Jonathan Zuck | President

Jonathan Zuck is a widely known and respected leader in the technology industry. As a professional software developer and IT executive with more than 15 years of experience, Mr. Zuck brings an insider’s perspective to his role as President of the Association for Competitive Technology.

Since assuming leadership of ACT, Mr. Zuck has provided analysis, commentary and background information on a wide range of technology issues to the media, the public and Congress. He has been called on as a technology expert for the major news networks including CNN, CNBC and ABC, he is a frequent contributor to national and local radio news programs, and is consistently quoted in the trade and popular press. A prolific writer whose work has appeared in trade publications including PC Magazine, PC Week, Windows Tech Journal and in several books, Mr. Zuck is in high demand as a speaker at trade conferences around the world.

Just prior to coming on board for ACT, Mr. Zuck served as Director of Technical Services at the Spectrum Technology Group in Washington, D.C., a consulting firm specializing in client/server, Internet and data warehouse solutions development. In 1988, Mr. Zuck founded and served as President of User Friendly, Inc., of Washington, D.C., a company providing consulting and software development services to local businesses. Mr. Zuck also set up U.S. operations for a French software firm where he helped build the company into an $11 million business.

In 1996, Mr. Zuck joined Financial Dynamics as Vice President of Technology, where he set the standard for innovation in technical architecture, career management and employee empowerment. During his tenure, company revenues doubled, and his leadership helped position the firm for a strategic combination with the Spectrum Technology Group in November 1997.

Morgan Reed | Executive Director

Morgan Reed is a widely known and respected expert on the government impact on technology innovation. As ACT’s Executive Director, Morgan specializes in issues involving application development relating to privacy, intellectual property, competition, and small business innovation.

His expertise and knowledge has been sought by the House and Senate in multiple hearings while his commentary and insight is a major draw for news networks including Fox Business News, MSNBC, CNBC, CNN, and ABC. He is consistently quoted in the trade and popular press, ranging from the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post to Ars Technica and Slashdot.

Morgan has authored and contributed to several white papers dealing with applications development and government, including “A Crash Course on Open Source” and “A Software Developer’s Guide to the DMCA.” He was part of the developer team for the Linux Router Project (LEAF), and remains an active Apple and iOS licensed developer.

His recent work has focused on outreach to app developers to help them recognize and respond to concerns about privacy in the mobile marketplace. As Congress and the FTC have devoted considerable efforts to rewrite and update online privacy regulations, Morgan has traveled across the country to speak at developer conferences encouraging app makers to lead self-regulatory efforts by implementing privacy policies and improving transparency.

Morgan was recently appointed to serve on the Advisory Council of mHIMSS, the mobile Health Information Management System Society. mHIMSS serves the health IT community by supporting efforts to embrace and harness the power of mobile health to improve care and control costs. The health care community is seeing dramatic advances in remote care aided by growth in the smartphone and tablet industries.

Morgan has also leveraged ACT’s resources to host innovation workshops across the country. Organizing events with venture capitalists, business leaders and attorneys, he helps to foster innovative new technologies by helping new emerging businesses manage their intellectual property. An organization called Innovators Network emerged from these events and is now comprised of more than 2,000 members.

Before coming to Washington, Morgan worked for a Taiwan-based trading company specializing in the manufacture of technology products for the U.S. market. He served as managing director of North American sales, handling bilingual contract negotiation. During his time abroad, Morgan gave lectures in both English and Chinese on various aspects of U.S.-China trade, including building and maintaining long term partnerships in Asia. His expertise on Chinese business practices is regularly sought throughout the administration.

Mark Blafkin | Vice President for Public Affairs

Mark joined ACT in September of 2001 as the organization’s first Director of Communications. In this role, Mark is responsible for media outreach, writing and strategic planning. Prior to joining ACT, Mark served as a communications professional for both political candidates and high tech corporations. Most recently, Mark served as a Account Manager for the Merritt Group, a high tech marketing and public relations firm in Tysons Corner, VA. At the Merritt Group, Mark managed accounts for Check Point Software, ScoreBoard, Etensity and others. Mark has also done high tech marketing/communications for Ogilvy Public Relations in Washington, DC.

From 1996 to 1999, Mark held several political communications positions. In 1996, he began as a political assistant at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He served as Campaign Director for Joe, Slade White & Company, a political media consultancy, during the 1998 election cycle. At Joe Slade White, Mark managed advertising campaigns for Governor Tony Knowles of Alaska, Congressman Mark Udall of Colorado and AT&T issue advocacy. In 1999, Mark was the Communications Director for the John White, Jr. for Mayor Campaign in Philadelphia the mayor of Philadelphia.

Mark has a B.S. in Communications and Political Science from Boston University. He is currently pursuing graduate work in the sociology/public policy of technology at Virginia Tech. Mark lives Alexandria, VA.

