WITA & WIIT Webinar: COVID-19 and Medical Supply Chains

04/01/2021

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WITA

On April 1, 2021, WITA held a WITA & WIIT Webinar on COVID-19 and Medical Supply Chains, and discussed the trade policy implications of proposed supply chain initiatives, and unpack the complexity of global supply chains.

Speakers discussed the COVID-19 pandemic, the unprecedented demand for medical goods among other items, and supply chain resilience and re-shoring.  

PROGRAM AGENDA

Welcome: 10:00 AM (US/Eastern)

  • Kenneth I. Levinson, Executive Director, Washington International Trade Association

Remarks and Panelist Discussion: 10:05 AM

  • Meredith Broadbent, Senior Advisor (Non Resident), Center for Strategic and International Studies, and author of the paper, Covid-19 Demand Shock and Preparedness Response.
  • Jonathan Kimball, Vice President, Trade and International Affairs, Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM)
  • Catherine Mellor, Vice President, UPS
  • Moderator: Maddison Abboud, Manager, Global Health, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Followed by:

  • Q & A with Audience Moderated by Ken – Webinar attendees are encouraged to use the Q&A function on the Zoom app to submit their questions in real time.

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

Maddison Abboud, Manager of Global Health, U.S. Chamber of Commerce. An international policy specialist who works at the intersection of business and international affairs, Maddison serves as the Manager of Global Health at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce where she leads advocacy and policy initiatives focused on strengthening health systems, enabling digital health, and reducing non-communicable diseases.

Previously, Maddison worked with the U.S. Chamber’s African Affairs department where she worked closely with U.S. Chamber member companies, business coalitions, AmChams, government leaders, and business executives to achieve their business objectives across the continent.

Maddison received her B.A. in Economics and International Affairs from Penn State University (2016) and is a candidate for a M.A. in International Business and Policy from Georgetown University.

Meredith M. Broadbent is a Senior Adviser (Non-resident) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. A former Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission and Commissioner (2012-2017), she served as Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Industry, Market Access, and Telecommunications from 2002-2008. In that position, she was responsible for developing U.S. policy that affects trade in industrial goods, telecommunications, and e-commerce. She led the U.S. negotiating team for the Doha Round negotiations to reduce tariff and nontariff barriers on industrial goods. From 2008 to 2010, she was a Trade Advisor at the Global Business Dialogue. Earlier in her career, she served as a senior professional staff member with the Committee on Ways and Means of the U.S. House of Representatives. In that position, she drafted and managed major portions of the Trade and Development Act of 2000, legislation to authorize normal trade relations with China, and the Trade Act of 2002, which included trade promotion authority. She was instrumental in the development and House passage of the implementing bills for the North American Free Trade Agreement and Uruguay Round Agreements. Broadbent holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Middlebury College and a Master of Business Administration degree from the George Washington University School of Business and Public Management.  

Jonathan Kimball is the Vice President of Trade and International Affairs at the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM). He serves as senior strategist and advocate in partnership with the SVP, General Counsel, to direct the international trade strategy of AAM and represent the association and its member companies’ interests before the U.S. Trade Representative, the Department of Commerce, Congress, The White House and other stakeholders. He identifies public policy priorities and implements strategies to advance AAM’s trade and international affairs agenda.

Before joining AAM in February 2019, Jonathan was Managing Director, Healthcare Policy at Burson Cohn & Wolfe (formerly Burson-Marsteller). In this role he collaborated with pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, trade associations and other clients to develop public affairs and advocacy campaigns aimed at influencing the policy and regulatory environments in the United States and international markets. Previously he was Deputy Vice President at Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), for which he developed and advanced external advocacy and communication efforts in partnership with senior U.S. and foreign government officials, Congressional staff, patient organizations and other trade associations.

Jonathan’s earlier career took him to Budapest, Hungary, for Freedom House and other NGOs. He earned a master’s degree in International Affairs/International Political Economy from American University and a BA from San Francisco State University.

Catherine Mellor joined UPS in 2019 and serves as vice president, International Trade, on the Public Affairs Team in Washington. In this role, Mellor is responsible for supporting the organization’s advocacy towards a sustainable and inclusive global trade agenda for UPS and its customers.  

Prior to joining UPS, Mellor spent 13 years at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce where her most recent role was vice president of the organization’s Global Initiative on Health and the Economy (GIHE). The GIHE is a cross-industry platform that promotes the importance of health to workforce productivity and economic growth. Mellor was responsible for founding and launching the GIHE, as well as overseeing the creation of its corporate board, revenue goals, and managing its policy and advocacy agenda in six countries. 

Her previous roles at the Chamber focused on trade policy. As senior director for Asia, Mellor directed the organization’s work in support of the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiation, and led the international work in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. Mellor also designed a developed a number of investment focused programs for U.S. companies in Southeast Asia. 

Mellor spent four years in government as a research officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade at the Australian Embassy in Washington. During this time, she was part of the team that supported the negotiation and successful conclusion of the Australia-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. 

Mellor began her career in Washington in 2001 working for Congressman Darrell Issa. She is an Australian citizen and graduate of the University of Queensland.

Kenneth Levinson is the Executive Director of the Washington International Trade Association (WITA). WITA is Washington’s largest non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to providing a neutral forum in the U.S. capital for the open and robust discussion of international trade policy and economic issues. WITA has over 4,000 members, and more than 170 corporate sponsors and group memberships.

Previously, Ken served as Senior Director for Global Government Affairs for AstraZeneca. Prior to joining AstraZeneca, Ken served as Senior Vice President and COO at the Washington, DC consulting firm of Fontheim International. Ken started his career on the staff of U.S. Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, where he served as the Senator’s chief advisor for international trade, tax, foreign policy, and national security.

Ken received a Master’s degree in European History from New York University after doing his undergraduate work at the University of Massachusetts, in Amherst. Ken also spent a year studying at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Ken and his wife, the Reverend Donna Marsh, live in Bethesda, MD, with their two daughters.