Safe Internet Alliance

Join us tomorrow in room B-338 of the Rayburn House Office Building from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for an educational event and discussion for Capitol Hill members, staff, media and the public on various aspects of Internet safety. Three expert panels will address topics and issues ranging from the facts about who is online to how to increase public awareness and highlight demand for a safe Internet.

The event is called Framework For A Safe Internet: Know the facts, understand the issues, shape the future. Panelists will include representatives from Congress, the Federal Trade Commission, Yahoo, McGruff Safeguard, Verizon, Pew Hispanic Center, CrispThinking, Privo, AOL, Actimize, National Cable and Telecommunications Association, and Microsoft.

The panels for the event include, "The Real Online: Perspectives on Users, Providers, and Safety," "Confronting Internet Risks Today," and "The Future of a Safe Internet." For the full schedule and list of panelists, go here.

Below are the bios for our featured panelists:

PANEL 1 - The Real Online Picture: Perspectives on Users, Providers and Safety

Leslie S. Dunlap

Senior Director, Government Relations, Yahoo!, Inc.

Leslie S. Dunlap joined Yahoo!, Inc., a leading global Internet communications, commerce and media company, in 2001 and serves as Senior Director, Government Relations, in Washington, DC. In that role, Dunlap works with a global team of public policy professionals advocating on Internet policy issues with regulators and legislators. Dunlap has worked extensively on a variety of Internet issues, specializing in consumer protection and information policy issues such as child protection, privacy, spam, spyware, and Internet service provider liability.

Prior to coming to Yahoo!, Dunlap held the position of Director of Congressional Affairs for Cable &Wireless, where she handled telecommunications and e-commerce issues from 1998-2001.

Before Dunlap entered the private sector, she served members of Congress for eight years. From 1996-1998, Dunlap was Legislative Director to Representative Rick White (R-WA), one of the early leaders in shaping nascent Internet policy, and co-founding member of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional Internet Caucus. From 1991-1996, Dunlap served as Legislative Assistant to Representative J. Dennis Hastert, a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee at the time and later the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. There she handled telecommunications policy leading up to the passage of the landmark Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Dunlap lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and three children.

Kathryn C. Brown

Senior Vice President, Public Policy Development & Corporate Responsibility

Kathryn C. Brown is senior vice president - Public Policy Development and Corporate Responsibility. She has been with the company since June 2002. She is responsible for public policy development and messaging, emerging issues management, and cultivating strategic alliances with key national and international organizations. She is also responsible for Verizon’s domestic and international corporate responsibility initiatives. Ms. Brown has responsibility for the Verizon Foundation and its focus on the issues of education and literacy, with programs such as the Verizon Thinkfinity.org education website, and safety and health, supporting initiatives that further Internet safety, and apply technology to increase access to healthcare information and services. Before joining Verizon, Ms. Brown was a partner at the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Brown was the Chief of Staff to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman William E. Kennard, managing the agenda on all telecommunications, broadcast, and spectrum matters.

Additionally, Ms. Brown was the Associate Administrator, Office of Policy Analysis and Development, at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications & Information Administration. Ms. Brown worked for eight years at the New York State Public Service Commission as the Director of the Consumer Services Division and as Litigation Attorney and Managing Attorney for Telecommunications with the Office of General Counsel. Prior to joining the NYPSC, she was the Deputy Clerk of the New York State Court of Appeals.

Ms. Brown serves on numerous boards and advisory committees including, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History board of directors; US Center for Citizen Diplomacy board of directors; National Council of LaRaza corporate board of advisors, American Foundation for the Blind board of trustees; Columbia Institute for Tele-Information (CITI) advisory board and the FCC Advisory Committee on Diversity.

Ms. Brown received her J.D., summa cum laude, from Syracuse University College of Law in 1980 and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Marist College in 1974. She is admitted to practice in New York and the District of Columbia. Kathy and her husband Steve reside in Oakton, Virginia. They have two adult daughters.

