Mapping the Future of Crypto

Clara Del Villar

Director of Senior Initiatives

Ms. Del Villar is Director of Senior Initiatives at FreedomWorks Foundation. She has a 28-year Financial Industry career as well as entrepreneurial roles in energy, health technology, and digital media industries. She was an advisor for 60Plus Foundation; Founder, CEO of The Hispanic Post, a conservative digital news site profiling U.S. Hispanic business community; Senior Portfolio Manager and VP in Private Asset Management at Neuberger Berman; VP Nomura Securities Capital Markets; VP, Compliance & Ethics at Nortel Networks. Founder of InEnergy Advisory, Managing Director at Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC). She sits on Board of Directors and Audit Committee of General American Investors Co.and Executive Committee of NY Weill Cornell Women’s Health Symposium. A member of AEI Leadership Network, Liberty Ladies, Tribeca Disruptor Foundation and American Alpine Club – trekked to Everest Base Camp, 2017. Retired Board director for Women’s National Republican Club. Clara has a Foreign Service Degree from Georgetown University and lives in New York City.

John Tamny

Director of the Center for Economic Freedom at FreedomWorks

John Tamny is Director of the Center for Economic Freedom at FreedomWorks. He’s also editor of RealClearMarkets and a senior economic adviser to Toreador Research & Trading. Tamny frequently writes about the securities markets, along with tax, trade and monetary policy issues that impact those markets for a variety of publications including the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Financial Times, National Review and London’s Daily Telegraph. His latest book, The End of Work, was released in May. Tamny contends that the definition of “work” is rapidly evolving such that more and more people are able to showcase their unique skills and intelligence in the marketplace. His view is that joy is rapidly replacing dread in the workplace. He’s also the author of Who Needs the Fed? (Encounter Books, 2016) and Popular Economics (Regnery, 2015). Prior to his present work, Tamny worked in private wealth management for Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs. He received a BA in Government from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MBA from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Phil Bell

Director of External Affairs

Phil Bell is the Director of External Affairs at FreedomWorks, where he serves as a member of the Development Team. He comes to FreedomWorks after extensive work in the Advocacy and Political sections of the Conservative Movement. This includes serving on the staffs of the Maryland Republican Party, Republican National Committee, and the 2012 Newt Gingrich presidential campaign, as well as lobbying in support of freight railroads and First Amendment issues. Education: B.A., Boston University, Political Science

Perianne Boring

Founder & CEO, Chamber of Digital Commerce

Perianne Boring is the founder and CEO of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the world's largest trade association representing the blockchain industry. The Chamber’s mission is to promote the acceptance and use of digital assets and blockchain-based technologies. Working with policymakers, regulatory agencies and industry, the Chamber advocates for a pro-growth policy environment that fosters job creation, innovation, and investment. Perianne was named one of "America’s Top 50 Women in Tech" by Forbes and one of the "10 Most Influential People in Blockchain" by CoinDesk. She appears regularly in the financial media to share insights on digital asset and blockchain innovations and public policy discussions. Prior to forming the Chamber, Perianne served as a television anchor for an international finance program that ran in more than 100 countries and reached over 650 million viewers. She began her career as a legislative analyst in the U.S. House of Representatives, advising on finance, economics, tax, and healthcare policy.

Tom Mapes

Senior Policy Analyst of the Digital Chamber of Commerce

Tom Mapes is a Sr. Policy Analyst at the Chamber of Digital Commerce with a focus on bitcoin mining. Tom helped develop and leads the first mining focused government advocacy campaign in D.C. Prior to joining the Chamber, Tom served at the Department of Energy as the Chief of Staff for International Affairs. In this role Tom was responsible for international energy coordination throughout the United States government. Prior to DOE Tom spent several years on Capitol hill serving several energy focused members of congress. Tom graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in economics.

Conor Carney

Manager, Government Affairs Robinhood Markets, Inc.

