Speakers
Kevin Dempsey is the president and chief executive officer of the American Iron and Steel Institute, a leading advocacy group representing electric arc furnace and integrated American steel producers. He previously served as senior vice president of public policy and general counsel to the Institute during which AISI achieved landmark policy successes on trade, tax and infrastructure, and successfully showcased the steel industry’s sustainability accomplishments and steel innovations in the auto and construction markets.
Dempsey is well known in industry and trade circles, on Capitol Hill and by government officials in the U.S. and globally. He is a regular speaker at industry, policy and media events, and has been featured in dozens of national, regional and trade media, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Reuters, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Politico, CNBC and CNN, to name a few. Before joining AISI, Dempsey was a partner at Dewey & LeBoeuf where he led numerous international trade cases on behalf of American steel producers and other U.S. industries. He also served as counsel to former U.S. Senator John C. Danforth (R-MO) and the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Dempsey received his Juris Doctor Degree from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Washington University in St. Louis.
Connor Lokar spoke at the Government Affairs Conference in 2022 and 2023, and presented an economic forecast that was entertaining and surprisingly comprehensible. You won't want to miss his 2024 update.
Few young economists present their insights with the authority, accuracy, and humor that Connor Lokar brings to the stage. From the intimate executive retreat to the standing-room-only keynote, he delivers with charm and candor, rousing and enlightening all who attend his talks. As a millennial, Connor brings a new perspective to the world of economics, delivering ITR’s industry-leading accuracy to current C-suite executives while forging connections with the next generation of business leaders.
Connor specializes in construction but consults and presents to businesses across all industries, helping them grow revenue and remain profitable through an everchanging business cycle.
Cara Morrow is Senior Advisor for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. With more than two decades of U.S. trade policy expertise and negotiating experience across a wide range of multilateral, regional and bilateral trade issues, Cara Morrow has spent nearly the entirety of her career in U.S. federal government service, beginning as an intern in USTR’s Office of Europe and the Middle East in the summer of 2001. After formally beginning her career at Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA), she joined the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), serving in various roles over 14 years, including Director for Tariff Affairs, Director for Regional Trade Agreements, Deputy Assistant USTR for WTO and Multilateral Affairs, and Acting Assistant USTR for WTO and Multilateral Affairs, and represented the United States at the WTO, OECD and G20. Cara was appointed by the Biden-Harris Administration as Director of Policy at ITA in January 2021, where she successfully negotiated three international steel and aluminum agreements that protected U.S. national security, ensured the continued existence of America’s steel and aluminum industries, and eliminated more than one billion dollars per year in retaliatory tariffs against iconic American brands including Jack Daniels and Harley Davidson. Ms. Morrow grew up in public service as part of a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot family, moving eight times to different U.S. states and countries before graduating high school. She received her B.A. in International Relations from the University of California at Davis and a Master’s Degree in Commercial Diplomacy from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Ms. Morrow is married with two sons and lives in Arlington, Virginia.