Santa Clara University

SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 29 -- In April, Aneesh Chopra was named the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer, putting him in a position to enact President Obama’s broad technology agenda and to help guide the nation’s overall technology policy.

Now, Silicon Valley leaders will have a rare chance to hear what’s on Chopra’s mind in his new post, as he joins three top technology legislators from Washington, D.C. at the third annual State of the Net West conference sponsored by Santa Clara University School of Law and the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee.

The conference brings together leaders from top technology committees in U.S. Congress -- Representatives Zoe Lofgren, Rick Boucher and Robert Goodlatte -- with academic, policy and corporate leaders in Silicon Valley.

The group will discuss topics of relevance to the current high-tech policy landscape. This year’s agenda includes: Immigration and Innovation; Broadband in America; Internet Privacy; and Antitrust in the Internet Era.

The State of the Net West will be held at Santa Clara University’s Benson Center, California Mission Room, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 5. Registration is free and accessible at: www.netcaucus.org/events/2009/sotnwest/

Confirmed speakers/attendees at the event:

Aneesh Chopra, Chief Technology Officer, Obama Administration. As Secretary of Technology for the Commonwealth of Virginia, Chopra oversaw enactment of ideas like an iPhone and iPod application contest for teaching middle-school math; a state-sponsored VC fund for new technology, and government/private partnerships to expand broadband in the state. Now, he’s being asked to help the Obama Administration in its sweeping goals like health-care and educational information technology reform.

U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-California) In addition to representing much of Silicon Valley in D.C. and sitting on the Congressional Internet Caucus, Rep. Lofgren is on the House Judiciary Committee and is chair of its subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law. She also sits on the Committee for Homeland Security.

U.S. Representative Rick Boucher (D- Virginia) Rep. Boucher is co-Chair of the Congressional Internet Caucus, and sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He is chair of that committee’s Communications, Technology and the Internet Subcommittee. He also sits on the House Judiciary Committee, serving on the Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee.  He originated the House Internet Caucus in 1996. In 1992, he authored the law that allowed the first commercial traffic on the Internet. His proposals to promote competition in the cable and local telephone industries are at the core of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. 

U.S. Representative Robert Goodlatte (R- Virginia) Rep. Goodlatte is co-Chair of the Congressional Internet Caucus, and Chairman of the House Republican High Technology Working Group. On the House Judiciary Committee, he serves on the Courts and Competition Policy Subcommittee and the Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee.

Timothy Bresnahan, Professor of Economics, Stanford University
Eric Goldman, Director, High Tech Law Institute, Santa Clara University School of Law

Allen Hammond IV, Professor, Santa Clara University School of Law and director, Broadband Institute of California

Pratheepan (Deep) Gulasekaram, Assistant Professor (Immigration Law), Santa Clara University School of Law

Cathy Sandoval, Assistant Professor (Antitrust Law), Santa Clara University School of Law

AnnaLee Saxenian, Dean, School of Information, University of California,
Berkeley

Keith Wolfe, Global Mobility Manager, Google

About Santa Clara University School of Law
Santa Clara Law, founded in 1911 on the site of California’s oldest operating higher-education institution, is dedicated to educating lawyers who lead with a commitment to excellence, ethics, and social justice. One of the nation’s most diverse law schools, Santa Clara Law offers its 975 students an academically rigorous program, including graduate degrees in international law and intellectual property law; a combined J.D./MBA degree; and certificates in intellectual property law, international law, and public interest and social justice law. Santa Clara Law is located in the world-class business center of Silicon Valley and is distinguished nationally for its highly ranked program in intellectual property. For more information, see www.law.scu.edu.

About the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee
Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee is a diverse group of public interest, non-profit and industry groups working to educate the Congress and the public about important Internet-related policy issues. The group seeks to promote the growth and advancement of the Internet, provide a bicameral, bipartisan forum for Internet concerns to be raised, while promoting the education of internet-related issues. More information can be found at www.netcaucus.org .

Media Contacts:
Deborah Lohse | Santa Clara University | 408-554-5121 | dlohse@scu.edu
Tim Lordan Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee | 202-439-5688 | tlordan@netcaucus.org.

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