Witnesses for Senate Commerce Committee Hearing on ICANN Top Level Domain Expansion

Hearing:  Dec. 8, 2011 10:00 AM,  Russell Senate Office Building – 253. The hearing will be webcast live via the Senate Commerce Committee website. 

See our complete article on this blog “Senate to Consider Delaying ICANN From Global Expansion of Internet Addresses”

The names and titles of the witnesses scheduled to testify at the committee hearing are listed below from the committee website.  The bullet points beneath certain names are added.

·         Mr. Kurt Pritz
Senior Vice President
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

·         Ms. Fiona Alexander
Associate Administrator, Office of International Affairs, National Telecommunications and Information Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce

·         Mr. Dan Jaffe
Executive Vice President, Government Relations, Association of National Advertisers
Coalition for Responsible Internet Domain Oversight

·         Ms. Esther Dyson
New York, NY

·         Esther Dyson is an active angel investor in a variety of start-ups, for-profit and otherwise, around the world. She also operates as the Internet’s court jester, a person of no institutional importance who somehow manages to speak the truth and to be heard when and where it matters. She does business as EDventure, the reclaimed name of the company she owned for 20-odd years before selling it to CNET Networks in 2004.

·         Ms. Angela F. Williams
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Young Men’s Christian Association of the United States of America

• Angela F. Williams is bi-vocational -- she is both an ordained minister and a lawyer. The New York Times and L Magazine featured her in articles about people who pursue two full-time professions. In 2007, Warner Books published a book inspired by Mrs. Williams’ life entitled One Person/Multiple Careers: A New Model for Work/Life Success. In 2009, The National Law Journal named Mrs. Williams as one of the 20 most influential general counsel in America.  (See http://www.lacaymca.org/documentos/AngelaWilliamsbioeng.pdf)

Williams:  Protecting the YMCA's marks and brands is critical, Williams said, noting that a nonprofit's     biggest assets are its brand name and reputation. Damage to either affects donations and the ability to            serve the community. She sends out cease-and-desist letters when warranted, monitors the brand position and keeps track of registrations with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. "No other organization owns a letter of the alphabet," Williams said.  (See  http://www.law.com/jsp/cc/PubArticleCC.jsp?id=1202426305141)

Author:  Paul Van Slyke