Joe Whitlock – Senior Director, Policy
My family is from the Sandhills of North Carolina (Robeson County) and the southern Adirondacks in New York (Fulton County). I grew up in different places, but I have resided in the Washington, DC, area since 1999.
I have led BSA’s digital trade and intellectual property (IP) portfolio since June 2018. I also serve as the Executive Director of the Global Data Alliance. Previously, I worked for the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) as the lead IP attorney in the Office of the General Counsel and as Senior Director for IP and Innovation. Prior to my tenure at USTR, I was an IP and trade attorney at Covington & Burling LLP. Before that — in the 20th century — I was a teacher, a running coach, a farmhand, and a newspaper reporter.
I attended Columbia University for my undergraduate degree and Georgetown University for law school.
What attracted you to work at BSA?
First, the people who work here: Their creativity, humility, intelligence, and the pride and pleasure that they take in doing their jobs with a high degree of skill and effectiveness. Second, the chance to make a difference in technology, trade, and IP policies at a local, national, and international level. Third, the companies that BSA represents, and the human ingenuity and vision embodied in the products and services they create.
What’s the most unique part about working at BSA?
BSA’s global footprint. Working at BSA means engaging daily with colleagues based in Brussels, New Delhi, São Paulo, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, and Washington, as well as government policymakers in over 50 countries.
What advice can you give someone who has just started their career/wants to pursue a similar career?
Pursue what you love and be creative. Digital governance spans legal and policy issues related to artificial intelligence, cross-border data, cybersecurity, digital trade, IP, privacy, law enforcement data access, quantum computing, standards development, and trade and technology controls. Read and learn as much as you can, write and speak publicly, use your gifts and your imagination to make a difference, define your goals, and don’t give up.
What’s the most helpful thing you’ve learned working at BSA?
Focus on what matters.
What’s one piece of career advice you are still trying to master?
Be concise.
What/who inspired you to pursue the career you have today?
My late parents (pictured below). My father was raised on a farm, and my mother in a small factory town. My father put himself through night school to become a lawyer, eventually working on international policy issues as a diplomat for the US government. My mother worked as a schoolteacher. They were kind, curious, and creative people who enjoyed the company of friends. They loved learning about the languages, arts, and cultures of the places they lived. They took nothing for granted and respected — and appreciated — all that life had to offer.
Do you have any pets, and if so, what do you have?
I have a bird (“Coco”) — a very low-intensity pet. I also have kids — not low–intensity, but the greatest joy of my life.
Tell us one fun fact about you.
I love traveling to interesting and exotic locales. My partner and I were most recently in Albania and then Alabama.
