The GATT Board
Alexa Burr
Chair
Alexa Burr is the Senior Vice President of Strategic Growth & Membership at NEMA, where she leads the organization’s membership growth strategy and drives the development of a comprehensive, non-dues revenue model. In this role, she oversees market expansion, cultivates strategic partnerships, and launches high-impact initiatives—most notably the Make It American™ certification program, which supports manufacturers in meeting domestic content requirements under the Build America, Buy American (BABA) Act, as well as navigating evolving trade and tariff policies.
Prior to joining NEMA, Ms. Burr served as Vice President of Standards & Segment Services in the Global Industry Services (GIS) Division at the American Petroleum Institute (API). There, she led the strategic direction of API’s standards development, global engagement, safety programs, statistics department, and intellectual property and distribution operations. She led the expansion of API’s international presence, aligning industry priorities with global partners, and advocating for the adoption of industry standards and good regulatory practices to advance safety, environmental performance, and sustainability.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Burr spent nearly a decade at the American Chemistry Council (ACC), where she held leadership positions focused on global policy and advocacy, regulatory policy, and sustainability. She directed the global implementation of the Responsible Care® program and represented the U.S. chemical industry in multilateral forums including the United Nations, WTO, OECD, and APEC. At ACC, she also led cross-functional efforts to advance sound chemical management regulations, promote science-based trade policy, and shape the industry’s approach to sustainability issues.
Ms. Burr holds a Master of Science in Biological Threat Agents and Emerging Infectious Diseases and a Bachelor of Science in Biology of Global Health, both from Georgetown University. She also volunteers as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in the Washington, DC area.
Thomas Abrhams
Director of Financial Affairs
Thomas Abrams is a New York attorney with professional experience in international business law, regulatory matters, and standards-setting activities with a strong background in fiscal compliance and managing budgets. Thomas is happy to be back in Washington, DC after working abroad in Europe and Asia and looks forward to making new friends and expanding his professional network.
Annathea Cook
Director of External Relations
Annathea Cook is the Director of External Relations for GATT DC, where she leads efforts to elevate the organization’s public profile, expand outreach, and strengthen connections across the trade community. As the primary point of contact for GATT’s external partnerships, she is committed to continuing to build a vibrant, welcoming network for all LGBTQ+ professionals in trade.
In her professional role, Annathea serves in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA), CBP’s central liaison with Congress. She supports CBP’s communications with the Hill on legislation, casework, and policy inquiries spanning the agency’s wide-ranging operations. She previously worked on CBP’s international engagement strategy with a focus on trade enforcement and key global partnerships, drawing on her background in China trade policy, public diplomacy, and cross-agency coordination.
Originally from Northern California, Annathea grew up in a small town with two transgender siblings before moving to China for a few years and later to Washington, D.C. These experiences give her a broad perspective on diversity, tolerance, and inclusivity. These principles are foundational to her work at CBP and her leadership within GATT DC.
Santiago Gomez
Director of Event Planning
Dr. Santiago Gomez is an associate with Steptoe LLP. He has over a decade of experience advising private and sovereign clients on a wide range of trade and tax matters, including AD/CVD proceedings, Double Tax Treaties and Free Trade Agreements utilization, and US trade-related authorities (§221, §232, §301, §321, UFLPA, EAPA, etc), Previously, as Head of Congressional Affairs at the Embassy of Colombia, he actively engaged with U.S. congressional committees. At the Trade Office of the Embassy, he also provided trade and tax counsel, addressing complex legal issues in various sectors. Santiago’s scholarly contributions to international taxation are exemplified in his book on multinational enterprise tax planning under the OECD’s Multilateral Instrument (MLI) and in his doctoral dissertation, which focuses on effective tax management practices for multinational enterprises (MNEs) within the context of the OECD’s Pillar One and Pillar Two frameworks. Santiago is a Loretta Collins Argrett Fellow of the American Bar Association. Currently, he serves as Vice Chair of the Outreach and Inclusion Committee and as a liaison for the Tax Policy and Simplification Committee.
Jordan Strickler
Director of Communications
Jordan Strickler is the Senior Manager of Global & Low Carbon Strategy at the American Petroleum Institute (API) where he oversees API’s low carbon standardization portfolio and manages international relations with governments and the private sector to promote good regulatory practices, trade, and energy safety and sustainability.
Prior to joining API, Mr. Strickler worked at the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on international policy and executed standards and trade programs with global partners. Mr. Strickler holds a Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies at the University of Miami and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).
Lucas Pires
Co-chair
Lucas Pires is a dual-qualified lawyer (DC and Brazil) representing U.S. and foreign companies in international trade, trade compliance, regulatory, and litigation. He advises on trade remedies, Customs, tariffs, trade policy, international arbitration, internal investigations, and sanctions; with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, International Trade Commission, Department of Commerce, USTR, OFAC, U.S. Court of International Trade and other Courts and agencies.
Lucas is active in Pro Bono and Diversity initiatives, securing asylum victories for LGBTQ+ individuals, the release of LGBTQ+ individuals wrongfully detained in foreign countries, and the return of a child wrongfully removed from her home country under the Hague Convention of International Child Abduction.
Prior to joining King & Spalding in the International Trade practice, Lucas was an International Trade & Regulatory associate at Alston & Bird in Washington D.C., and a Senior Associate in International Trade and Government Relations at Demarest in Brazil, where he founded the LGBTQ+ affinity group. He has interned at the Legal Affairs Division of the WTO and at the Brazil’s Permanent Mission to the WTO in Geneva.
Lucas holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Business and Economic Law from Georgetown University Law Center (graduating with distinction and on Dean’s List). He holds a Master’s in Business Economics and a Bachelor’s in Laws (J.D. equivalent) from FGV São Paulo School, studying abroad at Sciences Po – Paris. Lucas is proud to be the GATT DC 2024 LGBTQ+ Trade Person of the Year award recipient
Zachary Simmons
Senior Advisor
Zachary Simmons is an Attorney with the Office of the Chief Counsel at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, where he serves as counsel in trade litigation and on other trade-related matters for the agency.
Previously, Zachary was a Senior Associate at Steptoe LLP, focusing on trade remedy (AD/CVD and injury) litigation before the US Department of Commerce (“DOC”) and the US International Trade Commission (“ITC”) and related court appeals before the US Court of International Trade (“CIT”) and US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”), customs matters, and trade policy.
Prior to joining Steptoe, Zachary served in the Office of the Chief Counsel for Trade Enforcement and Compliance at the DOC, where he advised the agency on numerous AD/CVD investigations and reviews and served as agency counsel in litigation before the CIT, CAFC, and World Trade Organization (“WTO”). Prior to his tenure at DOC, Zachary was a Fellow in the Office of the General Counsel at the Office of the United States Trade Representative. In that capacity, Zachary worked on a variety of matters related to trade policy and legislation as well as WTO dispute settlement proceedings.
Zachary has served as Chairman of GATT DC since 2018.