Mark Hugo Lopez

Associate Director, Pew Hispanic Center

Mark Hugo Lopez is the Associate Director of the Pew Hispanic Center where he studies the political engagement of Latinos, Hispanics and the criminal justice system, Latinos and their experience with the economic downturn, and Latino Youth. Lopez also helps coordinate the Center’s national surveys. Additionally, he currently serves as a Visiting Professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, as chair of the Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management’s (APPAM) Diversity Committee, as the Second Vice President of the American Society of Hispanic Economists (ASHE) and as a member of the American Economic Association’s Committee on the Status of Minority Groups in the Economics Profession (CSMGEP). While a Professor at the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, he served as the Faculty Chair of the Maryland Junior Summer Institute for minority students interested in careers in international affairs.

Lopez received his Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University in 1996. He joined the Pew Hispanic Center in January of 2008.

Simon Rosenberg

President & Founder, NDN

Simon Rosenberg is President and founder of NDN, a leading, center-left think tank in Washington, DC. Rosenberg, a veteran of two presidential campaigns, including the 1992 Clinton War Room, got his start as a writer and producer in network television. He is a leading political thinker and commentator with a unique ability to identify important trends and decipher changes transforming American politics well before others.

Rosenberg designed new programs for Democrats to communicate effectively in the digital age and was one of the first major political operatives to understand and embrace new technologies and media. He devised strategies to make Democrats more competitive in states with rapidly growing Hispanic populations and has helped map a smart path forward on immigration reform. He saw how the strident ideological politics of the Baby Boomers are yielding to a Millennial Generation – the largest and most progressive U.S. generation ever. He understood that together, these changes are creating a new electoral map that has given forward-thinking Democrats a chance at historic political realignment.

Rosenberg has built NDN into one of Washington’s most forward-thinking policy shops. Together with Dr. Rob Shapiro, President Clinton’s Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs and Chair of NDN’s Globalization Initiative, he has fashioned a unique set of messages and policies around focusing on the economic well-being of everyday people based on Shapiro’s early analysis that even as GDP and productivity rose during the Bush years, wages stagnated and incomes declined.

Rosenberg is a member of the Aspen Institute’s 2001 Class of Henry Crown Fellows and served on the 2004 Democratic National Convention Platform Committee. He sits on the boards of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, the publication Democracy: A Journal of Ideas and the Roosevelt Institution. In 2007, Rosenberg was named one of the 50 most powerful people in DC by GQ Magazine.

He lives with his family in Washington, DC.

PANEL 2 – Confronting Internet Risks Today

Rebecca Newton

Head of Safety, CrispThinking.com
Rebecca Newton has been an online community/social networking professional since the early 90s, where she lead the recruitment, orientation and education efforts for AOL Inc.'s Community Leader Program as Program Manager. Rebecca spent 6 years at Sulake (Habbo Hotels) and 2 years at Mind Candy Ltd., (www.mindcandy.com) a London based ARG, social networking and gaming company. As Director of Community at both Habbo and Mind Candy, her responsibilities included developing, developing, implementing and overseeing Online Safety, Community Content, Social Networking tools, and Customer Service and Moderation efforts for Habbo Hotels in 24 countries and for Mind Candy’s Moshi Monster product.

In April of 2009, Rebecca joined CrispThinking.com as Head of Safety, where she works with clients to help them create world class safety policies and to manage increasing compliance issues. She is also involved in development of new safe moderation techniques to continually enhance the Crisp range of child protection products. Rebecca is a prominent speaker in the UK and US regarding Online Safety and Kids/Teens behavior, and is considered a pioneer in the field of online community.

Marty Schultz

Founder of McGruff Safeguard

Mr. Schultz is a founder of McGruff SafeGuard (www.GoMcGruff.com), a partnership with the National Crime Prevention Council and McGruff, monitors your kids’ potentially dangerous online activity, including: MySpace, Facebook, AOL, MSN, and Yahoo. The Service alerts you to dangerous behavior, such as Internet predators, sexual abuse, drug use, or criminal activity, and provides helpful advice on how to deal with certain issues. The service allows you to conveniently review your kids’ activities using a secure website, or be notified of potentially dangerous situations via cell phone and email alerts.

Mr. Schultz was a co-founder of eSped (www.esped.com, 2000), an educational ASP focusing on school districts providing services for special need students.

