[NA-Discuss] Greg Shatan Statement of Interest - NARALO Chair

[Greg Shatan [ALAC]]

All,

Thank you for the opportunity to run for the position of Chair of NARALO.

I think it is important for the NARALO Chair to have significant experience
with both the NARALO community of At Large Structures and Individual
Members, and with ALAC and the At Large community at ICANN.

I have been involved with ICANN Working Groups since 2007 and have
regularly attended ICANN meetings since 2013.  I have participated in
numerous working groups in the last 15 years, including the IANA Transition
Cross-Community Working Group and the Accountability Working Group, where I
served as Chair of the Jurisdiction Subgroup.

I have been participating actively in At Large activities for the last
several years, principally in the Consolidated Policy Working Group (CPWG),
which is the policy development engine for ALAC and At Large. I am
currently serving as a Member of ALAC, as the NomCom Member from North
America.  Earlier in my "ICANN career," I was actively involved in the IPC,
and served as President for three years.  My focus and energies at ICANN
have shifted to At Large over the years and away from the IPC's mission and
viewpoint.

At Large is the most important yet undervalued community at ICANN, and ALAC
serves as its voice, and ultimately as the voice of the end-user. The
connection between ALAC and the end-users is critical to the operation and
credibility of ALAC -- and that connection runs straight through the
RALOs.  If I am elected Chair, I plan to work on strengthening this link in
both directions -- improving ALAC communication with end-users and end-user
communication with ALAC.  We need to take advantage of the available
technology, methods and processes to make this a robust and routine
connection.

On the ALS side, I am a member of the ISOC New York Chapter, and the ISOC
DC Chapter, both ALSs. I have been a Member of the ISOC-NY Board for
the last 3 years and I've served as President of ISOC-NY for the last 2+
years.  This has given me a keen understanding of the issues facing ALSs as
structures/entities, and also experience with the variety of issues of
interest to ALAC members and to the local communities that we serve.  As
Chair, I want to listen to the ALSs and Individual Members to better
understand what Members want from NARALO and how Members can best
contribute to NARALO.  I also hope to recruit new At Large Structures and
help existing structures grow as well.  I intend to stand for Board
re-election, but  hope that fresh blood will come to the Chair position.

It's also important for the NARALO Chair to understand and appreciate the
myriad issues of interest to NARALO members and ALS members.  These include
ICANN issues (policy updates, public meeting readouts, and education) and
"real world" issues (from policy, politics and human rights to technology,
infrastructure and conquering the digital divide).  I have participated in
and helped organize a variety of panels and programs over the years and
look forward to participating in that process with NARALO leadership.

I hope that you all will grant me the opportunity to serve you and the
North America end-user community as the Chair of NARALO.

Let me share a bit about myself personally.  Within North America, I have
connections to both the US and Canada.  I was born and raised in New York
City, and still live there today.  Thanks to my father, who grew up in
Montreal, I have Canadian citizenship (though I've never lived in Canada --
at least not yet.  (Note: I prefer St. Viateur bagels to Fairmont bagels.)
I grew up with a passion for human rights and progressive causes, and a
strong desire to help people, especially those in underserved and
marginalized communities.

I am a lawyer in private practice in New York, concentrating primarily on
technology transactions, data privacy, cybersecurity and intellectual
property matters, as well as web accessibility for the disabled.  I'm with
a relatively small firm in New York called Moses & Singer, with offices in
the beautiful and historic Chrysler Building.  For fun, I play the baritone
sax (some of you may have seen me with the GEMS Band, before COVID).  I've
played in jazz, rock/R&B/Latin and classical groups. While I am not a
technology professional, I have made it my business (and pleasure) to  to
learn as much as I can about technology, both from a tech viewpoint and in
the larger social, political, cultural and economic contexts.

I've lived in Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan for almost 35 years with
my wife and two sons. Our younger son graduates from college this month,
while our older son is pursuing a Ph.D. in Urban Planning at the University
of California in Berkeley.

Best regards,

Greg
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