GATT DC (LGBTQ+ Professionals in International Trade)

GATT DC (LGBTQ+ Professionals in International Trade) is pleased to announce our 2025 sponsors! We are so thrilled to partner with these organizations in the year ahead, and are beyond grateful for their support! Thank you to BakerHostetler, Cassidy Levy Kent LLP, King & Spalding, Barnes & Thornburg LLP, and Steptoe LLP for supporting our community of LGBTQ+ and allied professionals in international trade and development.

We are pleased to announce Wyatt Yankus as our January/February 2025 bimonthly featured member from our community of LGBTQ+ and allied trade and development professionals. Wyatt works as Director, Strategic Policy Insights at Standard Chartered Bank. Headquartered in London but with the bulk of its operations in emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, Standard Chartered has a 170 year history of facilitating international trade and development in the world’s most dynamic markets. In his DC-based role, Wyatt helps leads the Bank’s analysis of global policy and geopolitical trends and engagement with multilateral forums and convenings. Wyatt is currently helping to lead the planning for the private sector track of the UN Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), scheduled to take place in Seville, Spain from June-July 2025. Prior to Standard Chartered, Wyatt worked for three years as a consultant at Brunswick Group, helping multinational companies respond to emerging geopolitical and public affairs crises. He began his career in the U.S. Navy, serving ten years on active duty as an intelligence officer with multiple overseas deployments and postings. He has a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, a master’s in security studies from Georgetown University, and a MBA from the University of Cambridge.? Congratulations, Wyatt!

We are pleased to announce that the GATT DC Mentorship Program is up and running! Earlier this month, we hosted a meet and greet event at Coco Lezzone, where our Mentorship Program participants met and networked. After hearing from all the participants, we finalized the mentor and mentee pairings. Thank you mentors and mentees! We wish you all the success in your GATT DC Mentorship Program, and stay tuned for program updates in the near future!

We are pleased to announce our November/December 2024 bimonthly featured member from our community of LGBTQ+ and allied trade and development professionals. Jose Raul Perales is Deputy Director of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation at the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). Prior to joining the Alliance, Perales served as the Assistant Secretary for the Private Sector at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.?Raúl was the Director for the Americas at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and as Executive Director and Vice-President of the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America (AACCLA). Previously, he was the Senior Associate at the Latin American Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center. He was also a trade policy adviser to the government of Puerto Rico, where he successfully created and implemented a strategy for advancing the island’s foreign trade interests in the Americas and beyond. Raúl has been an adjunct professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University and at the Schar School of Public Policy at George Mason University. He has published articles and edited volumes on economic regionalism, trade policy, international relations, and Latin American politics and development. Congratulations, José!

We were pleased to partner with GATT DC sponsor Steptoe LLP, the Association of Women in International Trade (WIIT DC), and Out In National Security to engage in an in-depth discussion on artificial intelligence and national security from the vantage point of both government and industry. Thanks to Brian Fleming, Evan Abrams, Elizabeth Cannon, Colleen Mearn, and John (Heflin) Hopkins-Gillispie for sharing your perspectives on this critical set of issues

Last Tuesday, 10/15, GATT DC, Association of Women in International Trade WIIT DC, and Global Navigators held a roundtable discussion on Global Supply Chain Security and Southeast Asia, at the US-ASEAN Business Council. Thank you to our excellent speakers Ted Osius, Ambassador (ret.), Maggie Hanson-Muse, moderator Lucas Queiroz Pires, and to all of those that attended. Insightful discussion and great questions from the audience.

GATTsters – we are pleased to invite you to a panel discussion and networking event focused on artificial intelligence and national security, next Tuesday, 10/29. The event will be hosted by GATT DC sponsor Steptoe and include our friends at the Association of Women in International Trade (WIIT) and Out in National Security (ONS). The panel discussion will focus on: The range of national security laws that currently apply to companies building and using AI models. The array of new rules that have been proposed or are being implemented, including new rules from the Department of Commerce's Officer of Information and Communications Technology and Services (OICTS). Non-binding guidance from NIST, the new AI Safety Institute, and other organizations. Best practices related to AI safety. Perspectives on these and other related topics will be provided by: Brian Fleming, Partner, International Trade & Regulatory Compliance practice, Steptoe LLP (moderator) Elizabeth "Liz" Cannon, Executive Director of Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services (OICTS), BIS, U.S. Department of Commerce Colleen Mearn, Head of Enforcement for Trust and Safety, Anthropic John (Heflin) Hopkins-Gillispie, Director of Policy and Product Counsel, Trustible AI Evan Abrams, Associate, International Trade & Regulatory Compliance practice, Steptoe LLP A networking reception will follow the panel discussion. Please join us on October 29 at 5:30pm at Steptoe’s Washington, DC office (1330 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036) for this event! RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/ecvS26-W

We are pleased to invite you to?“Global Supply Chain Security and Southeast Asia: A Roundtable Discussion,”?co-hosted by our sponsor?Global Navigators, and the?U.S.-ASEAN Business Council.?The?discussion will focus on?Southeast Asia’s place in U.S.-China competition and securing global supply chains, and also investment and growth opportunities in the ASEAN region.??The discussion will take place next Tuesday,?October 15, 2024?from?5:30-6:30pm?and will be followed by a?networking opportunity?at a nearby bar for those interested in mingling after the discussion.?Our friends from the?Association of Women In International Trade (WIIT)?will also be in attendance at the event. Panelists: Ted Osius, Ambassador (ret.), President and CEO, USABC Maggie Hanson-Muse, COO, USABC Lucas Pires, GATT DC/ Associate, King & Spalding (moderator) Additional details about the event, including the panel discussion and networking opportunity, are below.?Please RSVP at your soonest convenience. https://lnkd.in/ezMvV9zE We look forward to seeing you at this event!

We are pleased to invite you to attend a virtual discussion concerning electric vehicle battery supply chains, presented by David Coffin, Senior International Economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) and Jeff Walling, Division Chief of the Advanced Technology and Machinery (ATM) Division of the USITC's Office of Industry Competitiveness and Analysis (ICA). The discussion will be on Wednesday, October 9 at 12pm Eastern. David and Jeff will present research from Electrifying the Global BEV Landscape: Top Suppliers and Consumers of BEVs and BEV Batteries, an article which they co-wrote. They will describe global production, sales, and trade for battery electric-vehicles and lithium-ion batteries, with a focus on the U.S. market. They will also provide information on trade in upstream components and inputs, as well as on investments. This article was published in the Journal of International Commerce and Economics (JICE), a peer-reviewed journal managed by staff at the USITC. JICE articles contribute to the field of applied international trade by providing in-depth, policy-relevant, and accessible analysis of contemporary economic, industry competitiveness, and investment issues. Please RSVP to the event here: https://lnkd.in/dhqTydAW. We will send a link to join the discussion to those that RSVP. Will see you there!

Last Thursday, 9/12, GATT DC (LGBT Professionals in International Trade) hosted its "Welcome Back" Networking & 2024 LGBTQ+ Trade Person of the Year ("TPOY") Award Happy Hour at Pitchers. Our friends from LGBTQIA+ pride in foreign affairs agencies (Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA) also joined. Congratulations Lucas Queiroz Pires for the 2024 LGBTQ+ TPOY Award, and thank you all for joining!