, and legal representation.
Taylor was instrumental in assisting the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) establish the first Tribal Priority for Broadcast, followed by creating the FCC Office of Native Affairs and Policy (ONAP) focused on serving federally recognized Tribal governments. She published the first seminal study on broadband in Tribal communities, "New Media, Technology, and Internet Use in Indian Country" contributing critical findings to the FCC's National Broadband Plan.
Taylor served as the General Manager of KUYI-FM Radio; co-founded the "Indian Country News Bureau" and the Andy Harvey Indigenous Youth Media Workshop. Taylor produced the children's program, "Shooting Stars," the weekly talk show, "House Calls," and received awards from the UNITY Journalists of Color and U.S. Indian Health Service for her radio production and broadcast leadership.
Taylor's engagement in the communications field includes serving on the Distribution and Interconnection Committee of the National Public Radio Board, the FCC's Diversity in a Digital Age Committee, Free Press Board of Directors, and Aspen Institute's Communications and Society Program. She chaired the Technology and Telecommunications Subcommittee and co-Chaired the Economic Development, Finance, and Community Development Committee for the National Congress of American Indians for six years.
Taylor was honored with the 2006 Louis T. Delgado Award and the 2005 Ford Foundation Leadership for a Changing World Award for co-founding the Hopi Foundation, the Barbara Chester Award for Clinicians of Torture, and the Hopi Education Endowment Fund.
Mark Buell
Mark Buell is the Regional Vice President for North America at the Internet Society. In this role, he works with various stakeholders in Canada, the United States, and worldwide, from policymakers and community members to the technical community and civil society. With 20+ years of experience in policy and communications, Mark takes a collaborative approach to the complex challenges facing the Internet today.
Before joining the Internet Society, Mark worked on Canadian Internet policy and global Internet governance at the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), the registry for the.CA country code top-level domain.
Mark began his professional career working for ten years in Indigenous health policy, first at an Inuit land claim organization in the Western Canadian Arctic, then as Director of Communications and Research at the National Aboriginal Health Organization. Inspired by the potential of Internet access to enhance the health and wellbeing of communities, Mark became interested in Internet policy.
Mark is based in Ottawa, Canada, where he lives with his partner, two teenage sons, and Australian and German Shepherds.
Michael Palage
Michael Palage is an intellectual property attorney and an information technology consultant that has been actively involved in Internet Governance and ICT issues over the last twenty years. During this time, he have been intimately involved in ICANN operational and policy matters since its formation in both an individual and leadership role, including a three-year term on the ICANN Board of Directors.
Mr. Palage currently President and CEO of Pharos Global, Inc. which provides consulting and management services to domain name registration authorities and other technology related companies in connection with Internet governance issues. He is also the co-founder and Chief Trust Officer of InfoNetworks, LLC, an information technology company focused on solutions for building online trusting incorporating emerging areas of digital identity, decentralized identifiers, and distributed ledger technology.
He has testified before the United States Congress multiple times and as an expert witness in both Federal and State Court in numerous legal proceedings.
Olivier Crepin-leblond
Dr. Olivier M.J. Crépin-Leblond is a French national who has been an Internet user since 1988. He received a B.Eng. Honours degree in Computer Systems and Electronics from King’s College, London, UK, in 1990, a Ph.D. in Digital Communications from Imperial College, London, UK, in 1997, and a Specialized Masters Degree in Competitive Intelligence and Knowledge Management from SKEMA Business School in Nice-Sophia Antipolis, France, in 2007.
Having founded Global Information Highway Ltd in 1995, he took part in many Internet projects, several of which enabled Internet connectivity in developing countries.
He was selected as Chairman of ICANN’s At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) in December 2010, renewed for four continuous years. Through serving the At-Large Community, he has gained a unique practical experience in an operational multi-stakeholder policy-making environment, finding and building consensus at grassroots level. He then became Vice-Chair in 2015 and was Chair of the European At-Large Organisation (EURALO) until November 2019.
In December 2012 he attended the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) in Dubai as part of the United Kingdom delegation.
In March 2013 he was selected to sit on the second ICANN Accountability and Transparency Review Team (ATRT2).
He attended NetMundial in April 2014, wearing both the hats of his ICANN At-Large
Community but also as Co-chair of ICANN’s Cross Community Working Group on Internet Governance, now renamed the Internet Governance Engagement Group (IGEG). Since 2018 he serves as the Co-Chair of the At-Large Consolidated Policy Working Group. He has also represented his community in Internet Governance Forums (IGFs) since 2010. In 2015 he was also involved with working groups of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Whilst Chairman of the English Chapter of the Internet Society (ISOC) since March 2012, he is also a Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and was a Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC) affiliate since the early nineties.
