Cara Griffith
President and CEO, Tax Analysts

As the moderator for our Taxing Issues webinars, Cara objectively analyzes issues and asks probing questions that challenge panelists to explain and defend their positions.

When she’s not moderating Taxing Issues webinars, Cara provides strategic oversight for Tax Analysts. She has led efforts to improve the Tax Notes suite of products and to aggressively pursue transparency in the administration of tax systems. Previously, Cara managed the editorial department, including the flagship daily news publications and weekly magazines. She has written for a broad range of tax policy publications, including Tax Notes State, The Tax Adviser, The Hedge Fund Law Report, and The Hill. She regularly speaks at tax conferences and other events, discussing a variety of technical tax issues as well as the need for transparency in tax administration.

Cara has a BA in political science and a BA in international studies from the University of Evansville and a JD from the George Washington University Law School.

Courtney Connell
Principal, Washington Council Ernst & Young LLP 

Courtney is a principal at Washington Council Ernst & Young, where she works closely with clients who are navigating challenging legislative and regulatory tax matters. 

A former chief tax counsel to the Senate Finance Committee, Courtney brings experience across the spectrum of tax policy, including previous roles as an IRS attorney, in-house tax counsel for Fortune 100 and Fortune Global 250 companies, and most recently on Capitol Hill. She is also an alumna of the EY Financial Services Organization. During her tenure on the Hill, she worked on several major pieces of tax legislation, including playing a key role in developing and drafting the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 

Courtney’s technical background coupled with significant policy experience provides unique insights and advice to clients. 

She has a BA in Communications from Pennsylvania State, a JD from University of Pittsburgh and an LLM in tax from Georgetown University. 

Alex Durante
Senior Economist, Tax Foundation

Alex Durante is an economist at the Tax Foundation, focusing on federal tax policy and model development.  From 2015 to 2016, he served as a taxes and growth fellow at the foundation. 

From 2018 to 2019, he served as a staff economist on the Council of Economic Advisers, working primarily on trade policy and contributing economic analysis to the Economic Report to the President.  

Durante holds a BS in economics from the College of New Jersey and an MS in applied economics from Johns Hopkins University. 

Jennifer Hillman
Professor and Co-Director, Institute of International Economic Law at Georgetown University Law Center

Jennifer Hillman is a professor from practice at Georgetown Law, teaching classes in international trade, investment, finance and development.  She serves as a co-director of Georgetown’s Institute of International Economic Law, and the co-founder of its Center on Inclusive Trade and Development.  Her work has focused on the rules-based trading system and its implications for everything from tariffs, to climate change, to reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO). She previously served on the WTO's Appellate Body, as a commissioner at the U.S. International Trade Commission and as both general counsel and chief textiles negotiator at the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Her legal career includes stints in private practice and serving as the legislative director for U.S. Senator Terry Sanford (D-NC). Hillman received degrees from Duke University and the Harvard Law School. 

Rochelle Hodes
Partner in Tax, Crowe Advisory

Rochelle Hodes is a partner in Washington National Tax at Crowe Advisory LLC leading tax controversy and tax policy services. Prior to joining Crowe, Ms. Hodes was Associate Tax Legislative Counsel in the Office of Tax Policy at the U.S. Treasury Department. While at Treasury, she worked on a variety of matters, including the centralized partnership audit regime enacted by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA), taxation of digital assets, and implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. She began her career as an attorney with the IRS Office of Chief Counsel. Before returning to Treasury, Rochelle spent several years in private practice. Her experience includes assisting clients in resolving federal tax disputes, obtaining private letter rulings, and addressing and responding to regulatory and legislative changes in tax policy. 

Ms. Hodes is a frequent speaker and author, including a contributing author for the treatise “IRS Practice and Procedure.” In 2017, she was named a ‘Tax Person of the Year’ for 2017 by Tax Notes for her work at Treasury implementing the BBA partnership audit rules. She received her LL.M from Georgetown University Law Center, her JD from Washington College of Law and her undergraduate degree from the American University. She is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and a fellow with the American College of Tax Counsel.  She is an American Bar Association Tax Section Council Director and a past chair of the IRS Advocacy and Relations Committee of the Tax Section of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. 

Kenneth Kies
Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy and Acting Chief Counsel of the IRS

Kenneth J. Kies is a Washington tax policy veteran with more than 40 years of experience spanning government, private practice, and federal tax policy. 

Most recently, Kies served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy and Acting Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate in June 2025, he played a leading role in the Treasury Department’s implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), the sweeping tax legislation enacted in 2025. 

Before his Senate confirmation, Kies was managing director of the Federal Policy Group LLC, where he advised clients on federal tax policy matters before Congress, the Treasury Department, the IRS, and the OECD. Earlier in his career, he served as chief of staff of the U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation from 1995 to 1998, giving him firsthand experience with the development and implementation of federal tax legislation. 

