Leadership
BOARD, OFFICERS AND STANDING COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT, Vanessa Sciarra
PRESIDENT-ELECT, Orisia Gammell
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT, Emily Beline
TREASURER, Sarah Schradin
ASSISTANT TREASURER, Colleen Litkenhaus
SECRETARY, Orisia Gammell
CO-VICE PRESIDENTS OF PROGRAMMING, Caitlin Hickey & Heather Sellew
ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMMING, Naomi Freeman
VICE PRESIDENTS OF MEMBERSHIP
CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP, Emily Beline
INDIVIDUAL, GOVERNMENT & ACADEMIC MEMBERSHIP, Eva Hampl
DIPLOMATIC MEMBERSHIP, Abigail Hunter
TRADE ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP, Darah Phillip
CO-VICE PRESIDENTS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Maggie Spicer & Rosalind Reischer
ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Merhawit Hailu
CO-VICE PRESIDENTS OF SPECIAL EVENTS, Mega Valentina, Maddison Abboud & Sirat Attapit
VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATIONS, WIIT WEEKLY, Natalie Kamphaus
EXECUTIVE EDITOR, WIIT COMMUNIQUE, Kathryn Kobe
PHOTOGRAPHER, Elli Nesbitt
ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA, Emily Benson
VICE PRESIDENT OF ELECTIONS, Katherine Nunner
RETURNING MEMBERS OF THE BOARD
Emily Beline
Vanessa P. Sciarra
Kelly Ann Shaw
Brenda Brockman Smith
Maria Zieba
NEW MEMBERS OF THE BOARD
Julia Eppard
Christine Bliss
Monica He
Moushami Joshi
Amanda Blunt
Claire Pillsbury
Mary Thornton
Annie Ouelette
Barbara Weisel
GENERAL COUNSEL, Barbara D. Linney
OWIT REPRESENTATIVE, Thamar Harrigan
ALTERNATE LIAISON, Judy Zakreski
WIIT TRUST CHAIR, Lisa Schroeter
Vanessa Sciarra is the Vice President for Trade and International Competitiveness at the American Clean Power Association (ACP), a multi-technology renewable energy industry trade group. ACP represents solar, storage, wind and transmission companies, along with manufacturers and construction companies, developers and owners/operators, utilities, financial firms and corporate purchasers in the clean energy value chain. She has deep experience in the international trade world in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining ACP, she worked at the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) and at the Emergency Committee for American Trade (ECAT) where her work involved advocating for trade and international investment issues for companies in many sectors of the economy. In addition to her trade association work, she has served as a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice and as an Assistant General Counsel with the Office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). A member of the District of Columbia Bar, she also has had a significant career in private practice representing clients in international trade matters at two law firms. She also currently serves as President of the Association of Women in International Trade (WIIT), based in Washington, DC, which works to promote the professional development of women in international trade and business and to raise public awareness of the importance of international trade.
Emily Beline is a Senior Attorney for International Regulatory Affairs with FedEx. In this capacity, she represents FedEx in regulatory and trade matters with an emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region. Emily advocates for FedEx before various U.S. government agencies, international fora, and collaboratively with other industry stakeholders. Emily joins FedEx after several years with the U.S. Federal Government. From 2013 until 2016 Emily worked in Regulations & Rulings, Office of Trade, U.S. Customs & Border Protection. There, she authored binding administrative decisions on customs and trade laws, including tariff classification, eligibility for preference under the NAFTA and other free trade agreements, country of origin, marking, and labeling, as well as penalties. After CBP, Emily was an Attorney with the Office of the Chief Counsel for Trade Enforcement and Compliance with the International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. During her tenure, she counseled her client on the enforcement and administration of U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty laws and defended the agency before the U.S. Court of International Trade.
Prior to joining the U.S. Federal Government, Emily was a Trade Policy Officer with the Embassy of Canada in Washington D.C. As a representative of the Government of Canada in the United States, Emily provided legal, technical, and strategic analysis on matters involving customs and trade to Canada’s Ambassador to the U.S., governmental officials in Ottawa, Members of Parliament, and key Canadian industry stakeholders.
A dual-citizen with Canada, Emily grew up in Pennsylvania, graduated from Drexel University and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law with a focus on International Business & Trade. Emily now lives on Capitol Hill with her husband Tom, and is an avid Pittsburgh sports fan – especially the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Orisia Gammell is Chief Legal Counsel, U.S. Export Control at SAP. In this role, she serves as a legal advisor and subject matter expert on U.S. export control and sanctions laws applicable to SAP activities worldwide. Her responsibilities include formulating and implementing SAP global corporate policies and strategies, managing SAP’s global export control and trade sanctions compliance program, training stakeholders on export control and sanctions obligations, collaborating with SAP legal teams on contract negotiations, pre-acquisition due diligence and post-merger integration, and advising operations and compliance teams regarding U.S. export control and sanctions laws. Prior to joining SAP, Ms. Gammell was in private practice, focusing on a wide array of international trade matters. She worked with companies of all sizes in a variety of industries, advising on import, export and sanctions compliance, developing comprehensive, multi-faceted global compliance programs, and training business stakeholders worldwide.Sarah has contributed to the successful passage of key legislative measures, including the 2015 Trade Promotion Authority legislation, U.S. trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama and the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). She successfully led the business community's social media campaign in support of USMCA's passage, resulting in over 420,000 posts using the hashtag, #USMCAnow. A huge advocate for increasing services trade, she co-chairs the Congressional Committee for the Coalition of Services Industries (CSI).
Sarah holds a Master’s degree from American University and a Bachelor’s degree from Geneva College.
Colleen Litkenhaus has an extensive federal government background having held high level positions at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Department of Commerce, and the White House. She currently serves as the Sr. Director for Dow Inc. in Washington, DC.Prior to Dow, Ms. Litkenhaus was Director of Protocol at Georgetown University. In addition to Georgetown and her public service, Ms. Litkenhaus also was a member of the Bush-Cheney national presidential campaign and transition. She began her career in Washington twenty-five years ago working for Ashland Inc.
Ms. Litkenhaus is the Assistant Treasurer for the Association of Women in International Trade and a member of the International Republican Institute’s Women’s Democracy Network Council. She has an M.B.A. from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and the ESADE Business School and a B.A. in Russian and Eastern Studies and Political Science from the University of Kentucky.
Moushami Joshi is an attorney in the trade law practice at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP and advises sovereign governments and private clients in all aspects of international trade law with an emphasis on trade remedies and WTO disputes, law and policy.Moushami advises clients including sovereign governments on domestic trade remedy proceedings including trade remedy litigation before the Court of International Trade, WTO disputes and works on FCPA compliance issues. She has practiced for several years in India and in that capacity, represented and advised the Government of India in WTO disputes and exporters and importers in Indian trade remedy cases spanning a number of industries such as rubber chemicals, solar cells, capital and telecom equipment and pharmaceuticals. She advised the government of India on a host of issues including agricultural subsidies, local content requirements, intellectual property rights and trade in transit.
Moushami is the Co-VP of Programming and Co-chair of the WTO Section at the Association of Women in International Trade. She is admitted to practice in New York, Washington, DC and India.
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Abigail Hunter is the governmental affairs attachée for Québec's Government Office in Washington. In this role, she manages Québec’s outreach and engagement with the U.S. federal government on issues of importance to province. These range from trade disputes to energy and environment. She also manages Québec’s stakeholder relations in DC and animates this network to advance Québec-U.S. relations. Previously, Abigail led international affairs for the National Governors Association. There she launched the international program for the association and its members. The NGA Global program connected governors to their counterparts abroad and other foreign officials and stakeholders to foster international collaborations on energy, infrastructure, education and public health issues. The program also deepened trade and investment ties and supported state economic development.
Abigail will be a Master of Arts in Sustainable Energy candidate at Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies starting in August 2021. She received her Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University with a double major International Management and Managing for Sustainability in 2016. Born in Toronto and growing up in New Jersey, Abigail is a proud dual citizen and conflicted hockey fan.
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Darah Phillip is a Manager of Trade and Investment at the International Technology and Trade Associates, Inc, where she supports ITTA’s clients on international trade and investment promotion and export control issues. Her work covers developments in US-China relations, major international trade negotiations, US tariffs and tariff investigations, sanctions policy, and export control and promotion. Darah’s areas of expertise include US-Japan relations, security in the Indo-Pacific, and US-Asia economic relations.Before joining ITTA, Darah worked at Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA as a Research Assistant, where she supported Sasakawa USA’s tabletop exercises and research programs on US-Japan security relations. She holds a Master of Arts in International Affairs degree from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in East Asian Studies from Wellesley College.
Barbara Weisel is a Managing Director at Rock Creek Global Advisors, an international economic policy advisory firm, where she focuses on international trade and investment policy and negotiations as well as market access, regulatory matters, and digital trade issues.Ms. Weisel has more than 25 years of experience advancing international trade and investment initiatives in the Asia-Pacific. She served most recently as Assistant US Trade Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific and as the US chief negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In addition, Ms. Weisel led bilateral FTA negotiations with Malaysia and Thailand, and as Deputy Assistant US Trade Representative for Bilateral Asian Affairs (Korea, Southeast Asia, and South Asia), negotiated FTAs with Australia and Singapore. She also was charged with monitoring and enforcing Asian countries’ compliance with their World Trade Organization and other trade commitments and working with US companies to resolve specific issues in these markets. Earlier, Ms. Weisel served as the official responsible for managing global pharmaceutical regulatory issues and as Director for Japan Affairs.
Before joining USTR, she worked at the State Department from 1984-1994, serving in a variety of positions, including as international economist on Japan, the Persian Gulf, and North Africa.
Ms. Weisel earned two masters’ degrees from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree from Connecticut College (Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude).
Merhawit Hailu is Portfolio Accounting Manager currently working for a private Real Estate company, managing both commercial and residential properties. My work experience has been focused in financial management and property management accounts.Most recently served as the African Affairs Committee Member for United Nations Association of the National Capital Area (UNA-NCA). Organized a roundtable focused on the health infrastructure currently in place and lessons learned post Ebola impacts with the collaboration of George Mason University.
Previously served as an Advisory Board Member for a non-profit organization in Manitoba, Canada. Prior to my involvement to with UNA-NCA, I volunteered at an annual event held by the World Bank here in Washington, DC focus on youth and technology around the world.
Natalie Kamphaus is Manager of International Trade Policy at PACCAR Inc. She previously served as Legislative Director & Counsel to former Congressman Dave Reichert of Washington state. Natalie earned her law degree from Campbell University and has a Bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College.
Kathryn Kobe is a senior economist with ION Economics, LLC. Her research responsibilities include analyzing trade data, industry and company financial data and documents in support of litigation; analyzing data for countervailing duty calculations: constructing cost impact models of industries or companies and using statistical techniques to analyze the results. She has testified on 337 economic matters at the U.S. International Trade Commission, testified in interest and rights arbitrations and testified on economic issues before the Postal Regulatory Commission. Prior to joining ION, she was a senior economist at Economic Consulting Services and she was Vice President and Chief Economist for Joel Popkin and Company. She has served on the board of WIIT and is currently the editor of WIIT’s Communique as well as serving on the WIIT 
Maria C. Zieba is the Assistant Vice President, International Affairs at the National Pork Producers Council. As Assistant Vice President of International Affairs, Maria Zieba works on NPPC’s trade policy program focusing on opening, maintaining and increasing market access for U.S. pork. Prior to joining NPPC, Maria was a trade policy manager for the National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council, where she worked on various trade issues affecting the dairy industry. Previously, she worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service, managing capacity building projects aimed at increasing U.S. agricultural exports to emerging markets.
Maria also serves as a Cleared Advisor on the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade in Animals and Animal Products, providing input to USDA and USTR on key issues affecting U.S. pork exports.
Maria holds a master's degree in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of California, Riverside, with a double major in Political Science-International Affairs and Spanish.
Ms. Smith served as the Executive Assistant Commissioner of Trade, at US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from 2014 until 2021. In this role, she led CBP’s Trade mission, overseeing trade enforcement, security, and facilitation matters to enable legitimate trade, contribute to American economic prosperity, and protect against risk to public health and safety. Her work included enforcement of over 5—US trade laws and 14 trade agreements with 20 countries. She oversaw national compliance audits, management of trade data and CBP’s regulatory process for administering trade and border operations. She partnered with CBP’s IT experts to expand trade automation and analytics technologies through agile user-based processes an change management.
Ms. Smith held a variety of roles at CBP overseeing trade and border enforcement issues. As Executive Director for the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Business Office, she was responsible for digitization of trade processes on behalf of 50 government agencies for 50,000 private sector and government users. She also served as Executive Director for Trade Policy and Programs, the Director of Policy and Programs in the Office of International Affairs and Trade Relations, and led the CBP Commissioner’s Strategic Planning and Performance Division. Prior to joining Customs, Ms. Smith worked at the Department of the Treasury and on Capitol Hill.
Ms. Smith was a 2017 finalist in the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America (“Sammie”) Award for Management Excellence. She received the Distinguished Executive Presidential Rank Award, given to the top 1% of government senior executives, for enhancing enforcement of trade laws to protect American business and consumers, and aligning customs procedures with modern business practices to enhance US economic competitiveness.
Kelly Ann Shaw is currently a partner with Hogan Lovells LLP in Washington, D.C., as well as a lecturer in law at Columbia Law School and a Senior Adviser (Non-resident) for the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS).
Kelly Ann has over a decade of government experience in senior trade and economic roles. Most recently, Kelly Ann served as Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council at the White House. She was responsible for coordinating and advising the President on issues related to international trade, investment, development, energy, environment, and global economics. Kelly Ann also served as the lead negotiator (“sherpa”) for the United States at the G7, G20, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forums and played an instrumental role in a wide range of legislation, negotiations, and agreements, including the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and the China phase one agreement.
Prior to the White House, Kelly Ann served as Republican trade counsel for the Committee on Ways and Means, where she played a key role in formulating legislation, policy, and strategy. She also served as a lead negotiator and lawyer at USTR, in both Geneva, Switzerland and Washington, D.C., where she represented the United States in more than 40 World Trade Organization disputes and in negotiations, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Kelly Ann has a JD from Columbia Law School, a certificate in international business law from the Sciences-Po and Sorbonne, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and a BA and BS from the University of Washington.
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Barbara Linney serves as BakerHostetler’s International Trade team co-leader, building on nearly 30 years of experience advising U.S and foreign clients on international trade and business issues. Her multinational practice spans numerous industries, notably including the defense, aerospace, oil and gas, maritime, and medical device industries. Barbara’s practice has placed her before various federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), the Bureau of Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce (BIS), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). She is well-versed in providing practical, business-oriented advice on complex issues involving a wide range of regulatory requirements – from U.S. and international export and import controls, anti-boycott rules and defense security requirementsa, to international economic sanctions and embargoes, regulatory requirements related to mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, foreign investment reviews and anti-corruption legislation. Licensed to practice law in three countries (the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom), Barbara is well-qualified to handle cross-border regulatory matters involving these countries.
Barbara's in-depth knowledge of international trade and business matters make her a frequent speaker at conferences, both at home and abroad, as well as the author of numerous articles on these subjects. She is also an adjunct professor of export controls and economic sanctions at Georgetown University
Law Center.
Judy Zakreski is the Vice President of Global Services for the International Code Council (ICC), a non-governmental organization that develops model building codes and standards through an open, consensus process. These codes and standards serve as a model for adoption by local and national governments. With a mission to improve building safety around the world, ICC also provides a fully-integrated set of support products and services that facilitate the adaptation, adoption, implementation and continued maintenance of the organization’s codes and standards worldwide. In her role at ICC, Judy develops and executes the organization’s global strategy, leading the consolidation of the global activities of ICC’s business units and subsidiaries to capitalize on synergies and achieve growth. Judy also engages with the US Government and other associations on matters of trade policy related to standards and technical barriers to trade.
Prior to joining ICC in April 2018, Judy founded and operated China Trade Strategies, a boutique consulting company providing bi-cultural expertise in the healthcare and trade finance industries for Chinese and Western companies.
From 2005 to 2015, Judy served as Vice President of US Operations at Chindex International, Inc. And Chindex Medical Limited, where she oversaw the company’s American and German operations, including business development, regulatory compliance, export, trade finance, and administration. In these roles, she provided expertise and recommendations about the Chinese healthcare market to Western medical device manufacturers, trade associations, and US Government entities. She also served as the primary corporate contact with the US Government, including the Departments of Commerce and State, USTR, USTDA, and Ex-Im Bank, as well as in coalitions led by the US Chamber of Commerce, The US-China Business Council and advamed, in matters impacting the company’s business. Her day-to-day work focused on solving complex problems related to critical issues including market entry barriers and strategies, product registration and regulatory oversight in China, and accessing financing available from the Export-Import Bank and other ecas.
Judy has published and spoken on various topics related to globalization and market entry, including building safety initiatives and collaboration around the world, trade policy, and the Chinese healthcare market. She holds a BA in International Studies from American University and an MA in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University. She speaks Mandarin Chinese.
Lisa Schroeter is the Global Director of Trade and Investment Policy for Dow. As part of the corporate Global Government Affairs team, Lisa’s responsibilities focus on trade policy and regulations, trade negotiations, and investment issues that foster growth in Dow’s global businesses. The role drives bilateral, regional and multilateral strategies to promote policies that secure market access and facilitates global trade across Dow’s value chains and manufacturing. Lisa’s responsibilities include developing corporate strategies across trade policy, from tariff reduction to regulatory simplification; from export controls and sanctions to IP protection and to promote growth of environmental markets and diverse, inclusive workforces. She regularly works with international colleagues and business leaders to engage on trade policy issues critical to drive Dow’s operations around the world. For the industry, she leads the global chemical industry trade association (ICCA) work on trade policy and global regulatory cooperation. Before joining Dow, Lisa was the Executive Director of the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue (TABD). TABD was a unique trade-facilitation process by which American and European CEOs worked with the U.S. Administration and the European Commission to implement practical, detailed recommendations. Ms. Schroeter joined TABD in 1999 and managed the process on behalf of the Boeing Company, PricewaterhouseCoopers, United Technologies Corporation and Xerox. Lisa is currently Chair of the WIIT (Women in International Trade) Trust, driving a women’s empowerment and skills sharing program with local universities and previously served as the President of WIIT (Association of Women in International Trade). In addition, she is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR); and a Board member of the Washington International Trade Association (WITA). She recently and successfully completed the Georgetown University Qiyadat Women’s Leadership program. As a long-term DC resident, Lisa serves on the Board Member of Cultural Tourism DC, celebrating the unique heritage and history of Americas capital city.