He is a Founder Board member of EuroDIG, the European IGF.
Since 2020 he is leading a Team at WAW Lifestyle Ltd, a start-up he has co-founded, developing a mobile Application that will serve the wellbeing and lifestyle market through the teaching of a healthier living. The App will serve both the B2B and B2C markets and is set to become the leader in its class.
Full details are available on: http://www.gih.com/ocl.html
Pablo Rodríguez
Dr. Pablo Rodríguez, DM-IST
Pablo Rodríguez is a C level executive experienced in Cloud Computing Operations, client services, product development and strategic management with ample experience interacting with Telecom clients and suppliers on a global basis. Directly involved in creating and implementing best practices policy; thus, ensuring mission critical services are delivered, mitigating risk and promoting business continuity.
Dr. Rodríguez served in various capacities with Register.com from 1996-2003; namely, managing business opportunities with the Latin American and Caribbean domain name market. In 2003, was recruited by Puerto Rico Top Level Domain (PRTLD) to implement sales and marketing strategies where he is currently Executive Vice President.
Dr. Rodríguez was involved in the conformation of the North American region that gave way for the creation of the country code Name Supporting Organization (ccNSO); he is currently serving as Vice-Chair of the ccNSO and Councilor for the North American region. In addition since August 2021 he serves as director of EDP University’s Graduate School.
Dr. Rodríguez holds a BA in Biology from the City University of NY (CUNY), and MBA in Technology Management from the University of Phoenix, and a doctoral degree of Management in Organizational Leadership specializing in Information Systems and Technology from the University of Phoenix.
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Pablo Rodríguez es un alto ejecutivo con experiencia en Operaciones en Cloud Computing, servicios al cliente, desarrollo de productos y gestión estratégica con amplia experiencia en la interacción con clientes y proveedores de Telecom a nivel global. Involucrado directamente en la creación e implementación de políticas de mejores prácticas; así garantizando la prestación de servicios de misión crítica, mitigando riesgo y promoviendo la continuidad del negocio.
El Dr. Rodríguez se desempeñó en varias capacidades con Register.com desde 1996-2003; gestionando oportunidades de negocios en el mercado de nombres de dominio de América Latina y el Caribe. En 2003, fue reclutado por Puerto Rico Top Level Domain (PRTLD) para implementar estrategias de ventas y mercadeo donde actualmente es vicepresidente ejecutivo.
El Dr. Rodríguez participó en la conformación de la región de América del Norte que dio paso a la creación de la Organización de Apoyo para Nombres con Códigos de País (ccNSO); actualmente se desempeña como vicepresidente de esa organización y es consejero de la región de América del Norte. Además, desde agosto 2021se desempeña como director de la Escuela Graduada de EDP University.
El Dr. Rodríguez posee un bachillerato en Biología de City University of NY (CUNY), un MBA en Gestión de Tecnología de la Universidad de Phoenix, y un doctorado en Administración en Liderazgo Organizacional con especialización en Sistemas de Información y Tecnología de la Universidad de Phoenix.
Ron da Silva
Ron da Silva is an executive leader, international board member and internet technology expert. He has over twenty (20+) years of proven business experience, culminating in senior executive leadership.
His is an NACD certified Board Governance Fellow, CEO and Founder of Network Technologies Global, serves on the Board of the Internet Association for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and chairs the Finance Committee.
Ron possesses extensive experience in Internet governance and policy development, financial discipline, broad business acumen and an understanding of cyber-security.
Sally Braun
Sally Braun, General Manager of the Western James Bay Telecom Network since August 2012, is based in Moose Factory and Timmins ON. Ms. Braun is responsible for the overall management of the Western James Bay Telecom Network including operations and project management, regulatory compliance, and community relations.
Ms.Braun is currently overseeing the rollout of a $ 4.7 million Fiber to the Home project in Attawapiskat, Kashechewan, and Fort Albany First Nations, with activation scheduled for October 2022. Before WJBTN, Ms. Braun was Project Manager with Attawapiskat Enterprises to develop a community-owned cellular telephone system.
Ms. Braun has consulted on education and training initiatives for the Attawapiskat First Nation Education Authority, is a director of the First Mile Connectivity Consortium (FMCC), and supports the Internet Society of Canada.
Ms. Braun holds a degree in Law and Justice (Honors) from Laurentian University and an Honors Diploma in Library and Information Technology from Georgian College.
