Washingtech Tech Policy Podcast With Joe Miller

Hannah Putman (@nctq) is the Director of Research at the National Council on Teacher Quality. Hannah's recent work includes a study on trends in teacher diversity in collaboration with researchers from the Brookings Institution, an examination of 100 early childhood teacher preparation programs, and a report that quantified the rigor in coursework offered by teacher preparation programs. She has also worked on all editions of NCTQ's Teacher Prep Review. Prior to joining NCTQ, Hannah conducted education research with Westat, a social science research company. Her projects included work on informal science education and teacher incentive programs. Previously, Hannah taught seventh and ninth grade English for three years in the Bronx, New York, as a Teach For America corps member. Hannah holds BA's in English and Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, an MS in Teaching from Pace University, and an MPP from the George Washington University with a focus on education policy and evaluation. In this

Melinda Epler (@changecatalysts) is Founder and CEO of Change Catalyst, a certified B Corp whose mission is to empower diverse, inclusive and sustainable tech innovation through education, mentorship and funding. Change Catalyst won a Certified B Corporation "Best for the World” award for community impact in 2014 and “Best in the World” overall in 2015. Melinda has more than 20 years of experience elevating brands and developing business innovation strategies for social entrepreneurs, mature social enterprises, Fortune 500 companies and global NGOs. As Founder & CEO of Change Catalyst, Melinda empowers diverse, inclusive and sustainable tech innovation through events, education, mentorship and funding. Through Tech Inclusion, an initiative of Change Catalyst, she partners with the tech community to solve diversity and inclusion together. Her work spans the full tech ecosystem, from Education to Workplace, Entrepreneurship and Policy. Melinda speaks, mentors and writes about diversity and inclusion in tech

Andrew Jay Schwartzman (@aschwa02) is the Benton Senior Counselor at the Institute for Public Representation of Georgetown University Law Center. He directed Media Access Project, a public interest media and telecommunications law firm, for 34 years. Mr. Schwartzman serves on the International Advisory Board of Southwestern Law School’s National Entertainment & Media Law Institute and on the Board of Directors of the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council and was the Board President of the Safe Energy Communications Council for many years. Mr. Schwartzman’s work has been published in major legal and general journals, including Variety, The Nation, The Washington Post, COMM/ENT Law Journal, the Federal Communications Law Journal, and The ABA Journal. He has also been a frequent guest on television and radio programs. In recognition of his service as chief counsel in the public interest community’s challenge to the FCC’s June, 2003 media ownership deregulation decision, Scientific American honore

In this episode, we discussed: how traditional and social media platforms perpetuate stereotypes. the role of the advertising industry in promoting accurate portrayals of underrepresented groups in the media Resources: Reality TV: Entertaining But No Laughing Matter (AAF, 2015) American Advertising Federation (AAF) American Advertising Federation's Mosaic Council Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison NEWS ROUNDUP The tech sector and tech-related progressive thinks tanks are reeling following the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States. At Benton.org, Robbie McBeath discusses the totally changed political landscape in which Republicans will now control all three branches of government. South Dakota Senator John Thune is expected to continue to Chair the Senate Commerce Committee. Three Congressmen--Greg Walden, John Shimkus and Joe Barton are expected to pursue the House Energy and Commerce Chairmanship, with Walden being the favorite since House speaker Paul Ryan credits Walden, who

David Robinson (@dgrobinson) is a Principal at Upturn, a public interest technology and policy consulting firm. Prior to co-founding UpTurn, David was the Associate Director of Princeton's Center for Information Technology Policy. He also launched The American, a national magazine of business and economics at the American Enterprise Institute, growing The American's website to more than 1.5 million unique visits in its first year. David holds a JD from Yale, was a Rhodes Scholar, and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Philosophy from Princeton. In this episode we discussed: what predictive policing is. how predictive policing technologies fall short of their marketing claims. how predictive policing enables disparities within the criminal justice system. what policymakers should consider as they incorporate predictive policing technologies into their law enforcement activities. Resources: UpTurn Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey Asana NEWS ROUNDUP Julia Angwin and Terry Parris Jr. at

Nate Yohannes (linkedin.com/in/nateyohannesgovernmentaffairs) is Senior Advisor to the Chief Investment and Innovation Officer at the US Small Business Administration. He was appointed by the White House Office of Presidential Personnel as a Presidential Appointee in the Obama Administration. As the Senior Advisor, Mr. Yohannes assists with managing the Small Business Investment Company, a $25 billion private equity/venture fund and the SBIR program, a $2.5 billion per year grant program to high growth domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) that has the potential for commercialization. Mr. Yohannes sits on President Obama’s Broadband Opportunity Council, a multi-agency team responsible for providing counsel to President Obama on how to advance the United States as the most broadband accessible country in the world. In addition, Yohannes held a leadership position and played a pivotal role with the first ever White House Demo Day. Mr. Yohannes regularly wor

Dr. Tracy Weeks (@tracyweeks)  is the Executive Director for the State Educational Technology Director’s Association (SETDA). Prior to joining the team at SETDA, she served as the Chief Academic and Digital Learning Officer for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the first senior state leadership position of its kind in the nation. In that role, Dr. Weeks oversaw the areas of: K-12 Curriculum and Instruction, Career and Technical Education, Exceptional Children, and the North Carolina Virtual Public School. She also served as the state agency lead on the development of the North Carolina Digital Learning Plan. From 2008-2014, Tracy led the North Carolina Virtual Public School, the second largest state-led virtual school in the nation, as the Chief Academic Officer and subsequently the Executive Director. She holds a bachelors degree in Secondary Math Education from UNC-Chapel Hill, a Masters of Education in Instructional Technology with a Statistics minor and a Doctor of Philosophy in Curricu

Courtney R. Snowden (@DMGEOSnowden) is Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Opportunity for the District of Columbia. A sixth-generation Washingtonian born at Howard University Hospital, Courtney was raised in the Shepherd Park neighborhood of Ward 4, and now lives east of the river (EOTR) in Ward 7 with her young son, Malik.  The Washington Post has recognized Courtney for her “keen understanding of the need to connect neighborhoods if the city is to thrive. She understands policy, is adept at building coalitions and is both smart and passionate about education reform.”  Courtney is a graduate of DC Public Schools and received her B.A. in Political Science in 2000 from Beloit College. After graduating, Courtney returned home to the District to join the legislative staff of Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) on Capitol Hill. Courtney has devoted her life to making Washington, DC, a better place for all its residents, corner to corner. She has a record of coalition building and bringing people from different back

Chad Marlow (@ChadAaronMarlow) is Advocacy and Policy Counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), where his focus is on privacy and technology. Mr. Marlow’s work on issues ranging from police body cameras, to government surveillance, to data privacy has been the subject of media coverage throughout the United States, as well as in Europe and South America. Mr. Marlow holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and a B.A. in Government from Connecticut College. In 2007, City & State (New York) newspaper named Mr. Marlow to its “Rising Stars: 40 Under 40” list. In this episode, we discussed: surveillance tactics by police that disproportionately affect racial, ethnic and religious minorities. how dispersed police departments coordinate with other jurisdictions in a way that collectively infringes privacy and civil rights. what municipalities should do to ensure their surveillance practices are transparent and informed by local communities. Resources: American Civil Libe

Christine Haight Farley (@Prof_Farley) is a Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law. She teaches courses on Intellectual Property Law, Trademark Law, International and Comparative Trademark Law, International Intellectual Property Law, Design Protection Law and Art Law. Professor Farley served as Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs from 2007 to 2011 and as Co-Director of the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property from 2005 to 2009. She is the author of numerous articles on intellectual property law and a forthcoming casebook on international trademark law. Professor Farley has taught at law schools in France, India, Italy and Puerto Rico. She has given lectures on intellectual property law in more than twenty countries across every region of the world. Professor Farley frequently appears in the media as an IP expert and is regularly invited to speak at ABA, AIPLA and INTA conferences. She currently serves on an INTA Presidential Task Force on Brands and