He was the founder and President of Omtool (www.omtool.com, 1991-1999), a company that provided enterprise messaging systems based on faxing to Fortune 500 companies. Prior to Omtool, Mr. Schultz founded and ran a company that enabled Digital Equipment Corp. resellers to sell their software on the new generation of microcomputers. Marty serves on the board of Omtool (NASD:OMTL) and eSped, is on the board of advisors for several software startups and consults with Fort Point Venture Capital.

He holds a Certificate from the Harvard Business School Owner/President Program and earned a B.S. and M.S. from Carnegie Mellon.

Denise Tayloe

Founder President & Chief Executive Officer Privo

Denise Tayloe co-founded Privo in early 2001, inspired by the opportunities and challenges of implementing the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) which became effective in 2000.

Her vision for Privo is to help consumers manage their digital identities and to create a software solution that would help companies effectively interact with children while in compliance with the federal and state laws. Privo bridges the gap between the competing privacy and commerce interests of consumers and businesses, with a special focus on the protection of kids' privacy.

Denise has become a recognized leader and authority in permission and identity management, has been an invited speaker on the subject at conferences regarding children's privacy issues across the globe, and has been published in the official newsletter of the International Association of Privacy Professionals and BNA. Ms. Tayloe has also conducted private workshops to help companies understand the intricacies of COPPA and how to maintain customer relationships within legal boundaries.

Ms. Tayloe has more than 15 years experience in business development, sales, finance and the development of companies innovating and providing business and technology related services. She was a senior auditing consultant with Arthur Andersen for small business and developing technology companies. She completed her CPA after graduating Magna Cum Laude from George Mason University with a degree in Accounting and Finance.

PANEL 3 – The Future of a Safe Internet

Holly Hawkins

Director of Consumer Policy and Child Safety, AOL LLC

Holly Hawkins is the Director of Consumer Policy and Child Safety for AOL LLC. Holly has over a decade of experience in online child safety and forging best practices for AOL in the area of kids and teen protection. She is responsible for a wide range of consumer and risk management issues for AOL's brands including child privacy and safety, programming standards and practices, content and community standards as well as product moderation and enforcement models.

In her role as Director of Consumer Policy and Child Safety, Holly works closely with child protection and Internet Safety organizations such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, ConnectSafely and ikeepsafe.org. Holly serves on the Board for the Family Online Safety Institute and is an advisor to Enough is Enough, a non-profit organization focusing on making the Internet safer for children and families.

Holly gained International policy experience while serving as the Director of Policy, Community and Communications for AOL UK in 2004. In that role, she influenced legislation impacting the Internet through participation in both government and industry groups.

Holly has participated in numerous programs on Internet safety and is a frequent speaker at Internet safety events. She is the co-creator and frequent contributor of Safetyclicks.com, a safety blog designed to support and inform parents as they teach their kids to navigate in the Internet.

Paul Henninger

Enterprise Fraud Risk Management

Paul Henninger, Director of Fraud Solutions at Actimize, leads a group of product and risk experts at Actimize that work with financial institutions, regulators and others to establish a long-term technology-based strategy for controlling fraud.

Paul has over a decade of experience and is frequently quoted by leading publications such as OpRisk & Compliance and Bank Technology News. He advises financial institutions and government agencies around the world on fraud strategy issues, in particular on emerging employee fraud, data theft, commercial payment and cross-channel fraud. Prior to Actimize, Mr. Henninger held a number of product management and strategy roles for analytics providers; he began his career in strategy consulting with Mitchell Madison Group.

David C. Pierce

National Cable & Telecommunications Association

David Pierce has been with the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) in Washington, DC since November 1990. Currently serving as Vice President, Public Affairs, his primary responsibilities include coordinating industry-wide public affairs efforts, communications strategies and messaging in support of NCTA’s public policy work. Previously at NCTA he served as Director, Research and Policy Analysis where he directed quantitative and qualitative research projects relating to the cable television industry and its policy efforts.

