Keynote Speakers for the 2017 PNWER Annual Summit
*Listed by order of appearance
Opening Reception
Sunday, July 23
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Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici- U.S. Representative, 1st Congressional District of Oregon
Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici represents the First Congressional District of Oregon, which comprises the Northwest portion of the state. Strengthening public education is one of Suzanne's top priorities and one of the reasons she got involved in public service. As a member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce in Congress, she is dedicated to giving educators and students the support they need to succeed. Suzanne served a lead role in the passage of the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaces No Child Left Behind and creates new K-12 education policies. She is also focused on making college more affordable and closing the skills gap. Suzanne is the founder and co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional STEAM Caucus, which aims to encourage innovation and creative thinking by integrating arts and design with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math education. Suzanne also serves as a member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and she is the top Democratic member on the Subcommittee on the Environment. From this position, she is working to address the causes and risks of global climate change, and to ensure that policy decisions are based on science. Suzanne worked her way through college in Eugene, first at Lane Community College, and then at the University of Oregon, where she earned her bachelor's degree and law degree. Suzanne and her husband Michael have been married for more than 30 years. They have two grown children and a cocker spaniel named Charley. |
Welcoming Breakfast
Monday, July 24
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Dennis Richardson- Secretary of State, Oregon
Born July 30, 1949, Dennis grew up with the core belief we all have an obligation to serve our community and be a voice for those who can't speak for themselves. As a young man, Dennis deployed to Vietnam as a combat helicopter pilot in the Army. His service engrained the values of courage, commitment and leadership for a lifetime. After his military service, Dennis married his wife Cathy and attained a Bachelor's of Arts and law degree from BYU before settling in Central Point, Oregon. Secretary Richardson practiced law for three decades and first held public office on the Central Point city council in 2000. He then served six terms in the State Legislature from 2002-2014, rising to a leadership position on the Joint Ways & Means Committee, where he successfully led the state out of a $3.5 billion budget deficit without raising taxes. Secretary Richardson will apply his experience, knowledge and leadership to help restore accountability, transparency, and integrity to government. Dennis commits his nonpartisan leadership to bring increased scrutiny of public spending and access to public records, open, fair elections, and a business-friendly climate that grows good jobs in Oregon. |
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Denis Stevens - Deputy Head of Mission, Canada’s Embassy to the USA
Denis Stevens has been Deputy Head of Mission at Canada’s Embassy to the United States of America, in Washington, DC, since September, 2013. During his career with the Government of Canada, Denis has served variously as Executive Director of the National Parole Board; Director of Operations at the Privy Council Office, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet; Consul General in Seattle. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government with great honours from Harvard University, and a law degree and Master of Business Administration from McGill University. A native of Montréal, Denis is married to Genevieve Chanteloup, and they have two daughters. |
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Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Elizabeth Moore Aubin, United States Embassy Elizabeth Moore Aubin is serving as the Chargé d’Affaires a.i. in Ottawa, Canada. She began her tenure as the Deputy Chief of Mission in May 2016 and became Chargé d’Affaires on January 18th, 2017 after the departure of Ambassador Bruce Heyman. Previously, she was the Executive Director for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs where she provided policy direction, guidance and planning for the management of 53 diplomatic posts in the Western Hemisphere. From 2011-2014, she served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Algiers, winning the Department’s Commercial Advocacy Award in 2013. Elizabeth has served in the State Department as the Director for Human Resources for the joint Executive Office of the Bureaus of Near Eastern Affairs and South and Central Asian Affairs; a Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Management; where she coordinated macro-management issues for the diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan; as a Post Management Officer in the Western Hemisphere Affairs Bureau; as well as two tours in the Executive Secretariat; as a Watch Officer and a Line Officer. Overseas, she has served as the Management Counselor for Embassy Tel Aviv; International Resource Management Officer for USNATO in Brussels; Management Officer at the Consulate General in Toronto; and as a General Services Officer at the Consulate General in Hong Kong. Her two entry level tours were as an Economic Officer at Embassy Rome and as a Consular Officer at the Consulate General in Curacao. Elizabeth holds the rank of Minister-Counselor in the Foreign Service. She speaks French and Italian and has a B.A. in Political Science from Barnard College, 1987. She is married to Daniel J. Aubin. |
