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Same Direction, Different Director
by Bara Vaida
James Dempsey, a five-year veteran of the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), has assumed the day-to-day management responsibilities at the technology advocacy organization, freeing CDT founder and President Jerry Berman to focus on strategy and project development.
Dempsey has been elevated to the position of executive director after two years as deputy director. He first joined CDT in 1997 as senior staff counsel, following a two-year stint at the National Security Archive and the Center for National Security Studies. Before that, he spent 10 years on Capitol Hill as counsel to the then-House Judiciary Civil and Constitutional Rights Subcommittee under former-Chairman Don Edwards, D-Calif.
Dempsey said he does not plan to take CDT in a new direction but rather to continue its focus on anti-terrorism policy and government surveillance, and on how copyright issues are affecting the Internet. Dempsey also noted that CDT's basic funding mix has shifted to include more contributions from major foundations and less from private companies.
In other CDT news, Lara Flint has joined the organization to work on national security and civil liberties issues. Flint is a graduate of Harvard University law school and joins CDT from the law firm of Jenner & Block, where she has been an associate since 1999.
Senate Republicans Eliminate Tech Post
The Senate's newest leader of the Republican Policy Committee, Jon Kyl of Arizona, has decided not to renew funding for a staff position related to information technology outreach and policy development. Lori Otto held that position but has left the Hill.
According to high-tech industry sources, Kyl decided that a position dedicated solely to the high-tech sector is not fair to other members of the business community. "Kyl said, 'We don't have a position dedicated to farmers, why should we have one for high-tech,'" according to a person familiar with Kyl's decision. His office did not have immediate comment.
Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America, expressed disappointment with Kyl's decision, noting that the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force, under which the job existed, "has been a critical player in supporting the IT agenda on Capitol Hill. ... I hope that Sen. John Ensign, [the Nevada Republican now chairing the task force], with less staff, will continue to keep the task force as a high-profile and focused organization."
Meanwhile, New York Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton has assumed leadership of the Senate Democratic Steering and Coordination Committee from John Kerry of Massachusetts, and it is unclear whether she plans to keep the high-tech outreach position currently filled by Josh Ackil.
Turnover On Capitol Hill
Microsoft has hired Paula Ford, Democratic senior counsel for the Senate Commerce Communications Subcommittee, to handle outreach to regulatory agencies such as the FCC and FTC. Her title is regulatory counsel, and she will handle high-speed Internet, copyright and other issues that may come before the agencies.
Ford spent several years in the office of Sen. Ernest (Fritz) Hollings, D-S.C., where she recently helped write legislation that would have mandated that high-tech companies include anti-piracy technology in their products.
Richard Diamond, who has been a longtime spokesman for departed House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, also is leaving the Hill to work as deputy director of media relations at the FCC. Diamond focused on high-tech outreach during his years with Armey.
In other news, Mike Waldron, the press secretary for Michigan Republican Fred Upton, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee, has become communications director for Sen. George Allen, R-Va. Allen is the former chairman of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force and now chairs the campaign committee for Senate Republicans. Waldron will head an 11-person communications team and be responsible for promoting the GOP message for Allen both in Virginia and nationally.
The Quest For Tech Research Coordination
David Nelson has been named director of the National Coordination Office for Information Technology Research and Development, which coordinates the planning, budget and assessment activities for the nearly $2 billion in federal networking and information technology research and development program. As director, Nelson is also co-chair of the National Science and Technology Council's 12-member interagency working group on IT R&D.
Nelson joins the office from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, where since 1999 he had served as deputy chief information officer. Before that, he was associate director of energy research in the Energy Department, leading the Office of Computational and Technology Research. Nelson also worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory focusing on fusion energy.
President Bush, meanwhile, has named David Hobbs as assistant to the president for legislative affairs, replacing Nicholas Calio, who left for the private sector. Bush also named Ziad Ojakli as deputy assistant to the president and principal deputy for legislative affairs.
Hobbs, who currently handles House legislation, is a former chief of staff to Armey, the outgoing House majority leader. Ojakli currently handles Senate matters and previously worked for former Sen. Paul Coverdell, R-Ga., Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., and former Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind.
Bush also announced his intent to nominate Janet Hale to be the management undersecretary at the Homeland Security Department and Clark Ervin to be inspector general there.
Simon Says
Sam Simon, founder and president of the Internet and political consulting firm Issue Dynamics, has been named chairman of the National Consumers League board of directors. Simon served on the board for about 20 years and in the last four years has chaired its development committee. Before founding Issue Dynamics, Simon was president of the Telecommunications Research and Action Center and remains as chairman of its board.
Happy Birthday, Internet
Vint Cerf, senior vice president at WorldCom, and Robert Kahn, president of the Corporation for National Research Initiatives, celebrated a joint 20th birthday of sorts this past week -- for their role in the growth of the Internet.
The U.S. Internet Industry Association noted that on Jan. 1, 1983, the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANet) of the Defense Department was switched from the network control protocol to transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), the standard by which information travels throughout the Internet.
The conversion removed a 1,000-computer limit on the network, enabling the Internet to grow to a network of millions of interconnected computers. Cerf and Kahn invented TCP/IP.
In Memoriam
Sue Richard, Intel's press relations manager in Washington, died of complications from a brain tumor on Dec. 17. Richard joined Intel in 2000, oversaw the company's press activities in Washington and was its lead spokeswoman on public policy issues.
Before joining Intel, Richard was vice president at Dittus Communications, a high-tech communications firm in Washington. She also previously worked as vice president of communications for the Personal Communications Industry Association, served as associate administrator for public affairs at the NASA during the first Bush administration, and was media relations director for former President Ronald Reagan.
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