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

Joshua Richter is the Senior Director of Global Trade Compliance & Operations at Leonardo DRS, Inc. Josh has been involved in international trade for over 22 years in various aerospace, defense, consulting, and security companies of all sizes. In trade matters, Josh really enjoys developing and delivering training and education; trade program and governance development and implementation; and supporting mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. Primarily having been employed in the Washington, DC area, Josh has lived in different parts of the country when he worked for a major defense company located in Tucson, AZ and a smaller security company in Chesapeake, VA. Josh is active in the trade community at large, including taking up positions on Board of Directors of several trade non-profits including most recently with GATT. Josh resides in Arlington, VA with his husband, Nicholas; a border collie; and a tabby cat. He and his husband both enjoy traveling the globe frequently.

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 Queiroz Pires

Director of Programming

Lucas is an associate in the Government Matters practice of King & Spalding. Lucas assists U.S. and international companies in trade compliance, regulatory, and litigation, focusing on international trade matters, such as trade remedies, customs, tariffs, trade policy, and sanctions. Lucas has been very active in Pro Bono and Diversity initiatives in the United States and Brazil, including securing asylum victories for LGBTQ+ individuals persecuted in their home countries, 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, Lucas was an associate at Alston & Bird in Washington D.C., and at Demarest in São Paulo, Brazil, where he founded the LGBTQ+ affinity group, lecturing and publishing articles about the importance of LGBTQ+ workforce in law firms and other organizations. He has interned at the Legal Affairs Division of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and at the Brazil’s Permanent Mission to the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland. Lucas likes playing tennis, volleyball, and Latin music. He is a foodie, a movie lover, and (last but not least) a Swiftie.

Senior Director to the Board

Robert Tobiassen

Robert M. Tobiassen is President of the National Association of Beverage Importers (NABI), Washington, DC, the only nation-wide trade association presenting importers of wine, distilled spirits, and beer. Prior to joining NABI in October 2018, he was an independent consultant after serving as the Chief Counsel of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, Department of the Treasury and Associate Chief Counsel (Alcohol & Tobacco), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in the Senior Executive Service. In his 34-year Federal career, his portfolio covered alcohol and tobacco excise taxes and regulatory compliance, unfair trade practices, administrative law, legislative drafting and congressional relations, and serving on USTR delegations to the World Trade Organization, World Wine Trade Group, and wine and spirits negotiations with the European Commission. He was a delegate to the International Organization for Vine and Wine (OIV) in France between 1992 and 2000. He received the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Service (2003) from President George W. Bush and the Treasury Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service (2012). He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley (B.A. 1975), Lewis and Clark Law School (J.D. 1978), and Georgetown University Law Center (LLM Taxation 1983). He is an active member of the District of Columbia Bar and an inactive member of the California and Oregon State Bars. His volunteer activities include: Board Member of the International Federation of Wine Lawyers (AIDV): Active Member of the International Cannabis Bar Association (ICBA); Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church USA; and Board Member of the DC Cal Alumni Club for UC Berkeley.

The GATT Board

ZACHARY SIMMONS

Chairman

Joshua Richter

Director of Financial Affairs

Alexa Burr

Director of External Relations

Lucas Queiroz Pires

Director of Programming

Senior Director to the Board

Robert Tobiassen

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