Brad Wood is Senior Director for Trade and Innovation Policy at the National Foreign Trade Council, the leading business association dedicated solely to advancing the interests of U.S. companies in international commerce.
Brad previously served in consecutive roles at the Embassy of Canada where he was most recently the Trade Program Manager for Innovation and Industrial Policy and the U.S. representative for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. In this capacity Brad advanced Canada-U.S. cooperation bilaterally and with third countries, and worked with the Administration, Congress and business sector to ensure policies support open trade and the integrated North American market.
Prior to the Embassy, Brad worked in several capacities for the Government of Canada in Ottawa where he shaped international policy priorities, coordinated appropriations, mitigated technical barriers to trade, and represented Canada internationally, including at the World Trade Organization.
Brad holds a Master’s in International Trade from the University of Saskatchewan and a Bachelor of Business Administration with an economics double major from Brandon University.
Jeannette L. Chu is Vice President for National Security Policy at the National Foreign Trade Council, the leading business association dedicated to advancing the interests of U.S. companies in international commerce, and the Executive Director of NFTC’s Alliance for National Security and Competitiveness.
She advises and advocates for the business community on national security issues including export controls, sanctions, forward technologies, foreign investment security and strategic competition with China. Concurrently, Jeannette is also a non-resident senior associate with the Trustee Chair for China Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) providing thought leadership U.S.-China national security matters. She is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
A recognized authority on export controls, sanctions and foreign investment security programs in the U.S. and other countries, Jeannette previously founded and led the national security regulatory compliance practice at Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) guiding multinational companies in navigating complex regulatory requirements, building effective trade compliance programs and performing government-directed compliance audits.
Jeannette had a 31 year public service career as a diplomat and law enforcement officer. She was the longest-serving American diplomat in China, with roles including Export Control Attaché at the US Embassy Beijing and Officer-In-Charge for the Immigration & Naturalization Service in Guangzhou and Beijing. Jeannette also served as the Senior Policy Advisor at the Bureau of Industry & Security, U.S. Department of Commerce. She has received numerous awards throughout her government career including the Commerce Secretary’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner’s Award.
Jeannette serves on the Board of the National Council for International Trade Development and the Executive Board for Ascend Greater Washington Chapter where she also volunteers as a mentor. She is a mentor for the Women’s Foreign Policy Group and other organizations. Jeannette is a sought-after speaker and frequent writer on U.S.-China relations and national security, technology leadership and economic security issues. She holds a BA in Political Science from The American University, Washington, DC.
Susan C. Schwab serves as Chair of the NFTC Board of Directors and strategic advisor in Mayer Brown’s International Trade practice.
Ambassador Schwab’s advisory role for NFTC and Mayer Brown is in addition to both her professorship at the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, where previously she served as Dean, and as President of the University System of Maryland Foundation. From 2005-2009 she served as US Trade Representative (USTR) and Deputy USTR in the George W. Bush administration. Ambassador Schwab also sits on several corporate and non-profit boards, and is a frequent speaker at associations, corporations, and think tanks. In 2022, she became board chair of the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC).
During her tenure as USTR, Ambassador Schwab successfully opened markets for US products and services in every region of the world and across a variety of business sectors and industries. She concluded the United States’ Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Peru, Colombia and South Korea and launched the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks. Ambassador Schwab helped to achieve congressional approval of FTAs with Oman and Peru, as well as the bipartisan “May 10th, 2007” agreement on trade, labor and the environment. Additionally, she negotiated in the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Doha Round with major economic powers including the European Union, China, India, Brazil and Indonesia; helped to lead US bilateral WTO accession negotiations with Russia; and engaged in those with Vietnam. Finally, she filed, pursued and resolved multiple cases in defense of US commercial interests with Canada, China, the EU and others.
Ambassador Schwab has more than three decades of international trade and policy experience. She began her career in the USTR’s office as a trade negotiator for agriculture issues. After two years, she headed to Tokyo, where she served as a Trade Policy Officer at the American Embassy. She later spent 8 years working for Sen. John Danforth (R-MO), first as Chief Economist and Legislative Assistant for International Trade and then as Legislative Director. In 1989 Ambassador Schwab became the Director General of the US & Foreign Commercial Service at the US Department of Commerce, where she oversaw 200 international and domestic field offices with 1300 employees and a budget totaling $115 million. Following that, she worked as a senior executive at a major US company negotiating deals to access the Chinese market.
