The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is pleased to announce that Mary Saunders, ANSI vice president, government relations and public policy, has been named a fellow of the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center.
The Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan think tank founded in 1961, promotes technology and innovation through its Geotech Center. As a fellow of the GeoTech Center, Saunders will support its mission to shape the future of technology and data together to advance people, planet, prosperity, and peace. Recently, Saunders provided input to the report the Center published on the international standards landscape and Chinese participation, and participated in a panel discussion associated with the launch of the report. Additionally, Saunders and Stephanie Wonder, director of the GeoTech Center, co-authored an op-ed on international standards and technology that was published in RealClearDefense in January: Rules of the Game: Standards and Competition in Emerging Technologies.
Saunders has been with ANSI since 2017, serving as the organization’s spokesperson and liaison to federal, state, and local government agencies and to Congress and congressional staff. She also supports the activities of the ANSI National Policy Advisory Group (NPAG) and the ANSI Government Member Forum, working with members of these groups to develop and advance the Institute’s positions and policies at all levels of government. Prior to joining ANSI, Saunders was the associate director for management resources for the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and served as a vice chair on the ANSI Board of Directors. Saunders previously served as the director of NIST’s Standards Coordination Office. She also served as deputy assistant secretary for manufacturing and services in the International Trade Administration (ITA), managing more than 200 industry specialists, economists, and international trade experts.
“On behalf of ANSI’s staff and board of directors, I congratulate Mary on this prestigious and well-deserved appointment,” said S. Joe Bhatia, ANSI president and CEO. “The Atlantic Council and its GeoTech Center’s initiatives align with ANSI’s work in many ways, and I know that Mary’s contributions as a fellow will be highly valuable in furthering the mission of the Center—as they have been to ANSI in the many years that she has been with the Institute.”