FOSI Briefs the Hill: Congressional Action on Online Safety and Privacy Bills

Adam Kovacevich (Kuh-VACK-uh-VITCH) is the Founder and CEO of Chamber of Progress, a new center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future.  Chamber of Progress works to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.

Adam is a veteran Democratic tech industry leader who has had a front row seat for more than 20 years in the tech industry’s political maturation. He is an expert in helping lead technology companies through today’s challenging political environment.

Adam has been interviewed numerous times on TV’s Bloomberg Technology, Neil Cavuto Coast To Coast on Fox Business, Sinclair Television, and Cheddar’s Opening Bell. He was named a “Tech Titan” by Washingtonian magazine and an “Antitrust Super Influencer” by Baron Public Affairs.

Adam most recently served as Head of North America and Asia Pacific Government Relations for Lime, the shared scooter mobility company.  Adam led his team to launch 45+ new cities and secure permission for 50,000 more Lime scooters on city streets, expanding the company’s market presence.

Adam previously led Google’s U.S. policy strategy and external affairs team.  In that role, he drove the company’s U.S. public policy campaigns on privacy, security, antitrust, intellectual property, intermediary liability, telecommunications, advertising, taxation and workforce issues — as well as its partnerships with conservative, progressive, consumer and civil rights organizations.

The Wall Street Journal said Kovacevich “helped build [Google’s] influence operation into one of the largest in the nation’s capital” and was “a central player in Google’s efforts to shape perceptions and rules in ways that have been favorable to the business of the search and advertising giant.”

Kovacevich, who was Google’s seventh DC hire, ran Google’s strategy surrounding its 2011-2013 FTC antitrust investigation. His 12-year Google career spanned the company’s PR, legal, and public policy teams and drew on his skills as a communicator, strategist, and advocate.

Adam has served as a board member for the Internet Association, Information Technology Industry Council, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Internet Education Foundation,  National Cyber Security Alliance, Washington Center for Technology Policy Inclusion, as well as an advisory council member for the Center for Democracy and Technology.

Adam served as an Assistant Vice President at Dittus Communications and Communications Director at the Information Technology Industry Council. He served as spokesman for former Rep. Cal Dooley (D-CA), a founder of the moderate New Democrat Coalition; for Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT), in the Senate and on his 2004 presidential campaign; and for 2004 South Carolina Senate candidate Inez Tenenbaum.

Kovacevich’s first advocacy campaign came as an undergraduate at Harvard, where he led a successful campaign to bring grapes back to Harvard’s dining halls.  Two years later, the United Farm Workers union formally ended its three-decade-old grape boycott.

Adam lives in Arlington, Virginia with his family.

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Lauren Merk is a Policy Counsel on FPF’s Youth & Education Privacy team where she contributes to FPF’s ongoing work relating to child and student privacy. She previously worked on the Youth & Education team as a law student contractor and then as a fellow.

Lauren earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Cincinnati College of Law. During law school, Lauren was involved with the University of Cincinnati Intellectual Property and Computer Law Journal as an Associate Member and Executive Editor. She was also a fellow with the UC Corporate Law Center and interned with the Center’s Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic. Additionally, she volunteered at the Hamilton County Municipal Court Help Center and completed a federal judicial externship at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Prior to law school, Lauren attended Butler University where she majored in Strategic Communication and minored in Marketing.

Lauren is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals and holds a CIPP/US certification.

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Jamie Susskind is a Policy Advisor to U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). In that role, she focuses on a variety of tech issues, including privacy, cybersecurity, consumer protection, spectrum/broadband, and manufacturing. She also supports the Senator in her role as Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Data Security, and Product Safety. Susskind previously served as Vice President of Policy & Regulatory Affairs at the Consumer Technology Association, as well as Chief of Staff to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr. She also worked in the Senate as Chief Counsel to Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) and as an FCC Detailee to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation under Chairman John Thune (R-SD).

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Andrew Zack is the Policy Manager for the Family Online Safety Institute, supporting policy and research work relating to online safety issues, laws, and regulations. He works with federal and state legislatures, relevant federal agencies, and industry leaders to develop and advance policies that promote safe and positive online experience for families.
Andrew joins FOSI after five years in Senator Ed Markey's office, where he worked primarily on education, child welfare, and disability policies. Andrew studied Government and Psychology at the College of William and Mary.