Before joining the NCTA, Mr. Pierce was with National Economic Research Associates (NERA), a consulting firm specializing in microeconomic analysis, in their New York, NY and Washington, DC offices. While at NERA, he provided economic analysis and expert testimony for use in antitrust litigation and worked extensively on issues surrounding competition and privatization in the telecommunications sector domestically and abroad. Mr. Pierce also served in the office of the Director-General at the International Telecommunications and Satellite Organization (INTELSAT).

Mr. Pierce holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.A. in Public Policy.

Chris Stetkiewicz

Sr. Communications Manager--Trustworthy Computing, Microsoft

Chris Stetkiewicz is a Senior Communications Manager in Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing group. In this role, Chris helps develop and communicate Microsoft’s views on various issues related to Online Safety, Computer Security and Privacy.

During his five years at Microsoft, Chris has served in several communications roles, including Managing Editor for MicrosoftWeb--the company’s award-winning internal website for communicating with its employees.

Prior to that, Chris spent 15 years as a journalist, most recently as Bureau Chief for Reuters News in Seattle, covering corporate, financial and general news. Among his more interesting assignments, Chris covered the 1999 street riots outside the WTO meeting in Seattle, where he broke the news when police began firing tear gas and rubber pellets at the crowds.

Chris has a bachelor’s degree in communication from Cornell University.

Kim Hart

Technology Reporter, The Hill

Kim Hart covers technology policy for The Hill. She previously covered technology as reporter and columnist for The Washington Post. Hart has journalism degrees from the University of Florida and the University of Maryland and has written for the Baltimore Sun, American Journalism Review and several newspapers in her home state of Florida.

KEYNOTE & HONORED SPEAKERS:

Pamela Jones Harbour

Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission

Pamela Jones Harbour, an independent, was sworn in as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission August 4, 2003, to a term that expires in September 2009.

Ms. Harbour joins the FTC from Kaye Scholer LLP where she served as a partner in the litigation department handling antitrust matters. She counseled clients on Internet privacy, e-commerce, consumer protection, and a variety of competition-related matters. Prior to joining Kaye Scholer, Ms. Harbour was New York State Deputy Attorney General and Chief of the Office’s 150-attorney Public Advocacy Division. During her 11-year term in the Attorney General’s office, she argued before the United States Supreme Court on behalf of 35 states in State Oil v. Khan, a landmark price-fixing case. She also successfully represented numerous states in New York v. Reebok, States v. Keds, and States v. Mitsubishi, each resulting in multimillion-dollar national consumer settlements. Among her most notable antitrust cases were New York v. May Department Stores, a successful anti-merger challenge, and States v. Primestar Partners, a consent judgment culminating a four-year multistate investigation of the cable television industry.

Ms. Harbour received her law degree in 1984 from Indiana University School of Law, and a B.M. in 1981 from Indiana University School of Music.

Ms. Harbour, a native of New York who lives in New Jersey, is married to John Harbour, and has three children.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman

Congresswoman

For over fifteen years, Debbie Wasserman Schultz has dedicated her public life to working on behalf of the people of Southern Florida. On January 4, 2005, she was sworn in as a member of the United States House of Representatives to continue this fight as the Congresswoman from Florida's 20th Congressional District.

The first Jewish Congresswoman ever elected from Florida, Representative Wasserman Schultz brings to Congress her many years of service in the Florida Legislature and the kind of grassroots knowledge of the people of South Florida that can only be known through countless interactions with the families, businesses and organizations that make up the fabric of our community.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz serves on the House Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations. On the first day of the new 110th Congress, the House Committee on Appropriations recommended that Rep. Wasserman Schultz serve as a “Cardinal,” chairing the Legislative Branch Subcommittee. The subcommittees determine the Congressional appropriations of funds for particular parts of the federal government. As the subcommittee Chair, Rep. Wasserman Schultz will oversee the subcommittee that determines the funding level for the entire legislative branch, which includes the Library of Congress. She also serves on the Financial Services Subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz was born in 1966 on Long Island, NY. She attended the University of Florida and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in 1988 and with a Master’s Degree in 1990. She has been married to Steve Schultz for 17 years and together they have three children. The Congresswoman is proud to call South Florida home where she resides with her family in Weston.