2024 Washington Trade Symposium
July 17, 2024

Ashley Amidon

Executive Director, International Wood Products Association

Ashley Amidon is the Executive Director of the International Wood Products Association. Previously, she served as the Vice President of Public Policy for the National Pest Management Association where she headed up the public policy team, and was a registered lobbyist handling all federal legislative issues and the Treasurer of NPMA’s Political Action Committee. Her issues portfolio focused on pesticides, tax, public health and small business issues. She simultaneously served as the Executive Director of the North Carolina Pest Management Association, which had 250 member companies.

Prior to the pest management industry, she worked as a lobbyist at the National Stone Sand and Gravel Association, handling environmental issues. She began her association career at the International Wood Products Association, where she was the lobbyist and PAC administrator, focusing primarily on environmental and trade issues. She began her career in DC as a political fundraiser and has also worked a series of political campaigns doing GOTV work, fundraising and scheduling.

She holds a B.A. in History and International Affairs from George Mason University in Virginia and an M.A. in International Affairs from University of Hull in the UK. She holds a CAE.

In her spare time she is very active in her local theatre community. A native of Virginia, she lives with Dan, her partner of over a decade in Alexandria, VA.

Monica Gorman

Special Assistant to the President for Manufacturing & Industrial Policy at the White House

Dr. Monica Gorman is the Special Assistant to the President for Manufacturing & Industrial Policy at the White House. In this role, she leads the nation's Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, as well as US industrial strategy, manufacturing, and supply chain policy. Monica joined the Administration in March 2021 as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing at the Department of Commerce, where she led efforts to advance the global competitiveness of industries ranging from nuclear and solar energy to aerospace and automotive to pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and semiconductors.

Previously, Monica was Vice President of Responsible Leadership & Global Compliance at New Balance, where she led the company's trade and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) divisions. She is seasoned executive with two decades of experience building ESG and trade compliance programs for multi-billion dollar brands. Prior to New Balance, she led American Eagle Outfitters' global trade, corporate responsibility, and product safety teams. As Director of Social Responsibility at Gap Inc., Monica was the chief architect of Gap’s ground-breaking 2003 CSR Report that generated a record 80 million positive media impressions. PR News named her Communicator of the Year in 2008. Monica served as executive producer of New Balance's short film, "Made Responsibly: Vietnam," which was nominated for a regional Emmy® award in 2020.

Monica served as an industry representative on Commerce's Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Textiles & Apparel for over a decade. She is also a past member of the Board of Directors of the Fair Labor Association, the Board of Directors of the United States Footwear Manufacturers Association, and the USDA Cotton Board, as well as a past Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2020, she was named a Presidential Leadership Scholar.

Monica was the first person in her father's family to go to college, earning her A.B. summa cum laude from Dartmouth and her M.Phil. and Ph.D. from the University of Oxford. An avid runner and classical pianist, she lives with her family outside of Washington, DC.

Specialties: strategy, strategic planning, supply chain resilience, international relations, international trade, manufacturing, ESG, social & environmental responsibility, sustainability, CSR, government affairs, public policy, restricted substances, product safety, regulatory affairs, risk management, supply chains, human rights, European Union (EU) law, corporate communications, trade compliance, customs compliance, stakeholder engagement

AnnMarie Highsmith

Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Trade

Ms. AnnMarie R. Highsmith is the Executive Assistant Commissioner (EAC) of Office of Trade, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).  Ms. Highsmith oversees a diverse portfolio of trade enforcement, security, and facilitation to enable legitimate trade, contribute to American economic prosperity, and protect against risks to public health and safety.  Her work ranges from enforcing over 500 U.S. trade laws and overseeing 14 trade agreements, to directing CBP’s seven Priority Trade Issues in collaboration with 49 partner government agencies.

From 2013 to 2021, Ms. Highsmith served as the Deputy Chief Counsel for CBP, where she was the chief operating officer of one of the premier legal offices in Government, managing and directing a staff of 400 legal professionals in 31 offices nationwide.  In 2020, Ms. Highsmith served as Acting Chief Counsel for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.  In that capacity, she provided effective leadership for the agency's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring public safety and the security of the national food supply chain, while protecting American jobs.  Ms. Highsmith joined the Senior Executive Service (SES) as the Associate Chief Counsel (Trade and Finance), CBP, in Washington, D.C.  In that role, she served as the principal legal advisor for CBP on all matters involving customs laws, as they impact on trade, and a broad range of fiscal matters.  In 2013, she served as the Acting Associate General Counsel for General Law, in the Office of the General Counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, providing leadership and timely, practical legal advice and guidance to successfully implement the over $3 billion sequestration.  A native Californian, Ms. Highsmith began her legal career in 1992 as a Staff Attorney with the U.S. Customs Service, at the Office of the Regional Counsel, in Long Beach, California. 

