2019 Annual Awards Dinner
Our 2019 Annual Awards Dinner and WIIT Member Annual General Meeting was held on Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. We had a wonderful time celebrating Women Empowering Women AND promoting trade.
Thank you to all of our event sponsors for their support of the event, and to our corporate member organizations who support our trade talks and other events through the entire year. Also, a special thank you to the Wine Institute, who generously donated wine for the evening's festivities.
Congratulations to this year's honorees! These inspiring women spoke about their journeys in trade with sincerity, honesty, warmth and humor. We were honored to be able to recognize so many outstanding leaders in trade, and to celebrate this night as our shared community of women working trade.
View the Photo Gallery
 Minister Chrystia Freeland Minister for Foreign Affairs, Canada Read Her Acceptance Speech |
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| From November 2015 to January 2017, Ms. Freeland served as Canada’s Minister of International Trade, overseeing the successful negotiation of Canada’s free trade agreement with the European Union, CETA. Ms. Freeland was first elected as a Member of Parliament in July 2013. An esteemed journalist and author, Ms. Freeland was born in Peace River, Alberta. She was educated at Harvard University before continuing her studies on a Rhodes Scholarship at the University of Oxford. After cutting her journalistic teeth as a Ukraine-based stringer for the Financial Times, The Washington Post and The Economist, Ms. Freeland went on to wear many hats at the Financial Times. Ms. Freeland then served as deputy editor of The Globe and Mail between 1999 and 2001, before returning to the Financial Times as deputy editor and then as U.S. managing editor. In 2010, Ms. Freeland joined Canadian-owned Thomson Reuters. She was a managing director of the company and editor of consumer news when she decided to return home and enter politics in 2013. She has written two books: Sale of the Century: The Inside Story of the Second Russian Revolution (2000); and Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else (2012). Plutocrats is an international best-seller and won the Lionel Gelber Prize and National Business Book Award. In 2018 Ms. Freeland was recognised as Foreign Policy’s Diplomat of the Year and was awarded the Eric M. Warburg Award by Atlantik-Brücke for her achievements in strengthening transatlantic ties. Ms. Freeland speaks Russian, Ukrainian, Italian, French, and English. She lives in Toronto with her husband and three children. |
Business Legacy Award  Kate Clemans and Doral Cooper C&M International |
Emerging Leader Award Hemal Shah U.S. Chamber of Commerce |
Government Service Award Kelly Ann Shaw National Economic Council, National Security Council |
Lifetime Achievement Award Ambassador Judy Reinke U.S. Ambassador to Montenegro Watch Her Acceptance Speech |
WIIT Program Section of the Year
Jing Zhu and Grace Kim | Co-Chairs, Trade Remedies Program Section
WIIT Member of the Year
Kathi Lunardi | Chair, WIIT Charitable Trust
Thank You to Our Event Sponsors!
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Thank you for the generous donation by the Wine Institute,
who supplied the wine for the evening!
Business Legacy Awardee
Kate Clemans
C&M International, Ltd.
Kate Clemans is a member of the Board of Managers of C&M International and a strategic advisor, with special oversight for sovereign clients. Ms. Clemans was previously president of C&M International where she developed and/or had oversight for practice areas in corporate engagement with countries of the Asia Pacific region; U.S. trade and economic policies and regulation; partnerships for development, including in education; health and life sciences; agriculture and food; and global and regional trade and economic policies and regulation. She joined the company as a director in January 1993 after serving more than five years as head of the Trade Policy Division of the New Zealand Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Ms. Clemans has particular experience in multilateral trade negotiations, bilateral market access issues, regulatory affairs, trade remedies, and safeguards issues. As a New Zealand official, she played a key role in representing the government before the U.S. Administration and in the Uruguay Round negotiations.
Ms. Clemans has an extensive range of high-level contacts throughout the Asia-Pacific region. She is recognized as the leading private sector advisor in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, where she launched multiple industry initiatives.
