New America VP and OTI Director Alan B. Davidson to Join Commerce Department

WASHINGTON, DC — New America is pleased to congratulate Alan B. Davidson, Vice President and Director of the Open Technology Institute (OTI), on joining the Administration in the role of Digital Economy Director and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Commerce, where he will help lead the Department of Commerce’s work on digital economy and Internet policy issues.

“As his boss, I am very sad to lose him. As his mentor and friend, and consistent with the mission of New America, I told him that of course he has to take the opportunity,” said New America President and CEO Anne-Marie Slaughter. “We should be excited for him and proud that one of ours has been selected for this role.”

“I’m excited about this opportunity to serve, but also sad to be leaving New America and OTI,” said Davidson. “I am intensely proud of the work we have done together at New America to further the cause of freedom and equity online. OTI’s project of bringing together engineers and lawyers, technologists and policy experts, to solve big social problems is something we need more in Washington. The Commerce Department will play a central role in some of the biggest Internet policy debates of the next few years, and I am honored by this chance to make a contribution there.”

Kevin Bankston, currently OTI’s policy director, will take on the role of Director of OTI.

“Alan has been a great leader at OTI and New America, and thanks to his hard work he’s leaving the organization even stronger than when he arrived,” said Bankston. “Our team will be sad to see him go, but we look forward to working with him in his new role where we expect him to do great things. I am proud to be following in the footsteps of such an experienced and principled advocate for an open Internet, and eager to lead OTI into the future by building on the strong foundation that Alan helped create.

“Working with Kevin Bankston has been one of the great experiences of my tenure at New America,” said Davidson. “Kevin is a deeply committed advocate, as well as an energetic leader and deep subject-matter expert. I am delighted that he will be taking over as OTI’s Director.”

“In a relatively short period, Kevin has breathed tremendous energy and life into OTI’s policy work, and presided over some terrific initiatives in the surveillance and cybersecurity space,” said Slaughter. “I look forward to Kevin applying that same energy to the full range of OTI’s work and providing strong leadership for its next phase.”