Ms. Highsmith received her law degree from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1992, and her Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, magna cum laude, from Pepperdine University in 1988.  She is a 2011 graduate of the Harvard University Senior Managers in Government program.  In 2017, Ms. Highsmith was awarded a Distinguished Executive Presidential Rank Award.

Tasha Reid Hippolyte

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Trade and Economic Competitiveness, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Tasha Reid Hippolyte, Ph.D. is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade and Economic Competitiveness in the Trade and Economic Security Office at the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). She leads the development and coordination of strategy, policy, and procedure to facilitate lawful trade and enforce U.S. trade laws.reviously, she worked as the Chief of Staff in the Office of Field Operations (OFO), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Dr. Hippolyte also served as the Director of the Africa, Middle East, and Central Asia (AMECA) Division in the CBP Office of International Affairs (INA). In this capacity, she advanced agreements and engagements for CBP with AMECA countries to include technical assistance and information sharing for international trade and travel. Dr. Hippolyte began her career with CBP in 2006 as an Outstanding Scholar. She held a number of other positions to include: Acting Executive Director for Trade Policy and Programs in the Office of Trade, International Affairs Liaison to the Office of Congressional Affairs, and the INA World Customs Organization SAFE Framework Capacity Building Team Lead.

Dr. Hippolyte earned a Ph.D. in Political Science with International Relations and Public Administration concentrations from Howard University. Her dissertation research examined the impact and role of women in the post conflict peace process. In addition, she has served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Justice, Law, and Criminology at American University. She graduated from the University of South Carolina Honors College with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Prior to joining CBP, Dr. Hippolyte was a Research Assistant at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars. Dr. Hippolyte also worked on Capitol Hill as a Washington Fellow.

Arthur Laciak

eFiling Program Specialist, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Arthur Laciak is the eFiling Program Specialist in the Office of Import Surveillance at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). In this role, he is leading an initiative to develop a Partner Government Agency (PGA) Message Set that will collect certificate data at the time of import. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Mathematics, and German from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Public Policy from the George Washington University.

Stephanie Lella

Enterprise Account Executive, Sayari

Elizabeth Lowe

Partner, Venable LLP

Liz Lowe focuses on international trade and customs, and maritime/transportation and shipping issues. Liz counsels U.S. and non-U.S. companies on a variety of cross-border regulatory and policy matters, transportation and logistics matters, and import/export compliance matters. Her work includes internal compliance reviews and investigations, due diligence activities, voluntary self-disclosures, responses to inquiries from federal agencies, compliance training, licensing, and transportation and logistics contract review. Liz recognizes the need to understand business priorities and to provide practical compliance solutions.
Liz regularly represents companies on compliance with import and export control laws and regulations before regulatory authorities, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the International Trade Commission, U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Department of State Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

Liz assists clients with U.S. export controls and economic sanctions – proactively, as part of internal compliance reviews and training, and before federal agencies, including the Departments of State, the Treasury, and Commerce. She has worked on global internal export compliance reviews, responses to government subpoenas, submissions of voluntary self-disclosures, and productive engagement with the relevant agencies, on behalf of clients.

She advises companies on compliance with maritime and other transportation laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the Shipping Act of 1984, and represents companies before the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). She also assists companies with agency-required registration and license authorization. In addition, Liz has experience in drafting and reviewing contracts for logistics and transportation industry clients in all modes.

Liz works on import compliance matters such as disclosures, ruling requests, classification and country of origin analyses, petitions to mitigate, and protests. She advises clients on trade policy and related matters. She has advised clients on international transactional matters, and regarding compliance with the anti-bribery provisions of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Dr. Sheng Lu

Professor in the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies, University of Delaware

Dr. Sheng Lu is a Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies at the University of Delaware. He also served as a consultant for the International Trade Centre (ITC) co-run by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN). With over 70 publications in academic and trade journals, Dr. Lu’s research focuses on the economic and business aspects of the textile and apparel industry, including international trade, trade policy, and the governance of the global apparel value chain. Dr. Lu received the 2014 Rising Star Award and 2019 Mid-Career Excellence Award from the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) to recognize his research and teaching excellence. He has also been the multiple-time recipient of the Paper of Distinction Award at the ITAA annual conferences for his study on the specific-sectoral impact of mega-free trade agreements on textile and apparel. Several of his studies were cited by government reports such as the Congressional Research Service (CRS) studies prepared for members of the U.S. Congress, U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) official assessment on the economic impacts of free trade agreements as well as the World Bank, International Labor Organization, and the United Nations research publications. Dr. Lu’s published works also have been translated into Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, and Thai and regularly featured by media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times (UK), BBC World News (UK), Nikkei Asian Review (Japan), Associated Press, South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), Voice of America, and Forbes. 

