The GATT Board
ZACHARY SIMMONS
Chairman
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.
Joshua Richter
Director of Financial Affairs
Alexa Burr
Director of External Relations
Alexa Burr is a service-oriented executive with wide-ranging government relations and policy advocacy expertise. Ms. Burr has a proven record of advancing regulatory and trade policy priorities in national and global forums. Most recently, Ms. Burr was the Vice President of Standards & Segment Services in the Global Industry Services (GIS) Division at the American Petroleum Institute (API). Ms. Burr’s responsibilities included overseeing the strategic direction of API’s Standards Development, Global Engagement, Safety Programs, including API Energy Excellence®, API’s Statistics Department, and API’s Intellectual Property & Distribution arm. In the role, Ms. Burr developed, directed and implemented strategies to grow international relationships and API offerings, working in coordination with industry needs and external partners.
Ms. Burr also oversaw the implementation of API’s Global Standards Strategy and advocated on behalf of the industry in various international forums to promote the use of Good Regulatory Practices (GRPs) and adoption of industry standards to continuously improve environmental, health, safety, security, and sustainability performance globally. Ms. Burr served as Vice Chair of the Industry Trade Advisory Committee (ITAC) 15: Standards and Technical Barriers to Trade.
Prior to API, Ms. Burr worked at the American Chemistry Council in various roles where she oversaw the strategic direction of Responsible Care® program and led international advocacy efforts on a range of issues, including chemical management regulations, trade, ESG, and security issues. In her free time, Ms. Burr volunteers as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) across the DC area. Ms. Burr holds a Masters in Science in Biological Threat Agents and Emerging Infectious Diseases and a Bachelor of Science in Biology of Global Health, both from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
Lucas A. Pires
Director of Programming