Kies began his career as a tax associate at Baker & Hostetler in 1977 and later became firmwide chair of the firm’s tax practice. From 1982 to 1987, he served as chief Republican tax counsel to the House Ways and Means Committee, where he worked on major legislation, including the Tax Reform Act of 1986. He later co-managed the Washington National Tax Services office of PricewaterhouseCoopers before founding what became the Federal Policy Group. 

Over more than four decades, Kies has worked at the intersection of Congress, the Treasury Department, the IRS, and the private sector, bringing a rare perspective on how tax policy is developed, enacted, implemented, and ultimately affects taxpayers and businesses. 

Michael Lebovitz
Senior Vice President of International Tax Policy, USCIB

Michael Lebovitz is USCIB’s Senior Vice President, International Tax Policy. Lebovitz has a distinguished 40-year career across global law firms and Big Four accounting platforms, with extensive experience in both the United States and Europe. He has led international tax projects and teams in more than 100 countries and is widely recognized as a speaker and author on cutting-edge global tax issues. Before joining USCIB, Lebovitz served as an International Tax Partner at Eversheds Sutherland. 

In addition to his long-standing engagement with USCIB’s Tax Committee and Business at OECD (BIAC) Tax and Economic Development Committee, Lebovitz is active in numerous professional organizations, including the International Fiscal Association, where he is a member of the Executive Committee, the International Senior Lawyers Project and the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) Tax Committee. He also serves on several boards, including as a trustee of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a governing board member of Chadwick International School in Songdo, South Korea, and as Deputy Chair of Shakespeare’s Globe USA, the US affiliate of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London. 

Lebovitz holds a Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, and a Bachelor of Science in Business/Accounting from California State University, Long Beach. Lebovitz is a member of the State Bar of California, a solicitor under the laws of England and Wales and a California certified public accountant. 

Scott Levine
Partner, Backer Mckenzie
Former Treasury deputy assistant secretary for international tax affairs in the Biden administration

Scott Levine is a partner in Baker McKenzie’s Tax Practice Group, based in the firm’s DC office. He has more than 25 years of private practice experience advising multinational companies on the tax aspects of corporate transactions, including cross-border and domestic mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs and other divestitures, restructurings, financing and joint ventures. Scott has also successfully negotiated private letter rulings with the Internal Revenue Service in the corporate, international, financial instruments and energy tax credit areas. 

Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Scott most recently served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary (International Tax Affairs) in the US Department of the Treasury, where he led the Office of Tax Policy's work on international affairs, including regulations, treaties, and the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS negotiations on Pillar 1 and Pillar 2. 

Keith Martin
Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP

Keith Martin is a tax lawyer in the Washington office of Norton Rose Fulbright who has helped lead the project finance group at the firm for more than 25 years.  The group did $309 billion in project financings and closed more than 620 significant transactions in the last five years.  He worked for 232 companies last year on numerous transactions.  He also lobbies the US Treasury and Congress on policy issues.  He was counsel to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) and a legislative assistant to Senator Henry M. Jackson (D-WA) before moving to private law practice.  The prestigious Chambers directory gives him its sole "star" ranking among US renewable energy lawyers. 

Zorka Milin
Co-Director of the FACT Coatlition

Zorka Milin is Co-Director of the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition, a non-partisan alliance of more than 100 organizations campaigning for a fair international tax system and policies to combat illicit finance. An international tax lawyer and advocate, she has testified before the U.S. Senate and House and spoken before the European Parliament. She has been profiled in Forbes and quoted widely, including in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Financial Times, New Yorker, and BBC. She is also a fellow of the Roosevelt Institute. 

Danielle Rolfes
Partner in Charge, Washington National Tax at KPMG in the U.S.
Danielle is the Partner-in-Charge of the KPMG Washington National Tax practice, the technical core of the firm’s Tax practice in the United States. She also serves as Tax Policy Lead for the Americas. 

Danielle advises multinational clients on the U.S. international tax aspects of their structures, operations, and transactions. In particular, she has extensive experience advising on issues relating to U.S. and global tax policy, tax treaties, expense allocation, source of income rules, and foreign tax credits. She is a frequent speaker on these topics at KPMG and industry events. 

Prior to joining KPMG in 2017, Danielle served as International Tax Counsel at the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy. In that role, she was the principal legal adviser to the Assistant Secretary of Tax Policy and other Treasury officials and led the Office of the International Tax Counsel, whose attorneys provide legal advice and analysis on all international tax issues, including developing and reviewing legislative proposals, promulgating regulations and administrative guidance in consultation with the IRS, and negotiating tax treaties. She also served as a U.S. delegate to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, with active involvement in the formulation of the policies now referred to as BEPS 1.0. 