Luncheon Keynote
Monday, July 24
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Joseph Robertson Jr., M.D., M.B.A. - President - Oregon Health & Science University
Dr. Robertson has served as the President of Oregon Health & Science University since 2006, having previously been the Dean of the OHSU School of Medicine. In his leadership role at the University, Dr. Robertson has worked to increase the medical education program through partnering with the University of Oregon and the PeachHealth System. Addressing the need for increased physicians throughout the state of Oregon. Dr. Robertson earned a B.S. from Yale University before then attending the Indiana University of School of Medicine to receive his doctorate. His fellowship was at the Devers Eye Clinic through the Good Samaritan Hospital at OHSU . Dr. Robertson's clinical focus is on vitreous surgery with a special emphasis on surgery for macular diseases. |
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The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Government of Canada
Lawrence MacAulay,Member of Parliament for Cardigan, was first elected to the House of Commons on November 21, 1988, to represent Cardigan in eastern Prince Edward Island, and won his ninth consecutive election in October 2015. Mr. MacAulay’s Cabinet appointments have included Solicitor General of Canada, Minister of Labour, Secretary of State (Veterans), and Secretary of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency).He has served as Critic for Fisheries and Oceans and Seniors. In addition, he was Vice Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. Mr. MacAulay was born on September 9, 1946, in St. Peter's Bay, Prince Edward Island. Mr. MacAulay was previously a farmer and businessman. He and Frances Elaine O'Connell were married in 1972. They have three daughters: Carolyn, Rita and Lynn. |
Breakfast Keynote
Tuesday, July 25
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Mayor Don Iveson- Mayor, City of Edmonton, Alberta
Mayor Iveson has his sights on transforming Edmonton into a highly liveable, uplifting, and globally competitive city that is recognized as one of Canada's very best places to build something great. In his time on Council and as Mayor, he has earned a reputation for being pragmatic, creative, collaborative, and compassionate in his approach to building Edmonton. Harnessing a renewed confidence among Edmontonians, he is focused on driving progress in four priority areas: Building a more uplifting and inclusive city; Building a more resilient and green city; Building a more prosperous and competitive region; and leading an open and effective local government. |
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Stephen Flynn, Ph.D., - Professor of Political Science - Northeastern University
Dr. Flynn is professor of political science at Northeastern University with faculty affiliations in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs. At Northeastern, he is also the founding director of the Global Resilience Institute where he leads a university-wide research enterprise to inform and advance societal resilience in the face of growing man-made and naturally occurring turbulence. He is also the co-director of the George J. Kostas Research Institute for Homeland Security. Dr. Flynn is recognized as one of the world's leading experts on critical infrastructure resilience, and transportation and supply chain security and resilience. Appointed by Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson to serve as a member of the Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory Council, he is also a member of the National Security Advisory Board for Argonne National Laboratory. Additionally, he holds research affiliations with the Wharton School's Risk Management and Decision Processes Center, and the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Dr. Flynn is also the principal for Stephen E. Flynn Associates LLC, where he provides independent advisory services on improving critical infrastructure security and resilience. A 1982 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Dr. Flynn served in the Coast Guard on active duty for 20 years, including two tours as commanding officer at sea, and retired at the rank of Commander. As an officer, he served in the White House Military Office during George H.W. Bush administration and as a director for global issues on the National Security Council staff during the Clinton administration. He holds the M.A.L.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. |
Luncheon Keynote
Tuesday, July 25
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Randolph Kirchain, Ph.D. - Principal Research Scientist - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dr. Kirchain's research and teaching explores the impact of materials-technology decisions on the economic and environmental performance of the products into which those materials are transformed and the systems in which they are produced, used, and eventually discarded. He is the founding member of the Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society's committee for Materials and Society and the ad-hoc committee on sustainable materials. He developed analytical tools to evaluate the economic and environmental performance of materials, process and architectural options for products, materials production and materials systems. He has also had frequent interactions with industry on evaluating the economic and sustainability performance of materials technologies and identifying technological and operational strategies to improve that performance. Dr. Kirchain received an S.B. in Materials Science & Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and his Ph.D., also in Materials Science & Engineering, from MIT. He did post-doc work at MIT and was a Research Associate. |
