Chris Hopfensperger

Executive Director, Software.org: the BSA Foundation

As the founding executive director of Software.org: the BSA Foundation, Chris Hopfensperger leads the foundation’s efforts to help policymakers and the general public better understand the impact that software has on our lives, our economy, and our society. He also helps translate the foundation’s philanthropic and forward-looking agenda into efforts to address key issues facing the software industry.

Previously, Hopfensperger was a Senior Director, Global Policy at BSA | The Software Alliance. In that role he worked with BSA members to develop and advance the organization’s positions on technology law and regulation across markets. Hopfensperger conceived and helped produce a series of groundbreaking policy papers including the BSA Global Cloud Computing Scorecard, a tool for helping policymakers craft the right legal and regulatory environment for adopting the emerging technology. He advised members in such critical policy areas as cybersecurity, privacy, and encryption.

Hopfensperger has worked with industry representatives and government officials in numerous markets, and he has spoken on the intersection of policy and technology in several key capitals including Bangkok, Brussels, Beijing, Delhi, Seoul, and Tokyo.

Prior to joining BSA, Hopfensperger served as a technology and trade policy associate in the DC office of a large global law firm. While there, he advised companies and industry associations on pursuing legislation and representing their issues before Congress and the federal agencies and in the courts. Previously, Hopfensperger worked for more than a decade as a newspaper writer and editor, including at The Washington Post, The Sacramento Bee, and the St. Petersburg Times. Hopfensperger holds a law degree from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska.

Posts by Chris Hopfensperger

Encryption Plays a Key Role in Securing Our Critical Infrastructure

Mar 1, 2018 in Cybersecurity, Data

We are surrounded by discussions of the benefits of future technology: smart cities and new services that will ease our commutes and improve our work lives and sensor-laden smart homes that will ease our day-to-day chores through the Internet of Things (IoT). In many ways, though, that future already is here on a much larger … Read More >>

The Reasons Why Michigan and Indiana Win With Software

Dec 6, 2017 in Data, Industry

In late September, Software.org: the BSA Foundation released a study that quantified the economic impact of software throughout the United States. The report tracked state-by-state changes in growth, jobs, and GDP. The good news is that the study finds software is helping grow the economy of every single state, but the surging numbers in some … Read More >>

Blockchain: Understanding a Software Technology That Will Advance New Solutions

Nov 17, 2017 in Data

The term “blockchain” – like cloud computing and IoT before it – keeps cropping up in new and different settings, yet few people still truly understand its operations or allure. Blockchain, most often linked to the digital currencies Bitcoin and Ethereum, serves as the foundation for many less publicized, but no less potentially valuable applications. … Read More >>

With Software, Every State’s a Tech Hub

Sep 26, 2017 in Data, Industry

Across the US, software empowers countless people and businesses, improving our lives each day in ways big and small. In Michigan, it’s reducing medical conflicts so Americans can live longer, healthier lives. In South Carolina, it’s improving transparency in police departments. In California, it’s helping design smarter and more sustainable infrastructure. Stories like these are … Read More >>

Closing the Gender Gap, One Girl at a Time

Aug 11, 2017 in Industry

Software.org’s first Girls Who Code class graduated this week, and we are honored to have sponsored such a dedicated group of aspiring coders. Rather than spend the summer at the beach, these 17 young women spent the past seven weeks mastering sophisticated languages like HTML, CSS, and Python to build websites, program apps, and make … Read More >>