Prior to joining the Treasury Department, Danielle was a partner at a law firm, where she advised multinational corporations on international tax planning, controversy, and compliance matters. 

Danielle received her JD degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 2002, where she served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Danielle also earned an LLM in taxation, with distinction, from Georgetown University Law Center and a BS degree in accountancy, summa cum laude, from Wright State University. Danielle is a certified public accountant licensed in the District of Columbia and Virginia. 

Randi Rosenberg
Senior Vice President of Tax, Siemens Corporation

Randi has been a tax lawyer at Siemens for over 30 years and was excited to be named Siemens’ US Head of Tax in January of 2025. Throughout her career, she has advised on a wide variety of domestic and international tax matters, including inbound and cross-border tax planning, M&A, executive compensation and employee benefits, and Federal and state tax audit and controversy.  She also closely follows US corporate tax legislative and regulatory developments, ensuring Siemens remains well-positioned amid an evolving tax landscape.  Randi holds a B.S. in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a J.D. from Villanova University School of Law, and an LL.M. in Tax from NYU.  Outside of work, Randi enjoys spending time with her husband and two adult children.   

Kevin Salinger
Acting Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy (Treasury) & Acting Chief Counsel (IRS)

Kevin Salinger is the Acting Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Acting Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service.  He leads Treasury’s Office of Tax Policy and the IRS’s Office of Chief Counsel, advising senior Administration officials on federal tax policy and tax administration. He leads the regulatory implementation of the Working Families Tax Cuts, as well as major domestic and international tax regulatory initiatives. Before joining the government, he spent more than a decade at Jefferies, where he was a Managing Director. He began his career at Sullivan & Cromwell, and holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. 

Lee Sheppard
Contributing Editor, Tax Notes

Lee is one of the nation's most widely read and respected tax commentators. Named one of the Global Tax 50 most influential players in international taxation in 2012 by International Tax Review, she specializes in financial issues and the taxation of multinational corporations. She has written commentary on treaty issues, transfer pricing, European tax developments, and cutting-edge financial issues such as derivatives, hybrid securities, and hedge funds. Before joining Tax Analysts in 1983, Lee practiced tax law at McDermott Will & Emery. She has a JD from the Northwestern University School of Law. 

Adam Smith
Partner, Gibson Dunn

Adam M. Smith is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn and co-chair of the firm’s International Trade Advisory and Enforcement and Sanctions and Export Enforcement Practice Groups. His practice focuses on international trade and economic policy, including tariffs, economic sanctions, CFIUS, export and import controls, embargoes, and anti-bribery and anti-corruption regulations. 

Smith previously served in the Obama administration as Senior Advisor to the Director of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and as Director for Multilateral Affairs on the National Security Council. At OFAC, he helped shape and enforce U.S. sanctions policy, briefed congressional and private-sector leaders, conducted international outreach, and participated in complex international negotiations. At the National Security Council, he advised the President on international sanctions, coordinated interagency efforts, and helped develop strategies to counter corruption and promote asset recovery. 

Smith is consistently recognized as a leading international trade attorney by Chambers USA and Chambers Global. Legal 500 US named him a “Leading Lawyer” for international trade, and Global Investigations Review has included him among its “25 Most Respected Sanctions Lawyers in Washington, D.C.” He has also been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America and Who’s Who Legal for his work in international trade, sanctions, and customs. 

Stephanie Soong
Chief Correspondent, Tax Notes Today International

Stephanie specializes in international tax reporting, offering expert coverage on the OECD, the G7 and G20, and the two-pillar global tax reform plan, and she is a frequent guest on the Tax Notes Talk weekly podcast. She has been included in ICAEW’s #Economia50 list of the most influential sources of finance news and information in social media, and in International Tax Review’s Global Tax 50 list of influential individuals, organizations, and geopolitical events in the tax world. After freelancing for various publications, she joined Tax Analysts in 2012 and previously served as a reporter and senior reporter. Stephanie has a BA in English literature from the University of California, Irvine, and an MS in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. 

Cady Stanton
Senior Reporter, Tax Notes Today

Cady joined Tax Analysts in 2023 as a congressional reporter with Tax Notes Today Federal, covering Capitol Hill. Her beat focuses on federal tax policy, the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees, IRS appropriations, and other tax updates in Congress. Her previous reporting has appeared in USA Today, The Winsted Phoenix, Washington Monthly, and The Hill. She has a BA from Georgetown University.  

Isaac Wood
Deputy International Tax Counsel, Department of Treasury

Isaac Wood serves as Deputy International Tax Counsel in the Office of Tax Policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. As part of his duties, Isaac serves as U.S. delegate to the OECD’s Working Party 11 which carries out the technical work on the Pillar Two global minimum tax. Prior to joining the Treasury Department, Isaac was in private practice and clerked at the U.S. Court of the Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Isaac received both his J.D. and undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia.