Past Presidents
WIIT's Distinguished Past Presidents
Vanessa Sciarra, 2022-2023
Emily Beline, 2021-2022
Andrea Durkin, 2020-2021
Yuri Unno, 2019-2020
Lisa Schroeter, 2018-2019
Leslie Griffin, 2017-2018
Evelyn Suarez, 2016-2017
Stefanie Holland, 2015-2016
Nancy S. Travis, 2014-2015
Catherine Robinson, 2013-2014
Phyllis L. Derrick, 2012-2013
Roberta Kienast Daghir, 2011-2012
Camelia Mazard, 2010-2011
Maria Digiulian, 2009-2010
Tonya Kemp, 2008-2009
Susan M. Schmidt, 2007-2008
Nicole Bivens Collinson, 2006-2007
Angela Marshall Hofmann, 2005-2006
Rebecca Miller, 2004-2005
Alice Slayton Clark, 2003-2004
Barbara Wanner, 2002-2003
Monique Roske, 2001-2002
Janet Nuzum, 2000-2001
Melissa Coyle, 1999-2000
Mary K. Alexander, 1998-1999
June DeHart, 1997-1998
Loretta L. Schmitzer, 1996-1997
Valerie Ploumpis, 1995-1996
Barbara D. Linney, 1994-1995
Michele Sherman Davenport, 1993-1994
Laura M. Baughman, 1992-1993
Brenda Jacobs, 1991-1992
Robin Lanier, 1990-1991
Kathleen Patterson, 1989-1990
Julia K. Hughes, 1987-1989
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.
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 through identification of policies facilitating market access and reducing global distribution costs.
Her role has direct responsibility for developing the company’s global trade strategy, driving impact assessments and response to emerging trade issues and facilitating government affairs strategies aligned with Dow’s investment priorities. Lisa manages the company’s outreach to key trade-related entities in the US Administration, Washington DC embassy community and across key governments.
Before joining Dow, Lisa was the Executive Director of the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue (TABD). TABD is a unique trade-facilitation process by which American and European CEOs work 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.

Leslie was previously Senior Vice President for International Public Policy for UPS, Vice President for International Governmental Affairs for New York Life Insurance Company and Managing Director for Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She also served as Chief of Staff to the Chairman and CEO of New York Life International.
Leslie taught and studied in Nanjing, China and is a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. She serves on the boards of WorldBoston, Bunker Hill Community College, and the German-American Business Council of Boston, and was the 2017-2018 president of Women in International Trade, the Washington, DC-based association representing over 700 trade professionals. She holds an M.Sc. in International Relations from the London School of Economics and a B.A. in Economics from Wellesley College.

Today, Ms. Suarez is a frequent speaker and author on customs and international trade topics of the day, most especially USMCA and the Section 232 and 301 tariffs and the product exclusion processes. She is a past President of the Association of Women in International Trade (WIIT) and serves on the Virginia Maritime Association Board and Advisory Boards to George Washington University Center for International Business Education & Research, Old Dominion University Maritime Institute and Georgetown University Law International Trade Update.
She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Douglass College, Rutgers University and her juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center. She is a member of the DC Bar. She is proud to have received the Martindale-Hubbell 2019 Judicial AV Preeminent rating and is consistently listed in The Best Lawyers in America for International Trade and as a “Super Lawyer” in International Trade law in Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers magazine.

In 2018 and 2019, Ms. Daghir served the Senate Finance Committee as counsel on Ranking Member Wyden’s international trade team, as a Brookings LEGIS Fellow. Prior to joining the Department of Commerce, Ms. Daghir was in private legal practice, focusing on international trade matters, among other practice areas. She holds a Juris Doctor and a Master of Science in Foreign Service degree from Georgetown University; her undergraduate degree is from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
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Camelia Mazard practices in all areas of international trade and customs law. In fact, she participated in many of the major trade disputes over the past twenty years. Her cases include safeguards investigations of steel; antidumping investigations of cold-rolled steel from the Netherlands, hot-rolled steel from India, grain-oriented silicon electric steel from Italy and Japan, metal calendar slides from Japan, magnesia carbon bricks from the People’s Republic of China and Mexico; and, countervailing duty investigations of hot-rolled steel from India and magnesia carbon bricks from the People’s Republic of China. In addition, Ms. Mazard also represents domestic and international clients with respect to import and export transactions, tariff matters and NAFTA issues. Ms. Mazard also has experience representing private parties and sovereign governments before U.S. courts and international arbitral tribunals. During school, Ms. Mazard served as a Legal Intern for the State Department at the United States Mission to the United Nations and for Duracell, Inc. Ms. Mazard is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Ms. Mazard received a M.A.L.D. from Tufts University (The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy) in 1999; a J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley (Boalt Hall) in 1998; and, a B.S. (Business Administration) from the University of Southern California in 1994, graduating summa cum laude. She is also Executive Vice President of the Organization of Women in International Trade and on the boards of the Women in International Trade Trust, the Capital City (DC) Chapter of the Links, Incorporated and the Washington, DC Chapter of the Northeasterners, Inc. Ms. Mazard is fluent in French and proficient in Spanish.
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Ms. Kemp has handled trade policy issues in Washington, DC for more than 20 years. Prior to her work with Amway, Ms. Kemp was the Senior Director of International Trade Policy for the Personal Care Products Council. She was the representative on trade policy issues for US wheat and soybean farmers from 2003 until 2009.
Amway is an $8.8 billion direct selling company based in Ada, Michigan. All of Amway products are sold exclusively by Amway Business Owners. Global sales in 2018 made Amway the No. 1 direct selling business in the world, according to the 2018 Direct Selling News Global 100.



Prior to joining USCIB, she served as Director, Global Services Summit at the Coalition of Service Industries (CSI), where she planned CSI’s annual Global Services Summit as well as staffed its ICT Working Group, promoted CSI members’ interests in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, and advocated before the US Congress on legislation to grant Russia Permanent Normal Trade Relations.


Before joining Manatt, Ms. DeHart served as Chief Counsel to the Subcommittee on Nuclear Proliferation and Government Processes for the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, and as Legislative Assistant and counsel to Senator Thad Cochran of MS. Ms. DeHart serves on a several non-profit boards,including the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the OAS Trust for the Americas, and the National Capital Area Council of Boy Scouts.
She also served as Chair of The Advocacy Group (TAG);President of International Women's Forum, DC Chapter; served on the Board of the Center for International Private Enterprise and as President of the Association of Women in International Trade (WIIT). In 2017, Ms. DeHart was selected for the Harvard Business School's Women on Boards, an executive leadership program.
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Ms. Linney has been advising both U.S. and global clients on international trade and business issues for more than 25 years, including on matters such as export controls and economic sanctions, defense security and foreign investment, and anti-corruption compliance. She serves clients across a broad spectrum of industries, with particular focus on the defense, aerospace, oil and gas, technology, maritime and medical device industries.
Her practice involves representing clients before various federal agencies, including the U.S. Departments of Commerce (BIS), Defense (DCSA), and State (DDTC), as well as the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).


