All, I just wanted to add a few comments, following up on Denise's announcement. First, I'd like to add my very best wishes to Maria on her new role! Of course we've just "met", but Maria has generously spent many hours with me on the phone several times in the last few days, while on vacation no less, giving me important background on the hard work you've all done, and I really appreciate her time, insights and detailed briefings. Second, thanks so much for all of the kind notes of welcome from so many of you. I really look forward to working with everyone. This is a very important topic and I'm excited to have a chance to participate and hopefully add value to all of your efforts. I will reach out separately to as many of you as I can, but since it's such a large group I also want to welcome you to call me or email if you have any thoughts or concerns or if I can be helpful in any way. I look forward to getting to know you all. And, especially, advice and suggestions are always welcome as I learn the ropes! I'm currently in the Washington, DC area (USA eastern time zone). My contact information follows below. Best, Liz Gasster W. 1-301-320-8155 C. 1-301-233-8024 lgasster@gmail.com -----Original Message----- From: Denise Michel [mailto:denise.michel@icann.org] Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2007 6:59 PM To: GNSO Council; gnso-whois-wg@icann.org Subject: Changes in GNSO staff support I am pleased to announce that Maria Farrell, the GNSO's Policy Officer, will be moving to an important, new position in ICANN's Communications Department. To ensure that the GNSO is adequately staffed in its WHOIS work, I also am pleased to announce that ICANN has arranged for Liz Gasster to provide full-time support for the WHOIS Task Force, and the Council as needed, on an interim basis. Liz is an attorney and independent consultant whose practice focuses on technology and Internet-related public policy and advocacy activities. She has over 25 years of experience in the fields of Internet and telecommunications policy and operations, including developing and coordinating policy positions on a broad range of e-commerce, technology and intellectual property issues such as on line privacy, network security, Internet content and trademark and copyright policy. Liz has served as General Counsel and Acting Executive Director of the Cyber Security Industry Alliance, and as AT&T's Public Policy Director and Senior Attorney for Federal Government Affairs, among other positions. She is based in Washington, D.C. and can be reached at lgasster@gmail.com. Please join me in thanking Maria for her dedication and hard work for the GNSO. Maria is working with Liz to ensure a smooth transition in staff support for the GNSO's WHOIS activities. Liz has been added to the task force email list and will be joining the 1 August task force call. ICANN is accepting resumes for the position of GNSO Policy Officer at <opportunities@icann.org>. Your assistance in encouraging potential candidates to contact us would be appreciated. Information about this position is included below. Please let me know if you have any questions. Regards, Denise Denise Michel Vice President, Policy Development ICANN www.icann.org denise.michel@icann.org GNSO Policy Officer The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers(ICANN) is seeking a GNSO Policy Officer to support domain name policy development. This position reports to the Vice President, Policy Development. While it is preferred that the successful candidate be located at our operations office in Marina del Rey, California, ICANN's geographically distributed work environment can accommodate a candidate based in other locations. ICANN (www.icann.org) is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers, including domain names (.com, .uk, .jobs, etc.) as well as the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols. The Position This position is responsible for supporting the Generic Names Supporting Organization(GNSO), which develops policies through bottom-up, consensus-based processes involving diverse stakeholders world-wide (such as Registrars, business and non-commercial users communities, etc.). Responsibilities include: facilitating the GNSO's efforts to develop global policies that advance ICANN's mission of preserving the security, stability and interoperability of the Internet; supporting and managing all elements of the GNSO's policy activities and providing information and guidance to multi-disciplinary teams; working with the GNSO to develop and implement strategies to advance policy objectives; maintaining and tracking the GNSO's operational plan and key projects; writing and editing issue reports and informational materials; organizing and supporting GNSO policy meetings, forums, and related events; and conducting outreach and educational activities in support of the GNSO. The Company ICANN is a nonprofit public benefit corporation responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers. These include domain names as well as the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols. Computers use these identifiers to reach each other over the Internet. Careful management of these resources is vital to the Internet's operation, so ICANN's global stakeholders (Registrars, Registries, Internet user groups, etc.) meet regularly to develop policies that ensure the Internet's ongoing security and stability. The Ideal Candidate The ideal candidate will have a Bachelors Degree or higher, and at least 7 years of national and/or international policy development experience in positions and/or organizations accountable to multiple constituencies. This person has experience planning and managing complex policy processes and programs including: developing and implementing work plans; hiring and managing consultants; producing issue reports (research, drafting, coordination) and meeting summaries; soliciting public and stakeholder comments; pro-actively facilitating and building consensus; and many other related coordination and liaison activities with geographically distributed constituencies and staff. S/he has outstanding oral and written communication skills and a sound understanding of the Internet's basic infrastructure. S/he has a service orientation, excellent time management skills and a tolerance for ambiguity and fluid environments. S/he has a demonstrated ability to work effectively in cross-functional and geographically distributed teams and independently. S/he has a can-do attitude and a strong drive to get things done. The Compensation The salary is market- based with an extremely competitive benefit package. Benefits include annual bonuses, company paid medical, life, vision and dental for employees and their families, pension plan and a company matched 401K program with instant eligibility.