Mitch Stoltz (@mitchstoltz) is a Senior Staff Attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Mitch works on cases where free speech and innovation collide with copyright and trademark law. His current projects include improving the legal environment for mobile software developers and tinkerers, fighting the use of copyright as a tool for censorship, litigation on the copyright status of mandatory safety codes, and legal analysis in the field of Internet television and video. Mitch also counsels clients on Internet video technology and open source software licensing. Before joining EFF, Mitch was an associate at Constantine Cannon LLP in Washington DC, where he worked on antitrust and copyright litigation on behalf of consumer technology, advertising, medical, and transportation companies. He also represented technology companies and trade associations before the Federal Communications Commission and other agencies. Long ago, in an Internet far far away, Mitch was Chief Security Engineer for the Mozilla Proje

My guest today is Yolanda Rondon (@yolandarondon)—Staff Attorney for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC). Her work focuses on immigration and on issues related to the surveillance, racial profiling, employment discrimination and hate crimes committed against Arab Americans. Prior to joining ADC, Yolanda worked for the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland and as a clerk for Chief Administrative Judge Charetta Harrington at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. While in law school, she served as a law clerk in Israel, working on cases involving Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees. Yolanda has written numerous briefs and appeared in an amicus brief before Supreme Court of the United States in EEOC v. Abercrombie and Fitch: This was the case in which a devout Muslim woman applied for a job at clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch and didn’t get the job—she was told it was because she wore a headscarf and the company had a no caps policy. Yolanda is a graduate of the State University of New York

Chelsea Collier (@ChelseaMcC) is dedicated to fostering collaboration across the public and private sector in order to connect and engage communities to solve civic challenges. Her current focus on Smart Cities unifies her experience in tech, policy, social impact, civic engagement and entrepreneurship. Chelsea is a Zhi-Xing Eisenhower Fellow and will travel to China this Fall to study Smart City innovation. She documents her research on a community platform she created, Digi.City, and is a contributor to RCR Wireless and Industrial IoT 5G. Chelsea is a Co-Founder of Impact Hub Austin, a local co-working and community space for social and civic enterprises that is a part a global network of more than 80 Impact Hubs around the world. She is also co-Founder of two other start-ups, Wake Up, a professional and personal development company and Mable, a social enterprise that produces modular furniture from sustainable materials manufactured in the USA. Through her consulting company, Intercambio, she advises mult

Jose A. Marquez-Leon (@LISTA1) is the National President, CEO, and Founder of Latinos in Information Sciences and Technology Association (LISTA). In this role he serves as lead advocate on state and federal issues related to the role of Latinos in the technology sector. He is also charged with coordinating organization-wide strategic planning for LISTA initiatives and is executive director of 15 LISTA TechLatino Councils nationwide. Since LISTA’s inception the organization has developed programs to take the Latino community from the “schoolroom to the boardroom.” These programs are designed to introduce technology into classrooms, encourage information technology and science professions among young adults, facilitate technology-related professional development through certification training and job-matching programs, leverage online communications for continued collaboration, and recognize Latinos within the IT industry that are making a difference. Jose has received several achievement awards including Polit

Nicole Reitz-Larsen (@reitzlarsen) is a secondary classroom teacher with 15+ years teaching experience. She has taught everything from AP/IB Computer Science, to German, Multimedia and Business related courses. She loves working with students and is passionate about equity in education and providing opportunities for all students to be successful. She works with teachers nationwide on the CS10K.org site and with Code.org to promote the importance of computer science, assist districts in implementing computer science K-12 in schools to broaden participation of underrepresented students of color and females. You can often find her facilitating Computer Science workshops nationwide, presenting at teacher conferences or meet ups because she loves working with educators to provide them with resources, and teaching strategies around equity and inquiry, while creating an environment that is inclusive of all students, as well as in the classroom which she calls home.   In this episode, we discussed: the key challeng

