Pathways to Opportunity Series: Careers in International Trade & Law

Fall Session

Join the WITA Academy for our Pathways to Opportunity: Careers in International Trade & Law session at Howard University School of Law. Students will hear from leading trade policy professionals about career pathways in international trade and law, with insights on how they got their start, entered the field, and how their careers have evolved along the way.

This event will be live streamed for interested students at universities not located in the DC-area.

Program Agenda

All times US/Eastern

12:00 PM – 12:30 PM ET: Lunch and Networking Social

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM ET: Careers in the U.S. Public Sector and the Private Sector

• Fred Humphries, Corporate Vice President, U.S. Government Affairs, Microsoft; former Chief of Staff, Rep. Sanford Bishop (B.A. Morehouse College – J.D. Temple University)
• Arun Venkataraman, Partner, Covington & Burling LLP; former Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, U.S. Department of Commerce (B.A., M.A. Tufts University – J.D. Columbia Law School)
• Alexandra Whittaker, Democratic Chief Trade Counsel, House Committee on Ways and Means; former Assistant General Counsel, U.S. Trade Representative (B.A. Spelman College – J.D. Howard University School of Law) 
• Moderator: Derick Holt, Partner, Wiley Rein LLP (B.A. Towson University – J.D. Howard University School of Law)

Speaker Biographies

Derick Holt is a Partner at Wiley Rein. He represents clients in a variety of international trade matters, including antidumping and countervailing duty investigations, export controls, and sanctions compliance programs. He practices before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. International Trade Commission. His work involves a broad range of industries, including steel and downstream steel products, aluminum extrusions, renewable energy products, personal transportation, and logistics products. When Derick is not protecting domestic industries from unfairly traded imports, he represents low-income D.C. residents in landlord-tenant disputes.

Fred Humphries is Corporate Vice President of U.S Government Affairs for Microsoft. Under his leadership, U.S. Government Affairs provides expertise in policy, outreach, political engagement, and government affairs that helps advance the company’s advocacy goals.

Humphries is Microsoft’s chief public policy advocate internally and externally on all aspects of federal, state and civic affairs. He sets the company’s strategy and government affairs outreach on the most pressing policy issues facing the technology industry including cloud computing, taxes, privacy, trade, cyber security, education, immigration, and emerging technologies. He also communicates with policymakers on Microsoft’s leadership role in fostering economic and job opportunities in the U.S.

In 2000, Humphries joined Microsoft as Director of State Governmental Affairs, building a team responsible for outreach to our nation’s governors, mayors and local elected officials in every state capital. In that position, Humphries integrated on-the-ground state advocacy work into Microsoft’s overall corporate strategy, in coordination with the public sector, policy and lobbying teams. He was promoted to Microsoft’s Managing Director of U.S. Government Affairs in 2009 and Corporate Vice President in 2015.

Humphries received a J.D. from Temple University School of Law and a B.A. in Political Science from Morehouse College.

He proudly serves on the boards of numerous non-profit and public service organizations including Morehouse College, Temple University Beasley School of Law, Information Technology Industry Council, The Information Technology Industry Foundation, Internet Association, National Association of Manufacturers, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Martha’s Table Leadership Council, Software.org, Ford’s Theatre Board of Governors and the USTR Trade Advisory Committee on Africa.

Humphries resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife Kim. They have two adult children.

Arun Venkataraman leverages 20 plus years of government and private sector experience to provide legal, policy, and strategic advice to clients on a range of international trade matters.

Arun joined the firm after serving in senior roles at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Most recently, he served as the Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service at the International Trade Administration (ITA) from 2022-2025. Arun led the federal government’s efforts to expand commercial opportunities for U.S. firms overseas and foreign firms in the United States, including by facilitating deals between U.S. and foreign companies, improving commercial policy environments, resolving barriers to trade and investment, and negotiating governmental agreements to promote commercial partnerships. He also served as Counselor to the Secretary of Commerce, advising the Secretary on all aspects of foreign economic policy within the Department. In this role, Arun led negotiations with foreign governments on technology policy, as well as Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs.

Before joining the Biden Administration, Arun was Senior Director, Global Government Engagement, at Visa. He developed and executed engagement strategy, in advocacy before the U.S. and foreign governments, as well as with trade associations, international organizations, and other stakeholder groups on a range of international policy issues including digital economy, trade, tax, and sanctions.

During the Obama Administration, Arun served as ITA’s first-ever Director of Policy, where he led efforts across the Commerce Department to remove global trade and investment barriers and strengthen the global competitiveness of U.S. industry, including in such markets as China and India. This included leading Department efforts to support Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, pass Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation, and secure improvements in China’s competition law and semiconductor policies.

Arun also served in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) as the Director for India, where he led the development and implementation of U.S.-India trade policy, for which he received the agency’s Kelly Award for outstanding performance and extraordinary leadership. He also served as USTR’s Associate General Counsel, representing the United States in litigation before the World Trade Organization (WTO) and in bilateral and multilateral negotiations on international trade agreements.

Prior to USTR, Arun was a Legal Officer in the Appellate Body Secretariat at the WTO, where he advised on appeals in litigation between countries under WTO rules. He also served as a Law Clerk for Judge Jane A. Restani at the U.S. Court of International Trade.

Alexandra Whittaker is the Chief Trade Counsel and Trade Subcommittee Staff Director of the U.S. House of Representatives.  She advises and represents the House Ways and Means Committee on all trade matters including trade agreement negotiations, implementation, and enforcement, bilateral relationships with U.S. trading partners, customs law, preference programs, sanctions, trade remedies, congressional oversight, as well as the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Before joining the Committee staff, Alexandra was Assistant General Counsel for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) with responsibility for providing legal counsel and policy guidance on a wide-variety of international trade matters, as well as litigating trade remedies and agricultural disputes before the WTO.  During her time at USTR, Alexandra also served as Assistant Legal Advisor to the U.S. Mission to the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland, where she was a U.S. negotiator for the WTO dispute settlement reform negotiations and represented the United States in all disputes and disputes-related matters before the WTO. 

Alexandra previously worked as an environmental attorney for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and counsel for a trade association. 

She is a graduate of Spelman College and Howard University School of Law.

Fall Semester Host:

Local University Outreach:

For questions about the event, please contact the WITA Staff events@wita.org.

To become a Law Partner sponsor or to learn more about other sponsorship opportunities, please click here or email Diego Añez danez@wita.org.

About The International Trade & Law Series

The WITA Academy has launched a new Pathways to Opportunity Program on Careers in International Trade & Law.

WITA Academy Pathways programs seek to bring the best and brightest, next generation workforce into the trade policy community – diversifying its network of professionals with new talent that may not have previously sought careers in international trade. 

This new initiative features both virtual and in-person events in Washington, DC, with sessions on public and private sector career pathways. The series is geared towards pre-law and law students. The Fall session will be held in-person at Howard Law on November 4.

All programs are free to attend for interested students.

Bringing Trade Education and Career Development Opportunities to Communities Across the United States and Around the World

The mission of the WITA Academy™ is to provide trade education and career development opportunities in international trade to individuals across the United States and around the world. By expanding the network, the WITA Academy™ builds a stronger and more dynamic trade community.

The WITA Academy™ is a program of the Washington International Trade Foundation. Through its programs, the WITA Academy is committed to strengthening the trade community by bringing together a broad range of perspectives and creating opportunities for engagement amongst the trade community. These educational and professional development programs ensure the continued growth and success of the trade community, shaping the future of trade policy.

Thank you to our WITA Academy Sponsors