Ms. Clemans serves as advisor to the co-chairs of the APEC Life Sciences Innovation Forum, on the Advisory Board of the Victoria University of Melbourne’s Institute for Strategic Economic Studies, as Honorary Co-Chair of the APEC Health Sciences Academy, and on the Advisory Board for the Economist Intelligence Unit Healthcare in Asia series. She also is on the Advisory Board of the Mansion on O Street Museum – honoring music, the arts, and the special contributions of veterans. In 2002 she was appointed as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit by Queen Elizabeth the Second for her services to international trade.
Ms. Clemans obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with First Class Honors from Victoria University of Wellington where she taught for five years. Research sabbaticals included studies at the Australian National University and the University of Western Australia.Doral Cooper
CEO and Chairman
C&M International, Ltd.
Doral Cooper is CEO and Chairman of C&M International, Ltd., an affiliate of Crowell & Moring LLP, a law firm with offices in Washington DC, New York, California, London and Brussels.
Prior to joining C&M International, Ms. Cooper held several key positions in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), Executive Office of the President. As Assistant US Trade Representative, she formulated, negotiated and implemented US trade policy for Asia, the Middle East and Africa and administered the US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. Ms. Cooper was the Head of the US Delegation and Chief Negotiator for the US-Israel Free Trade Agreement, the first such agreement entered into by the United States. Ms. Cooper also super-vised the negotiation of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements in the Tokyo Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations and designed the strategy to gain acceptance of those agreements.
Ms. Cooper also has served as International Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, where she analyzed and forecast international events and trends. Prior to that assignment, Ms. Cooper was an Economist in the Division of International Finance of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Ms. Cooper received a Master of Arts in International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Indiana University. She is a frequent lecturer and publisher on economic development, trade policy and negotiations.
The Honorable Judy Reinke
U.S. Ambassador to Montenegro
Judy Rising Reinke is only the fifth foreign service officer from the Department of Commerce – and the first woman – to be confirmed as Chief of Mission.
Reinke has had an extensive career in a wide range of roles and responsibilities at the US Department of Commerce. Most recently, she was the Deputy Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service (US&FCS) from June 2013 through August 2017, also serving for extended periods as the acting Assistant Secretary/Director General for the US&FCS. In this role, Judy was the chief operating officer of the U.S. Government’s premier export promotion agency, managing its programs in 100 domestic offices and over 75 countries overseas. Prior to this role, Judy served as the Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India, from 2010-13. In this capacity, she was the senior representative of the U.S. Department of Commerce responsible for the operations of the US&FCS in India, supervising the strategic program of seven trade promotion offices and four related agencies.
Judy’s earlier posts included Regional Director for Western Europe; Senior Commercial Officer in Manila, Philippines and in Bangkok Thailand; as well as postings in Jakarta, Indonesia; Bonn, Germany and Bern Switzerland. Judy holds a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs (MPA) from the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University and a Bachelor of Arts from Smith College; she has also completed the Stanford Executive Program at Stanford University.
Hemal Shah
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Hemal Shah serves as director of India and emerging markets at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC). She leads GIPC’s advocacy efforts in India, Brazil, South Africa, and Russia. Previously, she led the U.S.-India Business Council’s advocacy efforts in trade facilitation, infra-structure and smart cities policies. She also led the Council’s private sector efforts on the U.S.-India-Japan trilateral and explored synergies for similar partnerships with Israel and Taiwan.
Prior to her work with the U.S. Chamber, Shah served as research associate for India and South Asia with the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in Washington D.C. She previously managed the Legatum Institute’s global economic transitions program in London, was a scholar with the Takshashila Institution in Bangalore, and researcher with the United Nations Environment Program in Geneva.
Shah has an interest in leveraging foreign policy partnerships to create business synergies. She has been a scholar with German Marshall Fund’s Young Strategists Forum in Japan, the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Taiwan-U.S. Policy Program, and the American Jewish Committee’s Project Interchange in Israel, understanding and speaking on India’s economic relations with these countries.