Rachel Rodgers (@RachelRodgersEsq) is a business lawyer turned business coach, intellectual property strategist, and the creator of Small Business Bodyguard. In 2013, she created the Small Business Bodyguard: Cover Your Bases, Cover Your Assets, Cover Your Ass. This game-changing legal resource has been called “fun and engaging” by New York Times bestselling author Chris Brogan and a “graduate-level course on how to build a strong foundation for your business” by CEO of OurDeal, Kyle Durand. Rachel is known in the legal industry and beyond for being an innovator and master of productizing services and creating high-quality, high profit products. SBB and the other legal kits she has created have been transformative, generating half a million dollars in revenue in just two years and serving 1,700 small businesses around the country. And she achieved those results with almost no active marketing because she simply didn’t have the time (she literally launched SBB with a newborn in her arms). When she’s not taking

Jermane Bond (@JermaneBond) is a Senior Fellow at the National Collaborative for Health Equity where he leads efforts to address the determinants of health for boys and men of color. His research interests include men’s preconception health and reproductive life planning, paternal involvement in pregnancy outcomes and racial and ethnic disparities in infant mortality. With funding from the Office of Minority Health in the Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Bond formed the Commission on Paternal Involvement in Pregnancy Outcomes, (a transdisciplinary working group of social scientist and public health professionals) to raise awareness for the importance of paternal involvement in pregnancy and family health by reframing debates, informing research, policy and practice to support greater involvement of expectant fathers in pregnancy. Dr. Bond is a member of the American Public Health Association, the American College of Epidemiology and serves on several editorial boards, including the Maternal and Ch

Jessica Gonzalez (@JGonzalezNHMC) is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the National Hispanic Media Coalition. Jessica oversees all NHMC operations from headquarters in Pasadena, California. Jessica has testified before the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and has been interviewed on television and radio. Additionally, she played an instrumental role in drafting the historic Memorandum of Understanding between Comcast Corporation and leading national Latino leadership organizations. Before joining NHMC, Jessica was a staff attorney and clinical teaching fellow at Georgetown Law’s renowned Institute for Public Representation (IPR). At IPR Jessica represented NHMC and other consumer, civil rights and public interest organizations before the FCC, the NTIA and in the Courts of Appeal. While in law school, Jessica clerked at the Media Access Project in Washington,

Jennifer Pozner (@jennpozner) is founder and executive director of Women In Media & News (WIMN), a media analysis, education and advocacy group. She’s also the author of  Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV.   A widely published journalist, Jennifer serves on the board of editors of In These Timesmagazine. Her work has appeared in corporate media outlets such as Newsday, Chicago Tribune and the Boston Phoenix, independent magazines such as Ms. magazine, The American Prospect, and Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture, and online media such as WomensEnews, AlterNet, and Salon, among others. Jennifer has appeared as a media commentator on NBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ABC News Now, GRITtv, Democracy Now!, National Public Radio, and Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” She’s gone head to head with Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Joe Scarborough. Forbes has named Jennifer one of “20 Inspiring Women To Follow On Twitter” and BizTech Day’s list of “25 Influential Busi

Matt Wood (@mattfwood) is Policy Director at Free Press. Matt helps shape Free Press’ efforts to protect the open internet, prevent media concentration, promote affordable broadband deployment and safeguard press freedom. He’s served as an expert witness before Congress on multiple occasions. Before joining Free Press, he worked at the public interest law firm Media Access Project and in the communications practice groups of two private law firms in Washington, D.C. Before that, he served as editor-in-chief for the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, worked for PBS, and spent time at several professional and college radio and television stations. Matt earned his B.A. in film studies from Columbia University and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. In this episode, we discussed: how the telecom sector is likely to respond to the D.C. Circuit's recent decision to uphold the FCC's net neutrality rules. legislative approaches and emerging business models which are potentially harmful to net neutrality