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

[Yesim Saglam]

Dear Greg,

Thank you for your e-mail.

Your SOI is well received.


Thank you.
Kind Regards,
Yeşim Sağlam


From: NA-Discuss <na-discuss-bounces at atlarge-lists.icann.org> on behalf of "Greg Shatan [ALAC] via NA-Discuss" <na-discuss at atlarge-lists.icann.org>
Reply-To: "Greg Shatan [ALAC]" <gregshatanalac at gmail.com>
Date: 12 May 2022 Thursday 08:59
To: NA Discuss <na-discuss at atlarge-lists.icann.org>
Subject: [NA-Discuss] Greg Shatan Statement of Interest - NARALO Chair

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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