Alissa Cooper is the Executive Director of the Knight-Georgetown Institute (KGI). She is a recognized leader in the development of global Internet standards, policy, and governance. Alissa has served in a variety of roles in the tech industry, including Chair of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the world’s premier Internet standards organization. She led the IETF through significant transitions related to Internet security and encryption, network performance, privacy, and real-time voice and video. She previously served as the chair of the IANA Stewardship Coordination Group, which delivered the technical plan that allowed the U.S. Department of Commerce to transfer oversight of Internet governance to the global multistakeholder community.
Prior to joining KGI, Alissa spent a decade at Cisco Systems in senior engineering and executive roles, including Vice President of Technology Standards and Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Technology Policy. She played a central part in shaping Cisco’s approach to technology standardization, public policy, and privacy across the company’s networking, security, and collaboration businesses. Alissa was the first woman in Cisco history to be promoted to Fellow, the company’s highest engineering distinction.
Prior to joining Cisco, Alissa served as the Chief Computer Scientist at the Center for Democracy and Technology, where she was a leading public interest advocate and technologist focused on privacy and net neutrality. Alissa holds a D.Phil from the Oxford Internet Institute and M.S. and B.S. degrees in computer science from Stanford University. She currently serves on the board of The Tor Project.