Marshall Lane is Senior Director of Operations at the National Foreign Trade Council. He is responsible for the overall management of the day to day operations of the organization, including budgeting, purchasing, information technology and member services.
Veronica Berkshire, joined the NFTC in November 2016 as Senior Director for Communications and Development.
Prior to joining NFTC, Veronica was Press Secretary at the Embassy of Colombia in Washington D.C., where she was responsible for the Embassy’s overall communications strategy, including press outreach and social media presence.
Veronica is a native of Bogota, Colombia and holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Political Science from Tufts University in Boston, MA.
Anne Gordon is Vice President for International Tax Policy at the National Foreign Trade Council, the leading business association dedicated solely to advancing the interests of U.S. companies in international commerce.
Anne previously served in the U.S. Senate as Tax Counsel to two Senators, Rob Portman and Todd Young, of the Senate Finance Committee. During her time in the Senate, Ms. Gordon was one of the lead staff involved in drafting the tax provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
She has also worked in the International Tax Services practice of PwC’s National Tax Services office, where she gained experience on a wide array of U.S. international tax issues including cross-border mergers and acquisitions and issues arising in the context of anti-deferral regimes, including Sub-part F. She also advised clients on debt issuance and modification, foreign currency issues, treaty benefits, GILTI, section 163(j), FDII and BEAT.
She has also held several positions in the U.S. Departments of Energy and the Treasury and clerked at the U.S. Tax Court for Judges Tamara W. Ashford, Mark V. Holmes, Richard T. Morrison, and Robert A. Wherry, Jr.
Anne graduated from The George Washington University with a B.A. in Classical Studies and Political Science, and an M.P.P. focusing on business-government relations. She received her J.D. from Boston College Law School and her LL.M. in Taxation with a certificate in International Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center.
Tiffany L. Smith is Vice President for Global Trade Policy at the National Foreign Trade Council, the leading business association dedicated solely to advancing the interests of U.S. companies in international commerce.
As Vice President, she leads efforts to advance global commerce and strengthen U.S. companies’ competitiveness abroad. She oversees the development and execution of NFTC’s trade policy strategy and leads work on key bilateral and regional trade relationships, the World Trade Organization and tariff reform issues.
Tiffany previously served as senior policy advisor in Mayer Brown’s international trade and government relations practices where she advised companies, trade associations, and nonprofits on international trade policy and regulations.
Prior to joining Mayer Brown, she worked for 16 years in the Federal Government, serving in positions in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the United States Senate, and the Department of Commerce.
During her time in the Senate, Ms. Smith was one of the lead staff involved in drafting and securing passage of the Trade Act of 2002.
While at USTR, Tiffany led industrial goods market access negotiations for nine Free Trade Agreements and for negotiations allowing several countries to join the WTO. Tiffany worked with key industry sectors, including autos, chemicals, consumer electronics, and information technologies to achieve results in trade agreements that facilitated U.S. exports.
She is a graduate of The George Washington University (M.A., International Affairs) and the Stephen F. Austin State University (B.A., Political Science).
Jake Colvin is President of the National Foreign Trade Council, the leading business association dedicated solely to advancing the interests of U.S. companies in international commerce.
As President, he leads efforts to advance global commerce through the promotion of international trade and tax policies that contribute to economic growth and job creation. He oversees NFTC’s work to strengthen the rules, norms and institutions that enable access to the global economy and emphasizes the role of trade in solving complex global problems. Prior to being named president, Jake served as NFTC’s Vice President for Global Trade and Innovation. He led efforts to promote an open global digital economy and elevate the role of trade policy in solving global climate and health challenges as well as the Council’s engagement with multilateral institutions including the World Trade Organization and APEC. From 2005 until 2008, Jake directed NFTC’s USA*Engage coalition to emphasize the benefits of U.S. economic, diplomatic and citizen engagement in the global economy.
He is a Co-Founder of the Global Innovation Forum (GIF), which engages a global network of small business, nonprofit leaders and government officials to explore the role of technology and trade policies and programs in fostering resilience and inclusive growth. From 2014 until 2021, he served as GIF’s Executive Director. Jake is a cleared advisor to the U.S. Government as a member of the Trade and Environment Policy Advisory Committee and has testified before Congress. He has written about trade and foreign policy for media including Business Week, Forbes, Inc. and Politico and has provided analysis for outlets including CNBC, CNN, NBC News and NPR.
He is a graduate of the University of Richmond and the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies. He lives in Washington, DC.