She has lived on the James Bay Coast for 15 years in Attawapiskat and Moose Factory. Before 2005, Ms. Braun served the Canadian NGO, CUSO, in international community development in St. Lucia, West Indies, and Papua New Guinea.
Thomas Barrett
Tom Barrett has over 35 years of experience in technology, including over 20 years of experience in brand protection, internet development and blockchain. Currently, he is President and Founder of ICANN-accredited Registrars EnCirca, Inc and Name Share, Inc.
Tom also serves as the Chair of the Blockchain Subcommittee for the International Trademark Association and the Chair of the ICANN NomCom Review Working Group.
EnCirca specializes in community-based TLDs and assists domain name registries with their go-to market strategies. EnCirca is currently a leading Registrar for: .BANK, .CPA, .BOT, .REALTOR, .PHARMACY, .COOP, .JOBS and .TRAVEL. EnCirca powered the validation portal for seven new gTLDs, including .BANK and .INSURANCE and is a white-labeled registrar for dotBrand TLDs. EnCirca is also a Trademark Agent for the Trademark Clearinghouse. EnCirca also supports Blockchain-based DNS and TLDs, including Ethereum's ENS, .ETH and the TLD's enabled by the Handshake Protocol
Mr. Barrett was previously Vice President at Thomson CompuMark (part of ThomsonReuters), where he led the development of the SAEGIS trademark research platform.
Previous affiliations include; Neustar, NetNames, NetBenefit, ThomsonReuters (Thomson CompuMark), Ziff Davis Interactive (Interchange), Accenture (Andersen Consulting), General Electric - Aircraft Engines, Pratt & Whitney Aircraft.
Mr. Barrett has engineering degrees from MIT and WPI.
Recent Presentations:
- Presenter "When Namespaces Collide. Much Ado About Nothing?", at Namescon/Handycon track: September, 2021
- Moderator of Blockchain Panel at Namescon, September 21
- Panelist at Middle East DNS Forum. "The Domain Name Business", April, 2021
- Presenter at HandyCon (http://handycon.promote.hns.to/), March, 2021
- Presenter on Blockchain Panel at INTA Annual Meeting, November, 2020
- Presenter at ROW#9, "Biggest Obstacle for New gTLD Innovation", June, 2020
- Panel Moderator at NamesCon, "Blockchain: Threat or Opportunity for Domaining?", January, 2020
- Presenter at ICANN64, TechOps Day (Kobe, Japan) "Blockchain, IoT and the DNS", March, 2019
Tom Barrett has over 35 years of experience in technology, including over 20 years of experience in brand protection, internet development and blockchain. Currently, he is President and Founder of ICANN-accredited Registrars EnCirca, Inc and Name Share, Inc. Tom also serves as the Chair of the Blockchain Subcommittee for the International Trademark Association and the Chair of the ICANN NomCom Review Working Group. EnCirca specializes in community-based TLDs and assists domain name registries with their go-to market strategies. EnCirca is currently a leading Registrar for: .BANK, .CPA, .BOT, .REALTOR, .PHARMACY, .COOP, .JOBS and .TRAVEL. EnCirca powered the validation portal for seven new gTLDs, including .BANK and .INSURANCE and is a white-labeled registrar for dotBrand TLDs. EnCirca is also a Trademark Agent for the Trademark Clearinghouse. EnCirca also supports Blockchain-based DNS and TLDs, including Ethereum's ENS, .ETH and the TLD's enabled by the Handshake Protocol Mr. Barrett was previously Vice President at Thomson CompuMark (part of ThomsonReuters), where he led the development of the SAEGIS trademark research platform. Previous affiliations include; Neustar, NetNames, NetBenefit, ThomsonReuters (Thomson CompuMark), Ziff Davis Interactive (Interchange), Accenture (Andersen Consulting), General Electric - Aircraft Engines, Pratt & Whitney Aircraft. Mr. Barrett has engineering degrees from MIT and WPI. Recent Presentations: - Presenter "When Namespaces Collide. Much Ado About Nothing?", at Namescon/Handycon track: September, 2021 - Moderator of Blockchain Panel at Namescon, September 21 - Panelist at Middle East DNS Forum. "The Domain Name Business", April, 2021 - Presenter at HandyCon (http://handycon.promote.hns.to/), March, 2021 - Presenter on Blockchain Panel at INTA Annual Meeting, November, 2020 - Presenter at ROW#9, "Biggest Obstacle for New gTLD Innovation", June, 2020 - Panel Moderator at NamesCon, "Blockchain: Threat or Opportunity for Domaining?", January, 2020 - Presenter at ICANN64, TechOps Day (Kobe, Japan) "Blockchain, IoT and the DNS", March, 2019