Breakfast Keynote
Wednesday, July 26
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Judge Edward Leavy, Senior Circuit Judge, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Senior Circuit Judge Edward Leavy was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on March 23, 1987, and assumed senior status on May 19, 1997. He served as judge on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, from 2001 to 2008, and as its presiding judge, from 2005 to 2008. Prior to his appointment to the appellate bench, Judge Leavy served as a district judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, from 1984 to 1987, and as a magistrate judge, from 1976 to 1984. Judge Leavy served as a justice pro tem on the Supreme Court of Oregon in 1974; as a judge on the Oregon Circuit Court in Lane County from 1961 to 1976; and as a judge on the Oregon District Court in Lane County from 1957 to 1961. Prior to that, he was a deputy district attorney in Lane County from 1954 to 1957. He engaged in private practice in Eugene, Oregon, from 1953 to 1954. Judge Leavy received his A.B. from the University of Portland in 1950 and his LL.B. from Notre Dame Law School in 1953. |
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Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, Oregon's 17th Attorney General
A former federal prosecutor and state trial and appellate judge, Ellen Rosenblum was first elected to a four-year term as Oregon's 17th Attorney General in November, 2012 and was re-elected to a second term November 8, 2016. She is the first woman to serve as Oregon Attorney General. Her priorities include consumer protection and civil rights – advocating for and protecting Oregon's children, seniors, immigrants and crime victims and those saddled with education-related debt. She is committed to assisting district attorneys and local law enforcement in prosecuting elder abuse and complex crimes and has made crimes against children as well as consumer internet privacy high priorities. Attorney General Rosenblum has been active in local and national organizations of lawyers, judges and attorneys general. She has served on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Attorneys General and she is the immediate past Chair of the Conference of Western Attorneys General. She has served as Secretary of the American Bar Association and is the Chair of the ABA Section of State & Local Government Law. She co-founded the section’s Attorneys General and Department of Justice Issues Committee (AGDJ). |
Luncheon Keynote
Wednesday, July 26
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Brad Smith, J.D. - President and Chief Legal Officer - Microsoft As Microsoft’s president and chief legal officer, Brad Smith is responsible for the company’s corporate, external, and legal affairs. He leads a team of more than 1,300 business, legal and corporate affairs professionals working in 55 countries. These teams are responsible for the company’s legal work, its intellectual property portfolio, patent licensing business, corporate philanthropy, government affairs, public policy, corporate, and social responsibility work. He is also Microsoft’s chief compliance officer where he plays a key role in representing the company externally and in leading the company’s work on a number of critical issues including privacy, security, accessibility, environmental sustainability and digital inclusion, among others. As the senior executive responsible for ensuring Microsoft fulfills its corporate responsibilities, he has helped the company achieve its consistent ranking in the top 2 percent of the S&P 500 for corporate governance scores. He has played a leadership role locally and nationally on numerous charitable, business and legal initiatives. In 2013 he was named by the National Law Journal as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in the United States. In 2014, the New York Times called Smith “a de facto ambassador for the technology industry at large.” In addition to his work at Microsoft, Smith is active in several civic and legal organizations and in the broader technology industry. In March 2015, Smith joined the Netflix board of directors. He also works to advance several significant diversity and pro bono initiatives, serving as chair of the board of directors of Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) and as chair of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD). Finally at the appointment of the governor, Smith chairs the board of the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship program. Brad grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, where Green Bay was the big city next door. He attended Princeton University, where he met his wife, Kathy (also a lawyer), and graduated summa cum laude with a concentration in international relations and economics. He earned his J.D. from the Columbia University School of Law and studied international law and economics at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. Prior to joining Microsoft, he was an associate and then partner at the Washington, D.C.-based firm of Covington and Burling, where he is still remembered as the first attorney in the long history of the firm to insist (in 1986) on having a personal computer on his desk as a condition for accepting a job offer. He can be followed at http://twitter.com/@bradsmi. |