Thank you for joining WITA on Tuesday, October 7th, as we welcomed speakers who helped attendees increase their professional knowledge by learning the nuts and bolts of trade policy directly from career trade policy professionals from across government, industry, and law.

2025 Curriculum and Confirmed Speakers

Part 3: Tuesday, October 7

9:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET

9:00 AM ET: U.S. Trade Update – Ongoing Negotiations and Tariffs

Peter Harrell, Non-Resident Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace ; former Senior Director for International Economics and Competitiveness, National Security Council; Deputy Assistant Secretary, Counter Threat Finance and Sanctions, U.S. Department of State

Brian Pomper, Partner, Akin; former Chief  International Trade Counsel, U.S. Senate Finance Committee

Stephen Vaughn, Partner, King & Spalding; former General Counsel, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Moderator: Nicole Bivens Collinson, Managing Principal, Operating Committee, International Trade & Government Relations Practice Leader, Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.

10:00 AM ET: WITA International/Trade Around the World – Global Trade Initiatives

Angela Ellard, former Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO)

Deborah Elms, Head of Trade Policy, Hinrich Foundation, former Founder and Executive Director, Asian Trade Centre

Chris Horseman, Deputy Editor, Borderlex

Florizelle Liser, President and CEO, Corporate Council on Africa; former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Moderator: Kellie Meiman Hock, Senior Counselor, McLarty Associates; former Director of Brazil and the Southern Cone, Office U.S. Trade Representative

11:00 AM ET: USMCA 6-Year Review – Status Update – Review Process

Patrick Childress, Partner, Holland & Knight; former Assistant General Counsel, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Thea Lee, Distinguished Visiting Practitioner, American University; former Deputy Undersecretary for International Labor Affairs, Department of Labor

Greta Peisch, Partner, Wiley Rein LLP; former General Counsel, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; former International Trade Counsel, Senate Finance Committee

Moderator: Sarah Stewart, CEO and Executive Director, Silverado Policy Accelerator; former Assistant Deputy U.S. Trade Representative for Environment and Natural Resources, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Speaker Biographies

Nicole Bivens Collinson is a Managing Principal, Operating Committee, and International Trade and Government Relations Practice Leader with Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. She is located in the Washington, D.C., office. Nicole is a commentator on trade matters on MSNBC, NPR, and BBC the producer of the Two Minutes in Trade podcast.

Nicole has nearly 40 years of experience in government, public affairs, and lobbying. She has drafted and guided the successful implementation of several pieces of key international trade legislation positively affecting the bottom line of many U.S. companies. Clients have saved millions of dollars through the successful drafting, guidance, and passage of legislation that reduces or eliminates duties — crafting creative measures to benefit clients such as blocking changes to the first sale doctrine, miscellaneous tariff bills, specific trade preference legislation, the Generalized System of Preferences, etc. Such a track record demonstrates her ability to effectively move your agenda forward.

Nicole has been very effective in assisting clients in finding options – through exclusion or other tariff mitigation strategies – to reduce duty liability for goods subject to section 301 or section 232 duties. In addition, she is a leader on the firm’s initiatives to address forced labor concerns via supply chain reviews, due diligence strategies, and proactive remediation to prevent the importation of any goods that may violate section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 for goods made with forced labor.

Nicole prepares countries, companies, and associations for negotiations with the United States on free trade agreements, trade and investment agreements, labor disputes, and preferential trade programs. She is well-known for her ability to foster dialogue among a diverse set of stakeholders to resolve complex issues in trade policy making and implementation. She also works directly with U.S. multinational corporations and associations, as well as foreign companies, associations, and government agencies, to clearly represent their positions in Washington. In doing so she analyzes and monitors cross-cutting trade issues, including labor, the environment, food safety, customs regulations, international development, and others, and helps build strong coalitions to advocate for change.

Further, her work representing clients before Congress has earned her a well-respected position among politicians involved in international and business affairs. She is a well-known international trade authority in Washington, regularly called upon by members of Congress and the administration to help explain complex trade programs. Her decades of work with the House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security committees and the Senate Finance; Commerce, Science and Transportation; Foreign Relations; and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees has established deep and lasting relations with members of Congress and their staffs.

Prior to joining ST&R Nicole served as assistant chief negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, responsible for the negotiation of bilateral agreements with Latin America, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, the Sub-Continent, and Africa. She also served as a country specialist in the International Trade Administration at the Department of Commerce, where she was responsible for the preparation of negotiations on specific topics between the U.S. and Latin America, Eastern Europe, China, and Hong Kong as well as the administration of complex textile agreements.

Nicole holds a master’s degree in international relations from The George Washington University and a triple bachelor’s degree in political science, European studies, and French from Georgetown College. She also studied at the Université de Caen in France. She is past chair of the Women in International Trade Charitable Trust, past president of Women in International Trade, an advisory board member of America’s TradePolicy.com, treasurer and board member of the Washington International Trade Association, and a member of the Washington International Trade Association Foundation and Women in Government Relations. She serves on the board of trustees for Georgetown College and is the past executive director for the U.S. Hosiery Manufacturers Coalition, the U.S. Apparel Industry Coalition, and the U.S. Sock Distributors Coalition. She is conversant in both French and Spanish.

Patrick Childress is an international trade and disputes attorney in Holland & Knight’s Washington, D.C., office.

Patrick focuses on international trade policy and high-stakes international disputes. He advises corporations, governments and other stakeholders around the world on issues related to the evolving tariff landscape, trade-related enforcement actions, government investigations and treaty negotiations. Patrick draws on his extensive experience in this area as a co-leader of Holland & Knight’s USMCA Team assisting clients in connection with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and its upcoming renegotiation. He also represents corporate and sovereign clients in commercial and investment treaty arbitration proceedings.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Patrick represented the United States in trade-related matters during both Trump Administrations and the Biden Administration as an attorney at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). During his time in government, Patrick advised senior administration officials, led U.S. government delegations negotiating with foreign trading partners and worked with corporate stakeholders across an array of industries on trade-related issues. Patrick handled a broad portfolio of trade law and policy issues, including foreign investment, digital trade, climate and environment, and trade in automotives. He also served as USTR’s lead attorney for regional matters involving Canada, Mexico and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Patrick also has deep experience in international arbitration. He has represented corporate clients and sovereign governments in investor-state and commercial arbitrations around the world. Six of these arbitrations involved claims in excess of $1 billion.

Patrick’s commentary on international trade law and policy has been quoted in leading publications such as CNN Business, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, ABC News and other outlets. He also has authored book chapters and journal articles, taught classes to foreign government officials at the International Law Institute, and spoken at Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, the American Society of International Law and other venues.

Before his time as a government official, Patrick was an attorney at large global law firms in New York and Washington, D.C.

Angela Ellard served as WTO Deputy Director-General for four years. She was responsible for dispute settlement/reform, trade remedies, market access/trade facilitation, and ongoing negotiations on fisheries subsidies. She supervised the Secretariat’s facilitation of the successful conclusion of the 2012 Fisheries Subsidies Agreement. She also oversaw the WTO budget.

Previously, DDG Ellard had a distinguished 26-year career as Majority and Minority Chief Trade Counsel in the U.S. Congress. She achieved significant bipartisan trade policy outcomes with Congressional leaders and five Presidential administrations. She practiced law, focusing on trade litigation, policy, and legislation.

She is renowned for her expertise in trade and international economic policy, resolving trade barriers, and negotiating outcomes. She earned her J.D. cum laude/Tulane Law School, M.A. in Public Policy/Tulane, and B.A. summa cum laude/Tulane’s Newcomb College. She speaks and lectures worldwide and has received numerous awards for her contributions to trade law and policy.

Dr. Deborah Elms is Head of Trade Policy at the Hinrich Foundation in Singapore. Prior to joining the Foundation, she was the Executive Director and Founder of the Asian Trade Centre (ATC). She was also President of the Asia Business Trade Association (ABTA) and the Board Director of the Asian Trade Centre Foundation (ATCF).

Deborah serves on the board of the Trade and Investment Negotiation Adviser (TINA) at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific (UNESCAP). She was on the International Advisory Council for APCO (2021-2023) and was a member of the International Technical Advisory Committee of the Global Trade Professionals Alliance and Chair of the Working Group on Trade Policy and Law. She was also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Trade and Investment Council for 2018-2020.

Prior to founding ATC/ATCF and the ABTA, she was head of the Temasek Foundation Centre for Trade & Negotiations (TFCTN) and Senior fellow of International Political Economy at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Deborah received a PhD in political science from the University of Washington, an MA in International Relations from the University of Southern California, and bachelor’s degrees from Boston University.

She is the author of numerous articles, editor of several books, and regularly published the Talking Trade Blog. Deborah also routinely appears on television and in major newspapers and magazines around the world to comment on trade and economic issues. Deborah also makes frequent appearances at a range of global trade and economic workshops, conferences, capacity building sessions, and negotiations.

Peter Harrell is a Non-Resident fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He also serves as an attorney advising companies and investors on international legal, regulatory, and geopolitical risks. As a member of Carnegie’s American Statecraft program, Harrell’s research focuses on issues of U.S. domestic economic competitiveness, trade policy, and the use of economic tools in U.S. foreign policy.

From January 2021 through 2022, Peter served at the U.S. White House as Senior Director for International Economics, jointly appointed to the National Security Council and the National Economic Council. In that role, Peter co-led President Biden’s E.O. 14017 supply chain resilience agenda; worked on the global digital, 5G, and telecommunications strategies; spearheaded negotiations with the European Union on the U.S.-E.U. Data Privacy Framework; served as the White House representative to the CFIUS committee; and worked on U.S. sanctions and export controls towards Russia is response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Immediately prior to joining the White House, Peter served on the Biden-Harris Transition team from September 2020 to January 2021.

From 2015 to early 2021 Peter was an attorney in private practice and served as Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. In those roles he advised U.S. and multinational companies on sanctions compliance and a range of geopolitical risks, and also published widely on public policy. His articles and op-eds appeared in publications including the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Politico, and Lawfare, among other outlets. Peter has testified in front of multiple congressional committees, including, most recently, the House Financial Services Committee in February 2023.

From 2012 to 2014, Peter served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counter Threat Finance and Sanctions in the State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. From 2009 to 2012 he served on the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, where he was instrumental in developing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s economic statecraft agenda.

Earlier in his career, Peter served on President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and as a reporter for Congressional Quarterly in Washington, DC.

Harrell is a magna cum laude graduate of Princeton University and holds a JD from the Yale Law School.

Kellie Meiman Hock is a Senior Counselor at McLarty Associates. She founded the firm’s trade and Brazil/Southern Cone practices, helping over one-hundred companies to pursue global opportunities and troubleshoot obstacles to market access since joining McLarty in March 2000. Prior to joining McLarty, she served for almost a decade as a US Foreign Service Officer at the Department of State, serving in Bogota, Colombia, and throughout Brazil in Porto Alegre, São Paulo, and Recife, as well as at the Office of the US Trade Representative in the Executive Office of the President. For over three decades, Kellie has worked on Latin America and on various aspects of trade, investment, and technology policy, helping companies to manage geopolitical uncertainty and industrial policy, from local content requirements to data localization and trade remedies. Kellie has been deeply engaged in stakeholder efforts to manage a dynamic global trade agenda and increased economic nationalism. She has also helped many companies to internationalize their public policy operations and to develop global expansion plans. She has lived and studied in Central America and Japan. Kellie is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Women’s Foreign Policy Group Leadership Council, and the Bretton Woods Committee. She is also on the Board of Directors for the Inter-American Dialogue. She often writes and speaks on policy matters related to trade/investment/industrial policy, Brazil, and Latin America. A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Kellie is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. She fluently speaks Spanish and Portuguese.

Chris Horseman is a journalist and consultant with over 30 years of experience and a deep knowledge of EU, UK and global trade and agriculture policy issues.

Chris graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in modern languages before working for at the European Commission. Chris joined Informa in 1987, spending four years as Brussels correspondent for Agra Europe. He took up a senior editorial position in the business’s UK office in 1991, and was Editorial Director with Informa Agribusiness Intelligence between 2006 and 2017. His specialist areas include agricultural trade policy and the World Trade Organization, the Common Agricultural Policy and Brexit.

Thea Lee is a Distinguished Visiting Practitioner at American University School of International Service Department of Politics, Governance, and Economics. Previously she served as the Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor. She was the President of the Economic Policy Institute from 2017 to 2021. From 1997 to 2017, Lee worked at the AFL-CIO and served as deputy chief of staff, policy director, and chief international economist. She served on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission from 2018 to 2020. Lee has also served on the State Department Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy, the Export-Import Bank Advisory Committee, and on the Boards of Directors of the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center, the Center for International Policy, and the Coalition on Human Needs. She currently serves on the boards of the National Women’s Law Center, as well as the national advisory board of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