Shah is currently a co-chair for intellectual property at Women In International Trade (WIIT), a non-profit, non-partisan professional organization in Washington, D.C. She holds an MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics & Political Science and a BA in Business Management from the University of Nottingham.
Kelly Ann Shaw
National Economic Council
National Security Council
As a Member of the National Economic Council and National Security Council, Kelly Ann Shaw serves as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Trade, Investment and Development. She previously served as Trade Counsel to the Committee on Ways & Means and was the lead advisor to the Committee on issues related to NAFTA, the World Trade Organization (WTO), Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, among others.
Prior to joining the Committee, Kelly Ann was Assistant General Counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), working in Washington, D.C. and Geneva, Switzerland. During her time at USTR she worked to protect the rights of U.S. workers and businesses as lead litigator for the United States in WTO disputes against China, India, Canada, and Mexico. From 2011-2014, she served as Assistant Legal Advisor and Assistant General Counsel at the U.S. Mission to the WTO in Geneva, where she managed the U.S. litigation portfolio and represented the United States before the WTO.
Kelly Ann previously worked in the private sector for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Microsoft, and Accenture LLP. She holds a JD from Columbia University, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and a BS and BA from the University of Washington. She also received a Certificate in Global Business Law from Sciences-Po & Université de Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris. Kelly Ann is originally from Seattle, WA.
C&M International, Ltd.
Kate Clemans is a member of the Board of Managers of C&M International and a strategic advisor, with special oversight for sovereign clients. Ms. Clemans was previously president of C&M International where she developed and/or had oversight for practice areas in corporate engagement with countries of the Asia Pacific region; U.S. trade and economic policies and regulation; partnerships for development, including in education; health and life sciences; agriculture and food; and global and regional trade and economic policies and regulation. She joined the company as a director in January 1993 after serving more than five years as head of the Trade Policy Division of the New Zealand Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Ms. Clemans has particular experience in multilateral trade negotiations, bilateral market access issues, regulatory affairs, trade remedies, and safeguards issues. As a New Zealand official, she played a key role in representing the government before the U.S. Administration and in the Uruguay Round negotiations.
Ms. Clemans has an extensive range of high-level contacts throughout the Asia-Pacific region. She is recognized as the leading private sector advisor in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, where she launched multiple industry initiatives.
Ms. Clemans serves as advisor to the co-chairs of the APEC Life Sciences Innovation Forum, on the Advisory Board of the Victoria University of Melbourne’s Institute for Strategic Economic Studies, as Honorary Co-Chair of the APEC Health Sciences Academy, and on the Advisory Board for the Economist Intelligence Unit Healthcare in Asia series. She also is on the Advisory Board of the Mansion on O Street Museum – honoring music, the arts, and the special contributions of veterans. In 2002 she was appointed as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit by Queen Elizabeth the Second for her services to international trade.
Ms. Clemans obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with First Class Honors from Victoria University of Wellington where she taught for five years. Research sabbaticals included studies at the Australian National University and the University of Western Australia.
Business Legacy Awardee
Doral CooperCEO and Chairman
C&M International, Ltd.
Doral Cooper is CEO and Chairman of C&M International, Ltd., an affiliate of Crowell & Moring LLP, a law firm with offices in Washington DC, New York, California, London and Brussels.
Prior to joining C&M International, Ms. Cooper held several key positions in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), Executive Office of the President. As Assistant US Trade Representative, she formulated, negotiated and implemented US trade policy for Asia, the Middle East and Africa and administered the US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. Ms. Cooper was the Head of the US Delegation and Chief Negotiator for the US-Israel Free Trade Agreement, the first such agreement entered into by the United States. Ms. Cooper also super-vised the negotiation of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements in the Tokyo Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations and designed the strategy to gain acceptance of those agreements.
