Lauren Kerner is a senior strategist who has served in advisory roles supporting principals in the Biden-Harris Administration, including former SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman and former Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves. In these capacities, she managed teams of senior executive staff and led communications, legislative, policy, and operations efforts to advance priorities ranging from day-to-day management to high-stakes international engagements.

Her career also includes international experience with an NGO in the Middle East led by Chief Oslo Accords negotiator Uri Savir and with a mining and green energy company in Australia, as well as political campaign work across nine states. She brings deep expertise in international affairs, economic development, and strategic communications. She also advises a mission-driven startup focused on expanding access to affordable healthcare for new mothers. Lauren holds a B.A. in History, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of California, Irvine, and an M.Sc. in Modern Middle Eastern Studies from Oxford.

Jere Boyle served as Senior Advisor for Domestic Policy at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Previously, he was Assistant Vice President and Managing Director of Community and Economic Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, where he led efforts to expand fair access to credit, capital, and economic opportunity. His career also includes roles in municipal economic development with the City of Chicago and the Village of Arlington Heights, as well as nonprofit community development with the North River Commission. Jere holds a B.A. in Political Science and a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois, and an MBA from North Park University in Chicago.

Lauren Beck is an Oscar-nominated producer and creative strategist whose work spans independent cinema, global marketing, and cultural impact. She earned an Academy Award nomination for Manchester by the Sea and has produced projects including Suspiria, Through a Lens Darkly, and Opposite Field.

Her narrative work extends to major brands and NGOs—from PepsiCo and Calvin Klein to Condé Nast and the Ford Foundation—and has been featured at the Venice Biennale and Brooklyn Museum. Beck is an Adjunct Professor at Yale University, serves on the board of 1952 Africa, and leads Highland Creek’s Storytelling & Movement-Building practice, advancing narrative as economic infrastructure.

Eric Morrissette is a senior policy executive with over 15 years of experience at the intersection of economic policy, national security, and business development. He has held senior positions at the U.S. Department of Commerce, including Acting Under Secretary of Minority Business Development, Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs. In these roles, he advanced policies expanding opportunities for diverse businesses and contributed to the passage and implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the Inflation Reduction Act. His career also includes oversight of economic institutions in Congress, service at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the CIA, and staff roles for congressional leaders including Senators Charles Schumer and Amy Klobuchar. Eric serves as Vice Chair of the Maryland Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission, is a Fellow at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, and is an Adjunct Professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Public Policy.

Lorena Molina-Irizarry is founder and CEO of 1iLabs, where she leads efforts to transform ecosystems into engines of sustainable economic growth through open innovation, data, and systems design. She previously served as Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Census Bureau, where she advanced strategies for Puerto Rico’s economic growth, including implementation of the Child Tax Credit. As co-founder and former Director of Operations at the Census Open Innovation Labs, Lorena spearheaded open-data initiatives like the Opportunity Project and the Open Data for Good Grand Challenge, building partnerships with technology companies, civic organizations, and media to strengthen innovation, protect the 2020 Census, and combat misinformation. Earlier, she served as Technology Communications Liaison for the Census Bureau’s CIO and Chief Information Security Officer, leading strategy on technology, cybersecurity, and innovation.

Benjamin Haas served as Chief of Staff of the Bureau of Industry and Security at the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he was a member of the Senior Executive Service. Previously, he served as Principal Senior Advisor at the Office of the National Cyber Director at the White House and as Senior Advisor in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the U.S. Department of State. Before joining the Biden-Harris Administration, Benjamin worked on the Biden-Harris transition, at Human Rights First, and at Covington & Burling. Before becoming a lawyer, he served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. In that role, he was deployed to Afghanistan twice. He is a member of the Stanford Law School Board of Visitors and was a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Benjamin holds a J.D. from Stanford Law School and a B.S. in International Relations from West Point.