Internet Society Announces New Board Members for Public Interest Registry - World-Renowned Internet Leaders to Join Board of .ORG Registry - Priority Is to Ensure Exemplary Operation of .ORG Domain
RESTON, VA (ots)
The Internet Society (ISOC) today announced the selection and approval of new board members for the Public Interest Registry (PIR). PIR was established by ISOC to manage the .ORG domain last year. An initial Board was appointed for a term of one year with an expiration date of 30 October, 2003.
"We want to sincerely thank the founding PIR Board for their energy and diligence. The transition of the .ORG registry to PIR was extremely well executed. The operations of PIR are setting a new and higher standard for the operation of a registry, due in very large part to the superb execution of the founding PIR Board," said ISOC President and CEO Lynn St. Amour. "That said, the new Board represents a wealth of knowledge and experience, both in the technical name space as well as business. We expect the new Board to continue and further refine the direction that has been established so competently by the founding Board."
According to Edward Viltz, PIR President & CEO, PIR is committed to continuing to define a new standard of customer satisfaction and registry operations, while providing resources to empower and educate the Internet community it serves, and positioning .ORG as a valued global brand. "We are excited to have this group of known global Internet leaders to help guide us on that path."
The new board will be seated on 1 November 2003, and will have staggered terms of 1 to 3 years. The primary criteria in PIR Board member selection was a thorough understanding of registries, registrar and registrant needs, active board participation, and a strong record of excellence in involvement with professional or community organizations. Below is a summary of some of the members' activities.
Returning PIR Board members:
David Maher (US -- 3 years): Partner Chicago office of the law firm Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal; intellectual property and communications law expert; former ISOC VP -- Public Policy; member of the International Ad Hoc Committee (IAHC); World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration & Mediation Center Panel of Neutrals.
Marc Rotenberg (US -- 3 years): Executive Director Electronic Privacy Information Center; Adjunct Professor Georgetown University Law Center; Chairman American Bar Association Committee on Privacy and Information Protection; UNESCO Expert Panel on Cyberspace Law.
Frode Greisen (Europe -- 1 year): Board member Réseaux IP Européens (RIPE NCC) Association; former president European Research and Education Network; former chairman and founding board member ISOC; former president Trans-European Education and Research Networking Association (TERENA).
New PIR Board members:
Amadeu Abril i Abril (Europe -- 2 years): ICANN Board of Directors 1999-2003; member ICANN's Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Names Council; professor of EU Law and Director of European Documentation Center at ESADE Law School; legal counsel for IP/IT group for Cuatrecasas Law Firm; legal and policy advisory to Nominalia.
Geoff Huston (Asia Pacific -- 2 years): Technical Manager Australian Academic and Research Network 1989-1995; Chief Internet Scientist Telstra 1995-present; Internet Architecture Board (IAB) 1999-present; Executive Director IAB; ISOC Founding Board Member (1992-1995), Board Secretary (1993- 1999; 2000-2001), Chairman (1999-2000); Asia Pacific Network Information Center Executive Council 8 years.
Eva Frölich (Europe -- 1 year): 20 years experience in IT and telecom; member Réseaux IP Européens (RIPE), Council of European National Top-Level Domain Registries (CENTRE), Internet Council of Registrars (CORE); Director of European Technology Development for Neulevel; Senior Technical Industry Liaison for Neustar; Network Information Centre Sweden AB (NIC-SE).
Kenny Huang (Asia Pacific -- 1 year): pioneer of Internet Development in Taiwan; ICANN Address Council, Asia Pacific Representative; ICANN Internationalized Domain Name Registry Implementation Committee (IDN-RIC); founding member Taiwan Network Information Center (TWNIC); co-chair Address Policy SIG, Asia Pacific Network; Advisor Chinese Domain Name Consortium; Co-Chair, JET (Joint Engineer Team, formed by JPNIC, KRNIC, CNNIC, TWNIC); Searchable Internet Resource Name (SIREN).
About PIR
Public Interest Registry (PIR), a non-profit corporation, is the dedicated global .ORG Registry. PIR's mission is to manage the .ORG domain in an exemplary manner while educating and empowering the global non-commercial community to more effectively utilize the Internet. PIR is based in Reston, Virginia. For additional information on PIR and .ORG please visit www.pir.org.
About ISOC
The Internet Society (www.isoc.org) is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1991 to provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy. With offices in Washington, D.C., and Geneva, Switzerland, it is dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world. ISOC is the organizational home of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) and other Internet-related bodies who together play a critical role in ensuring that the Internet develops in a stable and open manner.
For over 12 years, ISOC has run international network training programs for developing countries, and these have played a vital role in setting up the Internet connections and networks in virtually every country connecting to the Internet during this time.
Contact:
Julie Williams
Phone: +1-703-464-7005, x111
Cell: +1-703-402-6715
E-mail: JWilliams@isoc.org