Florizelle Liser is the third President and CEO of CCA. Florizelle brings expertise and an extensive network on trade and Africa to her new role, along with a strong track record of working with the private sector to translate policy into action. She is the first woman to lead the Council since its founding in 1993. Florizelle joined CCA from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), where she was the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa since 2003. At USTR, she led trade and investment policy towards 49 sub-Saharan African nations and oversaw implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).Previously, Florizelle served as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Industry, Market Access, and Telecommunications from 2000-2003. She also served as Senior Trade Policy Advisor in the Office of International Transportation and Trade at the Department of Transportation from 1987-2000; worked as a Director in USTR’s Office of GATT Affairs, and served as an Associate Fellow at the Overseas Development Council (ODC) from 1975-1980.Currently, Florizelle serves as a re-appointed member of the 2023-2024 Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee for the Export-Import Bank (EXIM) where she previously served from 2019-2021. Florizelle also served as co-chair of the Advisory Council for the Millennium Challenge Corporation and has also served as a Board member for the Women in International Trade (WIIT). Florizelle holds a M.A. in International Economics from Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a B.A. in International Relations and Political Science from Dickinson College.

Greta M. Peisch is a Partner at Wiley Rein. She brings nearly 15 years of experience in international trade matters. Most recently, she served as General Counsel for the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) where she was a primary legal advisor to the agency, including with respect to trade enforcement and trade agreement implementation and negotiations.

While at USTR, Greta led the USTR’s enforcement agenda, including World Trade Organization (WTO) and trade agreement dispute settlement and implementation of Sections 201 and 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

Greta negotiated the settlement of significant trade disputes, including a years-long dispute with the European Union regarding large civil aircraft; disputes related to the U.S. imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum and the EU’s retaliatory tariffs; and a dispute with Canada related to a U.S. solar safeguard measure. In addition, she led the implementation of the first-ever reviews and panel request under the novel Rapid Response Labor Mechanism of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. She also oversaw negotiations related to Critical Minerals Agreements with Japan, the EU, and the United Kingdom and advised on legal issues in trade agreement negotiations and implementation, including with respect to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade.

Prior to her time at USTR, Greta was Senior International Trade Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. In this role, she developed policy positions and legislation concerning trade policy, including the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the drafting, passage, and implementation of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act, and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act of 2018.

With additional experience involving digital trade, labor, and the environment, Greta is poised to help clients navigate all aspects of trade’s legal landscape.

Brian Pomper is a partner at Akin and serves as co-leader of the firm’s lobbying and public policy practice. He represents companies before Congress, the White House, and federal agencies on a wide range of public policy matters, including market access, investment, international trade disputes, intellectual property, international tax, and customs issues.

Brian formerly served as chief international trade counsel to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT). In that role, he advised Chairman Baucus and other members of the Senate Finance Committee on all aspects of the Committee’s international trade and economic agenda.

Sarah Stewart is the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Silverado Policy Accelerator. Sarah has over two decades of experience as an international trade lawyer, trade policy expert, and trade negotiator. In her current role, Sarah works to implement Silverado’s mission in areas including geopolitics, national security, international trade, critical supply chains, and energy security. Sarah’s views are featured in national publications such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Politico, and she is a regular speaker at domestic and international conferences.

Immediately prior to joining Silverado, Sarah led the public policy efforts at Amazon on U.S. trade policy and export controls matters. From 2013 to 2018, Sarah worked for the Office of the United States Trade Representative, with her most recent position being the Deputy Assistant USTR for Environment and Natural Resources. During her time at USTR, Sarah was the lead environment chapter negotiator for the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations with the European Union. Prior to joining USTR, Sarah served in different legal and policy roles at the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International, including spearheading a first-ever international legal group. Sarah began her career at the Law Offices of Stewart and Stewart, where she worked for over five years on behalf of U.S. manufacturing companies and workers.

Sarah serves on the Board of Directors for the Washington International Trade Foundation (WITF) and for GirlSecurity. Sarah is also a fellow at the National Security Institute.

Stephen Vaughn is a Partner in the International Trade Team of King & Spalding who works primarily on international trade litigation and policy matters. In April 2019, Stephen completed more than two years of service as the General Counsel for the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).  In that position, he managed a team of government attorneys representing U.S. interests in both trade negotiations and trade litigation. During two months in early 2017, Stephen also served as the acting U.S. Trade Representative.  He is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost authorities on current U.S. trade policy, as well as one of the most talented U.S. trade remedy litigators.

Stephen is recognized as a leading practitioner in Trade Remedies and Trade Policy by Legal 500 U.S., Chambers USA, and Chambers Global. He has been named a 2024 Client Service All-Star by BTI Consulting.

Thank you to our WITA Academy Sponsors