Ms. Cooper also has served as International Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, where she analyzed and forecast international events and trends. Prior to that assignment, Ms. Cooper was an Economist in the Division of International Finance of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Ms. Cooper received a Master of Arts in International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Indiana University. She is a frequent lecturer and publisher on economic development, trade policy and negotiations.
Lifetime Achievement Awardee
The Honorable Judy ReinkeU.S. Ambassador to Montenegro
Judy Rising Reinke is only the fifth foreign service officer from the Department of Commerce – and the first woman – to be confirmed as Chief of Mission.
Reinke has had an extensive career in a wide range of roles and responsibilities at the US Department of Commerce. Most recently, she was the Deputy Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service (US&FCS) from June 2013 through August 2017, also serving for extended periods as the acting Assistant Secretary/Director General for the US&FCS. In this role, Judy was the chief operating officer of the U.S. Government’s premier export promotion agency, managing its programs in 100 domestic offices and over 75 countries overseas. Prior to this role, Judy served as the Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India, from 2010-13. In this capacity, she was the senior representative of the U.S. Department of Commerce responsible for the operations of the US&FCS in India, supervising the strategic program of seven trade promotion offices and four related agencies.
Judy’s earlier posts included Regional Director for Western Europe; Senior Commercial Officer in Manila, Philippines and in Bangkok Thailand; as well as postings in Jakarta, Indonesia; Bonn, Germany and Bern Switzerland. Judy holds a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs (MPA) from the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University and a Bachelor of Arts from Smith College; she has also completed the Stanford Executive Program at Stanford University.
Emerging Leader Awardee
Hemal ShahU.S. Chamber of Commerce
Hemal Shah serves as director of India and emerging markets at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC). She leads GIPC’s advocacy efforts in India, Brazil, South Africa, and Russia. Previously, she led the U.S.-India Business Council’s advocacy efforts in trade facilitation, infra-structure and smart cities policies. She also led the Council’s private sector efforts on the U.S.-India-Japan trilateral and explored synergies for similar partnerships with Israel and Taiwan.
Prior to her work with the U.S. Chamber, Shah served as research associate for India and South Asia with the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in Washington D.C. She previously managed the Legatum Institute’s global economic transitions program in London, was a scholar with the Takshashila Institution in Bangalore, and researcher with the United Nations Environment Program in Geneva.
Shah has an interest in leveraging foreign policy partnerships to create business synergies. She has been a scholar with German Marshall Fund’s Young Strategists Forum in Japan, the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Taiwan-U.S. Policy Program, and the American Jewish Committee’s Project Interchange in Israel, understanding and speaking on India’s economic relations with these countries.
Shah is currently a co-chair for intellectual property at Women In International Trade (WIIT), a non-profit, non-partisan professional organization in Washington, D.C. She holds an MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics & Political Science and a BA in Business Management from the University of Nottingham.
Government Service Awardee
Kelly Ann ShawNational Economic Council
National Security Council
As a Member of the National Economic Council and National Security Council, Kelly Ann Shaw serves as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Trade, Investment and Development. She previously served as Trade Counsel to the Committee on Ways & Means and was the lead advisor to the Committee on issues related to NAFTA, the World Trade Organization (WTO), Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region, among others.
Prior to joining the Committee, Kelly Ann was Assistant General Counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), working in Washington, D.C. and Geneva, Switzerland. During her time at USTR she worked to protect the rights of U.S. workers and businesses as lead litigator for the United States in WTO disputes against China, India, Canada, and Mexico. From 2011-2014, she served as Assistant Legal Advisor and Assistant General Counsel at the U.S. Mission to the WTO in Geneva, where she managed the U.S. litigation portfolio and represented the United States before the WTO.
Kelly Ann previously worked in the private sector for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Microsoft, and Accenture LLP. She holds a JD from Columbia University, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and a BS and BA from the University of Washington. She also received a Certificate in Global Business Law from Sciences-Po & Université de Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris. Kelly Ann is originally from Seattle, WA.