Fiona Alexander
Fiona Alexander serves as Associate Administrator of the Office of International Affairs at NTIA.
New gTLD Senate and House of Representatives Hearings
On December 8, 2011 the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing, lobbied for by ANA, regarding to ICANN's New gTLD Program. Speakers included Kurt Pritz (Senior Vice President of ICANN); Alexander; Dan Jaffe (Executive Vice President of Government Relations for ANA); Esther Dyson (ICANN's Founding Chairman, speaking as an independent investor); and Angela Williams (Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the YMCA, speaking on behalf of NPOC).[1] Senate officials present included: Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV); Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn), Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.),[2] and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash).
On December 14, a second hearing was held, hosted by the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee. Those speaking at this hearing were Alexander, Jaffe, and Pritz, plus Thomas Embrescia (CEO, Employ Media), and Joshua Bourne (CADNA).[3] The result of the House hearing was the suggestion that the program be delayed until there is a consensus between all relevant stakeholders, made by Rep. Eshoo. Pritz and Alexander came to the defense of ICANN's Multistakeholder Model, arguing that the process had not been rushed. It had taken ICANN seven years to get to the point where all the issues had been discussed and no new issues were being raised, during which time they had consulted all the relevant stakeholders. Alexander made the point that "consensus" does not always mean "unanimity."