LAD24 KEYNOTE &
FEATURED SPEAKERS
Doug Bunch
Partner, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, and former U.S. Public Delegate to the United Nations
S. Douglas Bunch is a Partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, a member of the Securities Litigation & Investor Protection practice group, and Co-Chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee. Mr. Bunch represents public and private pension fund investors in securities and shareholder class actions. Mr. Bunch has been recognized by the industry and named to Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers,” Benchmark Litigation’s “40 & Under Hot List,” and Law360’s “Rising Stars – Securities,” honoring lawyers under the age of 40 whose professional accomplishments transcend their age.
In September 2022, President Joseph R. Biden appointed Mr. Bunch to serve as U.S. Public Delegate to the United Nations. During his term, Mr. Bunch has worked alongside colleagues at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and at the U.S. Department of State to advance the diplomatic priorities and foreign policy objectives of the United States at the UN.
Mr. Bunch also plays a prolific role in empowering students and cultivating educational opportunity – nationally and globally. He is the co-founder and chairman of Global Playground, Inc., a nonprofit that builds schools and other educational infrastructure in the developing world, and he serves or has served on the boards of multiple other education nonprofits. Mr. Bunch was appointed in 2016 and again in 2020 to the Board of Visitors of the College of William & Mary, by the Governor of Virginia. He currently serves on the Executive Committee and as Chair of the Committee on Institutional Advancement.
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Dr. Sonia Feigenbaum, Ph.D.
Senior Vice Provost for Global Engagement and Chief International Officer, The University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Sonia Feigenbaum joined UT Austin in 2019, as inaugural senior vice provost for global engagement and chief international officer. During her tenure, she has led the rebranding of Texas Global to illustrate a broader vision for global engagement at UT and create a comprehensive virtual institutional global presence. She restructured and expanded operations to maximize growth by creating new units including Global Engagement and Strategy; Global Initiatives and Alumni Relations; and Global Programs and Innovation. In 2020, Dr. Feigenbaum led the vision for the publication of the first university biennial global engagement report and in 2021, UT Austin received the prestigious Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization. In 2022, she launched the first UT Austin Global Gateway in Mexico City. Dr. Feigenbaum has raised funds in excess $16M to implement on- and off-campus internationalization programs and negotiated new contracts with international partners in the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Panama, India, and Saudi Arabia. Before joining UT Austin, she was associate vice chancellor for international engagement and global strategies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and associate provost for global engagement at Brown University. She has extensive background in policymaking pertinent to global initiatives spanning academia, and close to 15 years of service with the federal government where she administered and managed budgets in excess of $250M, as well as work in the nonprofit sector.
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U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta
California Representative
America's Languages Caucus House Co-Chair
United States Representative Jimmy Panetta proudly serves California’s 19th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. His diverse and beautiful district stretches from south San Jose in Santa Clara County, over the hills into Santa Cruz County, down the coastline of Monterey County, and into northern San Luis Obispo County. First elected in 2016, he is serving his fourth term in Congress. He currently serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means, the House Committee on Armed Services, and House Committee on the Budget. He also serves as a Chief Deputy Whip in the 118th Congress.
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Congressman Panetta is the America's Languages Caucus's House Co-Chair. He also leads and supports several pieces of language legislation and programming including the World Language Advancement and Readiness Grants Program (WLARP), the recently introduced World Language Education Assistance Program (World LEAP) Act.
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U.S. Senator Brian Schatz
Hawaii Senator
Chair of Senate Indian Affairs Committee
America's Languages Caucus Senate Co-Chair
Since joining the Senate, he has focused his work on helping workers, veterans, and families and has led key legislation on health care, climate change, and technology.
Senator Schatz chairs the Indian Affairs Committee, and serves on the Appropriations Committee; the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee; the Foreign Relations Committee; and the Select Committee on Ethics. He also serves on the Senate Democratic Caucus's leadership team as Deputy Conference Secretary and Chief Deputy Whip.
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Prior to his service in Congress, Senator Schatz was Hawai‘i’s Lieutenant Governor and served for eight years in the Hawai‘i State House of Representatives.
Senator Schatz grew up in Honolulu, and received his bachelor’s degree from Pomona College. He is married to Linda Schatz, an architect. They have a son and a daughter.
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