CONGRESSWOMAN STACEY E. PLASKETT
U.S. Virgin Islands
U.S. House of Representatives
Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett represents the At-Large Congressional District of the United States Virgin Islands in the House of Representatives and is currently serving her 6th term in Congress. For the 119th Congress, Plaskett is a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Ways and Means Committee and the Budget Committee.
In the 118th Congress, Ms. Plaskett was appointed by Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries as Ranking Member of the House Select Subcommittee on Weaponization of the Federal Government and to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence where she was the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on National Intelligence Enterprise.
Congresswoman Plaskett is the first member of a territory to be named a Ranking Member of a Select Committee and the first to be a member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. As a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service with a Bachelor of Science in History and Diplomacy and a concentration in Middle East and African Studies, Congresswoman Plaskett’s training is uniquely oriented to focus on the geopolitical and global paradigm. Additionally, Congresswoman Plaskett’s legal expertise and background lends to her oversight ability, in which she has exhibited an even-handed approach to engaging opposing sides on contentious issues.
Read a full bio for Congresswoman Plaskett.
COLIN AHERN
Chief Cyber Officer, State of New York
Colin Ahern was appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul in June 2022 as New York’s first Chief Cyber Officer. In this role, he led the development of the state’s first ever cybersecurity strategy and leads cross-agency efforts to protect New York State from cyber threats. Prior to joining state service, Colin served as First Deputy Director of New York City Cyber Command and Acting Chief Information Security Officer of New York City. Colin worked in cybersecurity in financial services before joining New York City government.
Colin began his career in the Army, enlisting in the reserves after 9/11 and later served on active duty as an Army officer where he deployed twice to Afghanistan. He was promoted to multiple leadership roles and ended his Army career as a company commander in the Army Cyber Brigade, where he oversaw the creation of a specialized cyberspace operations organization. His military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Knowlton Award.
Colin has taught at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs and the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies and is a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations. His academic and professional writing has been widely published, including by the Advanced Computing Systems Association and the Association for Computing Machinery. Colin received a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University and a Master of Business Administration from the New York University Stern School of Business.
Colin lives with his wife and two children in Brooklyn.
Udbhav Tiwari
VP of Strategy and Global Affairs, Signal
Udbhav is Signal’s VP for Strategy and Global Affairs, driving the project’s public affairs and other external engagements. Prior to this, he worked as the Director for Global Product Policy at Mozilla and for the public policy team at Google.