Jonathan Godfrey | Director of Communications

Jonathan joined ACT in 2010 after serving more than a decade in senior communications positions on Capitol Hill. In his current role, he identifies and drives communications strategy educating the press, public, and policymakers about the app market’s revolutionary impact on the software industry, job creation, and small business innovation. His areas of focus include promoting privacy transparency to build trusted relationships between app developers and users; highlighting the urgency to improve STEM education; expanding opportunities for mobile developers; protecting innovation for small business entrepreneurs; and preserving marketplace flexibility.

Jonathan’s experience at the intersection of technology and government provides a valuable perspective sought by many media outlets. He has been quoted in the Washington Post, New York Times, PC World, and the San Francisco Chronicle while authoring opinion pieces that have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Roll Call, Huffington Post, and many trade publications. Building on ACT’s leadership in the app community, Jonathan led the launch strategy of its new ACT 4 Apps initiatives addressing privacy, education, and children’s apps that have received broad acclaim from both federal regulators and industry leaders.

Prior to joining ACT, Jonathan held several communications and technology positions in Congress. As Communications Director and Technology Policy Advisor at the House Judiciary Committee, his efforts brought public attention to issues of judicial integrity, online privacy, home foreclosures, and football head injuries. He also led a transparency initiative publishing thousands of government documents online to inform and engage the public around policy decisions. These efforts earned the Committee and resultant crowdsourced initiatives numerous accolades and awards.

Jonathan also founded and managed the first congressional intranet for constituent outreach. He designed many of the online communications services and resources currently in use in Congress while leading Member offices to implement and refine their internet strategy. His contributions in a political capacity include the development of influential grassroots organizations and the creation of widely used campaign tracking services.

Jonathan lives in downtown Washington, DC and has a B.S.F.S. degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

Melissa Lee | Director of Membership

Melissa Moskal brings nearly a decade’s worth of experience in member associations, media, marketing, and grassroots organization to ACT.  As director of membership, she develops and maintains resources vital to helping ACT’s member companies succeed and helps win them exposure for their innovations.  Melissa also directs the Innovators Network, ACT’s special project connecting and providing resources for small innovators around the world.

Prior to joining the ACT team, Melissa managed member programs and government affairs for trade associations representing entrepreneurs in other industries. Melissa holds a degree in Political Science from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia.

Sara Kloek | Director of Outreach

As Director of Outreach, Sara Kloek uses her expertise gained from nearly a decade in grassroots organizing on political campaigns, advocacy campaigns and in the halls of the United States Congress to engage ACT members around the world. Sara coordinates the activity of the 5,000-member organization at conferences, workshops and meetups addressing app developer issues. She also manages ACT’s constituent communications program connecting app makers to lawmakers.

Prior to joining ACT, Sara worked for Representative Collin Peterson of Minnesota beginning as Staff Assistant in 2007 and eventually serving in dual roles as Legislative Assistant and Deputy Press Secretary. From 2001-2006, Sara worked on several campaigns in her home state of Minnesota including as Field Director on Rebecca Otto’s successful State Auditor race where she oversaw all of the campaign’s organizing initiatives.

While completing her degree in Spanish and Political Science at the University of Minnesota, Morris, she led initiatives at the Minnesota State Capitol in support of equitable funding for the University of Minnesota.

Debbie Rose | Intellectual Property Fellow

Thomas Sydnor II | Senior Fellow in Intellectual Property

Thomas Sydnor II researches and writes on intellectual-property law, particularly on copyrights, at ACT and Innovators Network.

Prior to joining ACT and Innovators Network, Sydnor served as Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for the Study of Intellectual Property at The Progress & Freedom Foundation, a market-oriented think tank.  Before PFF, he served as copyright advisor in the Office of International Relations at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  At USPTO, Sydnor worked on domestic and international copyright issues: He focused on China, advised USTR on the copyright provisions of the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement, and authored the groundbreaking USPTO report, Filesharing Programs and “Technological Features to Induce Users to Share.”

Sydnor also served as Counsel for Intellectual Property and Technology to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. During his time with the Committee, Sydnor helped to secure Senate passage of various pieces of legislation in the 108th Congress, including the Protecting Intellectual Rights Against Theft and Expropriation (PIRATE) Act, the Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act, and the Intellectual Property Protection and Courts Amendments Act. He also worked on the Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act of 2004, which proposed to create an inducement exception to the Supreme Court’s Sony decision—the approach adopted by the unanimous Supreme Court in MGM v. Grokster. He also helped to negotiate proposed legislation on diversion of patent fees from the USPTO.

Prior to his work with the U.S. Senate, Sydnor worked in private practice at two major law firms, specializing in litigating administrative-law and intellectual property cases. Sydnor is an Order of the Coif graduate of Duke Law School and a graduate of The Ohio State University.