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Commerce Hires Deputy Spokesman
by Bara Vaida
Dan Nelson has joined the Commerce Department as deputy press secretary, replacing Trevor Francis, who became press secretary to Commerce Secretary Donald Evans this past spring.
Nelson most recently was a spokesman at the Justice Department, where he handled immigration and civil rights issues. Before that, he was press secretary to California Sen. Jim Brulte, who is also the minority leader in the state Senate there. "I'm working on every issue under the sky" in the Commerce position, including high-tech issues, Nelson said.
In other administration news, Tom Lyon, who worked in the media area of the Education Department for almost 26 years, died June 20 of lung cancer at his home on Capitol Hill. A memorial service was held June 23, and his family asked that donations be given to the National Museum of the American Indian in his name.
Atwood To Leave FCC
FCC Wireline Competition Bureau Chief Dorothy Atwood is leaving the agency this summer. She joined the FCC in 1996 and played a key role in the FCC's implementation of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, according to the commission.
William Maher, who is currently a telecommunications lawyer at Halprin, Temple, Goodman & Maher, will replace Atwood. Maher has focused on wireless issues at the law practice since 1994. He previously served at the FCC's Common Carrier Bureau from 1985 to 1989.
A Promotion At House Science
The House Science Committee announced that it has promoted Susannah Foster to professional staff member on the Environment, Technology and Standards Subcommittee. She previously was committee staff assistant and before that was the public health commissioner in Boston on various environmental and energy projects.
Joe Pouliot has been hired to replace Foster. He previously was an intern at the Office of Cabinet Affairs at the White House. In addition, Elyse Stratton has joined the Environment Subcommittee as staff assistant. She previously worked at the Biotechnology Industry Organization.
Think Tanks Make Board Changes
James Miller, a former director of the White House Office of Management and Budget and a former chairman of the FTC under President Reagan, has been elected as the first board member emeritus of the Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF). Miller, who joined PFF's board in 1994, is currently chairman of CapAnalysis, a division of Howrey, Simon, Arnold & White.
The Internet Society also announced some board-related news: the election of eight new members. The newcomers are: Cisco Systems' Fred Baker, Qualys CEO Philippe Courtot, Ericsson's Osten Franberg, SURFnet ExpertiseCentrum's Erik Huizer, Ericsson's Latif Ladid, Global Internet Policy Initiative's Veni Markovski, DoCoMo Communications Laboratories' Toshio Miki and CenterBeam's Glenn Ricart.
The Lobbying Scene
Jeff Lane recently left his job as the chief of staff to Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., to join the government relations practice at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice. Miles Lackey, who was Edwards' legislative director, replaces Lane. Before joining Edwards' staff, Lane worked for Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle, D-S.D. Edwards has proposed several high-tech bills, including one to fund more cyber-security education.
Elsewhere, the Digital Media Association and Cable & Wireless recently became clients at J.P. Keese Government Affairs, a new firm created by James Keese, who once was the regional political director at the American Medical Association and U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Keese said he is adding more lobbyists to his firm, according to Influence Online.
And the Business Roundtable named Tita Thompson as deputy director of communications. Thompson previously was the communications director for the corporate and federal markets division of LexisNexis. Before that, she held jobs as the senior manager of corporate communications at Teligent and strategic communications manager at APCO Worldwide.
TechNet Schedules More Fundraisers
The bipartisan lobbying group TechNet is holding several events this summer, including a July 2 reception for Democratic California Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza, who is running to replace current Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif., in the U.S. House. Silicon Valley Democratic Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Mike Honda also are hosting the event.
The district's economy is more focused on agriculture than technology, but Cardoza has worked on education issues during his state legislative tenure and forged a caucus of moderate Democrats within the state's assembly, according to Cardoza's campaign Web site.
On Aug 11 and 12, TechNet is co-hosting the New Democrat Network annual retreat to Silicon Valley. TechNet also is hosting a fundraiser on Aug. 12, for Rep. Jennifer Dunn, R-Wash., and on Oct. 9, it is scheduled to host a fundraiser for Rep. Michael Oxley, R-Ohio.
Meanwhile, President Bush will attend a lunch fundraiser on Friday for Rep. Constance Morella, R-Md., who is facing a tough re-election challenge due to redistricting. Morella is a former chairwoman of the House Science Technology Subcommittee and has been a long-time supporter of high-tech research and development programs.
In other news, more Republican candidates than Democrats are using the Web for campaign purposes, according to a study of 1,000 candidates conducted by the political-management firm the Bivens Group. The study showed that campaign committees for Republicans were 20 percent more likely to have active Web sites than Democrats, and independent challengers were 52 percent less likely than Republicans to have active sites.
Campaign sites for Republican challengers also were more likely than those for Democrats to allow online donations, offer contact information and provide information on volunteering.
The Best Of The Best
Gordon Moore, a retired co-founder of Intel, has won the 2002 Presidential Medal of Freedom for establishing the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which funds projects in four major areas: higher education, scientific research, the environment and San Francisco Bay area projects.
Peter Drucker, meanwhile, also received the Medal of Freedom. Drucker is a pioneer of management theory and championed concepts of privatization and decentralization. He also founded the Peter F. Drucker Canadian Foundation, which gives an award in nonprofit innovation.
In other award news, Stephen Wolff, business development manager at Cisco's university research program, has received the Postel Service Award from the Internet Society for his contributions on behalf of the Internet. Wolff received a $20,000 cash honorarium. Wolff was director of the division of Networking and Communications Research and Infrastructure at the National Science Foundation (NSF), where he was responsible for the National Research and Education Network and for NSF's basic research in networking and communications. He left the government in 1995 to join Cisco.
OpenSecrets.org also has received an Internet award -- the Webby Award for best political Web site -- for the second time in a row. It was among a dozen sites honored for their originality and effectiveness. AOL was named top U.S. property, and Yahoo was named top global property. The Library of Congress won an award for best government and law Web site.
Educause, a higher education group, was awarded an e-government "best of the best" pioneer award for its project on the interoperability of the encryption method known as public-key infrastructure. The project established a common set of security standards to make it easier for institutions and government agencies to share secure transactions.
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