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Education's Technology Man?
by Bara Vaida
John Bailey, a special assistant to the undersecretary of Education, is the candidate most likely to head the Education Department's Office of Educational Technology, according to some education lobbyists in Washington.
Bailey previously was the director of Pennsylvania's Office of Educational Technology and was wooed to Washington by Eugene Hickok, who was Pennsylvania's Education secretary before being tapped by President Bush as a federal Education undersecretary. A spokeswoman for Education Secretary Roderick Paige said no decisions have been made on who will head the Office of Educational Technology but that the administration does plan to fill the job.
Also on the education front, Josh Freed and Megan Kinnaird are the two newest staff members at the Internet Education Foundation (IEF). Previously, Freed worked on international public affairs at BSMG, while Kinnaird was with Golin/Harris International. At the IEF, Freed will be director of privacy technology and will focus on getting the high-tech sector and congressional Web sites to adopt Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P), a Web standard for allowing users to specify their level of privacy protection. Kinnaird will coordinate projects with the Congressional Internet Caucus and other groups.
Fowler And Gore, Together Again
TechNet's Democratic political director, Donnie Fowler, will be joining former Vice President Al Gore the week of Aug. 12 in Nashville to help him run a political academy for 25 recent college graduates. Fowler directed state operations for Gore during the 2000 presidential campaign.
Gore's academy marks the beginning of his return to the political scene. The aim of the program is to train young people for campaign activities.
In other political news, Infoseek founder and Propel Software head Steven Kirsch gave $240,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) on May 4, while former AT&T cable and Internet strategist and Global Crossing CEO Leo Hindery gave the DCCC $100,000 on April 4.
And on a humorous note, Dan Carol, a former Clinton administration official, is running a tongue-in-cheek Web site to get actor John Cusack elected president, the BBC reported. Some 200 people have volunteered.
Tough Times For Tauscher?
The Contra Costa Times reported last week that California Democrat Ellen Tauscher's new congressional district could lose contributor-rich Lamorinda constituents under the Democrats' still-secret redistricting plan.
Tauscher charged that the plan was created as retribution by state Senate President Pro Tem John Burton because she is backing Steny Hoyer of Maryland instead of Burton ally and fellow Californian Nancy Pelosi to be the next House Democratic whip. Tauscher is a prominent member of the New Democrat Coalition and has won high-tech awards from the Business Software Alliance for her support of technology policy.
Senate Confirms Bush Nominees
The Senate last week confirmed Bush's nominees to fill key slots, including: Nancy Victory to head the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; Jay Ziglar to head the Immigration and Naturalization Service; Jon Huntsman to be a deputy U.S. trade representative; Michael Garcia to be the assistant Commerce secretary for export enforcement; Linda Mysliwy Conlin to be the assistant Commerce secretary for trade development; and John Gauss to be an assistant secretary for information and technology at the Veterans Affairs Department.
In other administration news, Nuala O'Connor, the vice president for data protection and chief privacy officer at DoubleClick, has been tapped as Commerce's deputy director of the Office of Policy and Strategic Planning. O'Connor will join Don Trigg, the office's director, in advising Commerce Secretary Donald Evans on an array of policy issues, including technology.
The Wiley Factor
Victory is among the numerous influential alumni from the law firm Wiley Rein & Fielding who are now members of the Bush administration and work on key congressional committees. Besides Victory, the others include FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin; Alex Azar, a general counsel at the Health and Human Services Department; Maria Cino, director of the foreign and commercial service at Commerce; Bruce Mehlman, Commerce's assistant secretary of technology policy; Brian Tramont and Stacy Robinson, who are senior legal advisers to FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy; Paul Margie, a senior legal adviser to FCC Commissioner Michael Copps. On the Hill, former Wiley Rein alum Gregg Elias is the senior trade counsel to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest (Fritz) Hollings, D-S.C.
The Tech Industry's New Hires
VeriSign has appointed W.G. Champion Mitchell as executive vice president and general manager of its mass-markets division. Mitchell, formerly the chairman and CEO for Convergence Equipment Company and Global Exchange Carrier Company, joins VeriSign to extend the company's business in delivering products and services to small and medium enterprises.
In other industry personnel news, Nicole Seligman, a member of former President Clinton's legal team during his impeachment trial, has joined Sony's U.S. holding company as general counsel. Seligman has been with the Washington law firm Williams & Connolly since 1985 and became a partner in 1992. In the newly created position at Sony, Seligman will oversee legal matters and coordinate legal and regulatory issues among Sony's U.S. operating units, which include an electronics business, a film studio and a music company.
Joel Flatow was name general manager of the Recording Industry Association of America's West Coast affairs. Flatow will serve as a resource for the trade group's West Coast members.
The Speaker's Lectern
The roster of scheduled speakers for the Progress and Freedom Foundation's annual summit in Aspen, Colo., from Aug. 19-21 includes several leading technology executives: Napster Chairman Hank Barry, AT&T President David Dorman, Hewlett-Packard Chairwoman Carly Fiorina, Sun Microsystems Chairman Scott McNealy, Starz/Encore Chairman John Sie, Siebel Systems Chairman Tom Siebel and Insight Communications Chairman Michael Willner.
Meanwhile, Mickey Kantor, a U.S. trade representative under Clinton and former President George Bush, is scheduled to be the keynote speakers at the Direct Marketing Association's annual conference in Chicago in October. Kantor is scheduled to speak on new rules for making a profit in the global economy, while Bush is scheduled to talk about trade policy and the Internet.
Back to School
Julianne Corbett, who was in charge of Internet and radio press for House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt is moving to Evanston, Ill., to get her master's at Northwestern University. "Keep in touch. I may be in Illinois, but I'm not dead," Corbett joked in an e-mail to colleagues.
Let a Thousand Tech Companies Bloom
Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., accompanied by a delegation of California state lawmakers and high-tech business and labor leaders, is spending part of the August recess on a trade trip to China. The group is expected to meet with top Chinese officials and visit Silicon Valley businesses that have offices on the Chinese mainland. They will visit the Chinese offices of Hewlett-Packard, AMD and AOL Time Warner's new partner, China-based Legend Computer, among other firms.
Members of the group include: Amy Dean, the CEO of the South Bay Labor Council; Francisco Hsieh of the California World Trade Commission; George Koo, a partner at Wilson, Sonsini; and Mali Kuo, the CEO of DVS Inc.
Meanwhile, Sens. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and John Kerry, D-Mass., are scheduled to travel to Silicon Valley this week. Harkin is to attend a meet-and-greet luncheon at Sun Microsystems on Tuesday, while Kerry is holding an evening town hall meeting in Palo Alto on Thursday, Aug. 9. Kerry has made several trips to Silicon Valley this year and is reportedly considering a run for the 2004 presidential election. Also on Aug. 9, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., is scheduled to speak at a breakfast with TechNet members in Newport Beach, Calif.
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