Maytee Pereira

Customs and International Trade Co-Leader

PwC

Maytee Pereira is a Senior Managing Director in the Customs & International Trade practice, located in New York.  She has over 30 years experience in the area of customs law and international trade matters and has assisted firm clients from myriad industry sectors including consumer and industrial products, Bioscience and Pharma, as well as apparel & textiles and footwear, involved in import/export activities in taking full advantage of both U.S. and foreign customs laws to minimize their import related liabilities while managing compliance with all applicable customs and export requirements. Maytee is particularly involved in developing and supporting customs valuation strategies that align to complex tax planning as well as in designing implementing streamlined global supply chain strategies aimed at minimizing overall duty expense for inbound and outbound clients as well as opportunities to leverage Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). She also assists clients in administrative proceedings and compliance audits before the U.S. Bureau of Customs & Border Protection (CBP), implementing Foreign Trade Zones and has preparing to participate in Customs programs such as the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), Duty Drawback, Importer Self-Asessment (ISA), Reconciliation and others.

Maytee has assisted companies from a wide range of industry sectors, including apparel and footwear, consumer electronics, pharmaceutical/life sciences, telecommunications and wholesale/retail proactively address customs appraisement issues and opportunities. She has assisted large multinational companies better understand and manage the interplay be transfer prices and customs value considerations and has helped global companies develop centralized customs valuations policies that are aligned to their transfer pricing policies and objectives in order to avoid “whipsaw” impacts. She has conducted global assessments of internal control procedures for trade compliance and has assisted companies in developing best in class trade compliance processes.

Maytee holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University, with majors in Economics and Political Science, a Juris Doctor from Fordham Law School, and is a Licensed Customs Broker

Hrishikesh Rajan

COO, TrusTrace

Hrishi heads the business growth and sales teams at TrusTrace. He has 17+ years of Sales & Business Development experience working with global IT and Engineering companies spanning Europe, the US and Asia.    

Hrishi is passionate about decreasing the usage of natural resources and the harmful impacts on people in developing countries. He strongly believes in the circular economy concept as the way forward to reducing climate impact. 

At TrusTrace, Hrishi focuses on driving business globally by identifying and forging long-lasting partnerships with brands that seek sustainability. A strong ally and advisor for fashion brands wanting to achieve sustainable transformation in their supply chains, Hrishi has been pivotal in the high customer engagement and success at TrusTrace.  

Paul Ryberg

President

African Coalition for Trade

Paul Ryberg is a founding partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Ryberg and Smith, L.L.C., where his practice focuses on international trade law, including in particular trade between Africa and the United States, especially under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).  Mr. Ryberg’s law practice also includes advising clients on agricultural trade, textile and apparel trade, Customs issues affecting a variety of products and import programs, and lobbying Congress on trade legislation.  Prior to founding Ryberg and Smith, L.L.C. in 2000, Mr. Ryberg was a partner in Pierson, Semmes and Bemis, L.L.P.

Mr. Ryberg is President and a Director of the African Coalition for Trade (ACT), a non-profit trade association of African private sector entities dedicated to expanding U.S.-Africa trade ties.  ACT has been one of the leading spokespersons for the African private sector in the development, enactment, implementation and amendment of AGOA.  Mr. Ryberg has assisted a number of AGOA beneficiary countries in developing the AGOA apparel visa system that is required to export apparel under AGOA. 

Mr. Ryberg has served as a member of the Steering Committee for many of the Private Sector Sessions of the U.S. – Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum.  He co-chaired the AGOA Forum Private Sector Session of the first AGOA Forum to be held in Africa, which was in Mauritius in 2003.

Mr. Ryberg has been a featured speaker or expert panelist at numerous conferences and seminars on international trade law, including a series of AGOA trade capacity building conferences sponsored by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in 2002 and a series of 11 AGOA training seminars presented by ACT in 2000 and 2001 in five countries in southern Africa.  Mr. Ryberg is the author of numerous articles in various publications on U.S.-Africa trade and investment and on AGOA in particular.  Mr. Ryberg is also the editor of the U.S.-Africa Trade Report, a monthly publication of ACT.

Mr. Ryberg is an honors graduate of Harvard Law School (J.D. cum laude 1977) and Wichita State University (B.A. summa cum laude 1974).

