Dear NCSG colleagues,


Below is my public statement accepting my nomination to the GNSO Council and setting out my background, qualifications, acceptance of time commitment and objectives.

 

My name is Maria Farrell and I live in the Europe region, in the UK. I am female. I am self-employed. My only current contract is with infoDev, at The World Bank in Washington DC, where I was previously employed fulltime as a communications consultant. My current work for them is finishing a policy advisory project for the government of Brazil on electronic waste.

 

As far as I am aware, I have no conflicts of interest regarding a position as a GNSO Councillor. I have done one consulting job related to new gTLDs. I advised London’s relevant government agency on its subsequent bid for dot London. This involved writing a business case, tender documents and preparing financial modeling. This contract concluded in December 2011, and I have not worked on the preparation of this or any other new gTLD application.I am not affiliated with any registry or registrar, or other business depending on ICANN's decisions.

 

I am willing and able to represent the NCSG as a GNSO Councillor. I have been a member of the NCUC for 2.5 years and served as its representative on ICANN’s Nominating Committee until my resignation from that position in June, this year. I am an active member and work to stay in contact with a wide range of the NCSG membership.

 

I am involved in Internet-related policy activities in the UK. I currently serve as a Board Director and member of the Policy Advisory Board of the Open Rights Group, an advocacy organization that works on protecting digital rights in the UK.

 

I was previously a staff member of ICANN, from 2005 to 2010. I was hired as the GNSO’s first dedicated policy officer, and I worked on Whois, amongst other issues, for two years. I then joined the new Corporate Affairs team in an internal communications role. Before ICANN, I worked on Internet policy issues (mostly data protection, information security and some telecoms) for the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, and the Law Society of England and Wales. (Further info about my background is here: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/maria-farrell/0/456/a85)

 

I believe I am well qualified to represent NCSG as I have deep working knowledge of ICANN and Internet policy more broadly. I am committed to advocating for freedom of expression and privacy as they relate to GNSO issues, and to ensuring that noncommercial users’ interests are reflected in policy outcomes.

 

If elected, I will continue to talk and listen to the wide variety of our membership, and represent all our interests as best I can. I will also work with our constituency leadership to get and keep a diversity of our membership informed and involved in the many working groups of the GNSO.

 

I am available to serve on the GNSO, recognizing the significant time commitment this involves.

 

I am happy to answer questions anyone has for me about my background, qualifications or general approach to this position. I would be honoured to represent the NCSG, and will do my best to serve our community and ICANN’s public interest, if I am elected.

 

Yours faithfully, Maria Farrell

 

 



On 25 August 2012 11:24, Kristina Macaulay <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

David looks a good candidate… from the points below. EFA show's his inclination and ability… I wonder if his is his 2nd Ph.D?

Kristina

On 25 Aug 2012, at 11:13, Clarinettet wrote:

I do not know any candidate personally.
I am glad to have a bio with previous engagement of this candidate.
Aninteresting profile
Thanks.

Tara
IT/IP Lawyer
Sent from my iPad

On 25 Aug 2012, at 08:31, David Cake <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Position: GNSO Councillor

Personal Details: My name is David Gerard Cake. I am male. I live in Perth, in Western Australia, which is within the Asia Pacific Region. 

Qualifications: I joined NCUC (taking over from Kim Heitman as the representative of Electronic Frontiers Australia) in 2009, at the Sydney meeting. I was elected to the NCUC Exec as the Asia Pacific Representative, and I have been re-elected once since (and I am now term limited from running again). i also served on the Security, Stability and Resiliency Review Team, which included meetings with the majority of the ICANN structure, and reviews of many aspects of ICANNs operation. I have attended the Sydney, Nairobi, San Francisco, Singapore, Dakar, Costa Rica and Prague ICANN meetings in person (and remotely participated in some others), and at all the meetings I attended in person I attended the majority of GNSO sessions. With the resignation of Konstantinos as NCUC Chair, I was chosen to serve as interim chair, so I have been serving as NCUC chair for some months, including at the recent Prague meeting. I believe I have a good understanding of ICANN in general, and the issues and operation of the GNSO Council in particular. 
I have been a board member of Electronic Frontiers Australia, Australia leading online civil rights organisation, since 2004, and became Vice-Chair in 2004, and Chair in 2011 (coincidentally during the Singapore ICANN Meeting). Through this experience I have a broad understanding of the wide range of issues involved in Internet policy.

Reasons for willingness to take on the particular position: I am committed to the protection of non-commercial interests in Internet policy, and specifically within the domain name area. I have a strong commitment to the protection of free expression, privacy, and human rights within the Internet policy domain, to the protection of an open and free Internet, and to the multi-stakeholder model, especially the participation of civil society as an equal partner. The GNSO Council provides one of the most useful ways to work towards these goals. And I am committed to NCUCs role within ICANN, and welcome the opportunity to contribute. 

Employment: I am currently a graduate student (enrolled in the Ph.D program) in the Internet Studies Department of Curtin University, studying Internet governance issues, and I have also been employed as a sessional academic for Curtin, and for Curtin College, an associated institution. I have a computer science degree, and 20 years experience in the computer industry, and I also perform some occasional technical consulting work. 

Availability: My schedule is flexible enough to allow me to fulfil all required GNSO council duties, including attending ICANN meetings and participating in the majority of GNSO phone meetings and NCSG policy calls. 

Conflicts of Interest: I do not have any financial or employment interests with any entity with a contract or financial interest with ICANN, and I do not believe I have any applicable conflicts of interest. 
I've very much enjoyed working with the great group of committed people I've met through NCUC/NCSG over the last couple of years, a fun and talented group that I am proud to call colleagues, and I very much appreciate the trust placed in me with this position, and the opportunity to work with a really great team. of council representatives. 

Regards

David