Avedis H. Seferian

President & CEO

Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP)

Avedis H. Seferian joined WRAP in 2004 and became its President and CEO in 2012. He has extensive knowledge of social responsibility issues within the highly complex worldwide supply chains of the apparel, textile and footwear sectors. A recognized expert in the area of social compliance and responsible sourcing, Mr. Seferian was named by Assent Compliance as one of the Top 100 Corporate Social Responsibility Influence Leaders for 2020. He often speaks on topics in this field at different forums around the world and has contributed to many leading trade publications and news outlets. Mr. Seferian is the Chairman of the Executive Board (and a member of the Stakeholder Board) of the Association of Professional Social Compliance Auditors (APSCA) and sits on the Impartiality Committees of several audit organizations; he also served on the Board of Advisors of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.

Mr. Seferian began his career working for a business research and development organization before migrating over to legal research. Prior to joining WRAP, he was with a small law firm in Washington, DC. Mr. Seferian has also taught in various capacities in the business and legal arenas, including as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland University College. He speaks five languages, has lived in four countries and holds three degrees from three continents - a Bachelor’s in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University in India; an MBA from the American University of Armenia; and a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center in the United States, where he was a Law Fellow and made the Dean’s List.

Mr. Seferian is a member of the American Bar Association and the Virginia State Bar. He resides in Fairfax, Virginia with his wife and their 2 sons.

David Spooner

USFIA Washington Counsel

Partner, Barnes & Thornburg LLP

David M. Spooner is a partner in the Corporate Department in Barnes & Thornburg’s Washington, D.C., office.  Mr. Spooner represents governments, trade associations, and corporate clients on international trade matters, including trade remedies, trade policy and customs issues.  He uses his past experience as a high-level political appointee in the Executive Branch and on Capitol Hill to assist clients with their advocacy efforts before both branches of government, as well as before foreign governments.

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Spooner served as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Import Administration.  In that capacity, Mr. Spooner led U.S. Government enforcement of trade remedy laws, principally the antidumping and anti-subsidy laws.  He administered the Foreign Trade Zone system; oversaw apparel trade policy and the implementation of laws governing trade in apparel; managed trade remedy negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as dispute resolution proceedings at the WTO; chaired U.S.-China talks on macroeconomic reforms and the steel industry; and supervised the US Department of Commerce’s import safety initiatives.

Prior to his Senate confirmation as Assistant Secretary, Mr. Spooner served as the Chief Textile and Apparel Negotiator and Transition Coordinator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).  While at USTR, he was a principal negotiator for free trade agreements with Central America, the Dominican Republic, Singapore, Australia, Chile, Panama, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Colombia and Peru, principally negotiating customs enforcement, apparel and textile, origin and safeguard provisions.  He was heavily involved in building support for congressional passage of the Bush Administration’s trade agenda.  Mr. Spooner also negotiated a comprehensive apparel trade agreement with China and concluded bilateral customs and quota arrangements with several nations.

Before his appointment to USTR, Mr. Spooner worked on Capitol Hill, managing the Washington D.C. office and serving as the legislative director and press secretary for a member of Congress, serving as Communications Director for the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, and working for the U.S. House Committee on Rules, which manages debate and amendments in the House of Representatives.

Mr. Spooner earned his J.D. from the College of William & Mary School of Law and his B.A. from the University of Virginia.

He is admitted to practice in Washington, D.C., and Virginia and before the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Katherine White

Chief Textiles and Apparel Negotiator, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Katherine White is the Chief Textiles and Apparel Negotiator. Ms. White joins USTR from the House Ways and Means Committee in the United States Congress where she served as International Trade Policy Advisor. In this capacity, she advised Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA) and Democratic Members of the Committee on trade policy matters, shaped U.S. trade laws, and participated in the negotiation, implementation, and enforcement of U.S. trade agreements, including the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). She has worked closely with the textile and apparel industry during the development of trade legislation.

Ms. White joined the Committee in January 2018 from the International Trade Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce where she began her career in public service as a Presidential Management Fellow. She has worked on international economic and foreign policy issues at the National Economic Council at the White House and think tanks in Washington, DC.

Ms. White earned a Master of Public Policy from Duke University and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and International Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Erin Williamson

Vice President of U.S. Customs Brokerage, GEODIS USA

Erin Williamson is the Vice President of GEODIS' U.S.  Customs Brokerage Product Team. Erin is responsible for ensuring compliance of customs brokerage activities and supporting the US station brokerage operations.

Ethan Woolley

Strategic Growth Executive, Kharon

Ethan Woolley is a Strategic Growth Executive at Kharon, where he supports the firm’s clients on UFLPA due diligence best practices. Ethan frequently works with organizations in the retail, apparel, automotive, manufacturing, chemical, and telecommunications industries, and regularly speaks at conferences and industry events on forced labor risk. Ethan received his BA in International Relations and Russian from the University of Pennsylvania and an MA in Energy Politics from the European University at St. Petersburg. Ethan speaks Russian and spent time living in Moscow.