Cody Carbone

Policy Director Chamber of Digital Commerce

Cody Carbone serves as Policy Director for the Chamber. Prior to joining, Cody spent six years in the office of public policy at Ernst & Young (EY), where he led federal government engagement and advocacy efforts on issues related to financial services and technology. Cody has also spent time serving as legislative staff in the US House of Representatives and US Senate, working directly for his hometown Representative Leonard Lance from New Jersey. Cody received his Juris Doctorate (JD) and Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from Syracuse University where he served as President of the Student Bar Association. Cody also received his BS from the State University of New York at Cortland, where he was a member of the varsity men’s soccer team. Cody is admitted to the New York State Bar and currently resides in Washington, DC

Luke Hogg

Policy Manager, Lincoln Network

Luke Hogg is Policy Manager at Lincoln Network, focusing on the intersection of technological innovation and public policy. Prior to joining Lincoln Network, Luke was Federal Affair Manager at FreedomWorks where he primarily concentrated on blockchain, internet governance, and regulatory issues. He holds a BA in Government and Data Science from the College of William and Mary and currently lives in Washington D.C.

Caitlin Long

CEO of Custodia Bank

Ø Wyoming Blockchain Task Force, gubernatorial appointee, 2018-2019 Ø Chairman, WyoHackathon, 2018-present Ø Former chairman & president of Symbiont (2016-2018), which was named to Forbes Fintech 50 in 2018 Ø MarketsMedia Women in Finance Award for Excellence in Blockchain 2016 Inc. list of 10 business leaders changing the world through tech in 2016 Ø Institutional Investor list of most influential people in pensions (“Pension 40”): 2015, 2014, and 2013 Ø Bitcoin evangelist since 2012; served on Morgan Stanley’s internal blockchain working group (2014-2016) Ø 22 years of corporate finance experience, 1994-2016 (Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Salomon Brothers); Managing Director 2001-2016 Ø Started & ran 3 successful businesses in pensions and insurance; was a top-rated equity research analyst; worked directly for the co-CEOs Ø Numerous publications, press and speaking engagements (examples: WSJ, FT, CNBC, II Journal) Ø Harvard Law School (JD, 1994), Kennedy School of Government (MPP, 1994), University of Wyoming (BA, 1990)

Aaron Tilton

CEO of SmartFi

Aaron is President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Blue Castle Holdings, Inc. the parent corporation of Power Block Coin, LLC. Blue Castle Holdings formed Power Block Coin, LLC in response to the growing demand for electricity in the cryptocurrency mining market in 2017. Power Block Coin also responded to the cryptocurrency market demand for loans by becoming a non-bank lender in 2018. After founding Blue Castle Holdings, Aaron has overseen the acquisition, development of all assets and political strategies for the developments of a new two-unit nuclear power plant project. Previous to founding Blue Castle Holdings he developed and negotiated off take and power purchase agreements with municipal and investor owned utilities throughout the Southwest for two new power projects in the region. Aaron advised a venture capital firm on state regulatory matters for a first of a kind online pharmacy that utilized an online medical consultation. He has broad experience in pharmacy automation software and hardware solutions.

Fennie Wang

Founder and CEO at Humanity Cash

I sit at the nexus of law, technology and finance. As a lawyer at the heart of decentralized finance, my world is coming full circle—from Wall Street to Big Law to deep technology startups and now founding my own startup to build circular economies through community currencies and Universal Basic Income (UBI).

Lizzy Fallon

Financial Services Policy Advisor at U.S. House of Reps

Lizzy Fallon serves as a Financial Services Policy Advisor in the United States House of Representatives, leading the Representative’s Financial Services Committee portfolio, and specializing in policy related to fintech and blockchain/crypto. Additionally, Lizzy manages the Member’s co-chair responsibilities on the Blockchain Caucus.

James Shinn

Executive Director and Economist

James is Executive Director and Economist at Bitt. He has been the co-founder, investor, or advisor to a dozen technology start-ups, including the fields of digital signal processing, cybersecurity, and applied machine learning. He was a member of the team that won the finalist prize for the Global Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Challenge in 2021. He has a BA and PhD from Princeton, and an MBA from Harvard.

John Berlau

Director of Finance Policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute

John Berlau is a senior fellow and Director of Finance Policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. His work focuses on how public policy affects access to capital, entrepreneurship, and investments made by the public and business community alike. In recent years, he has studied the consequences of financial reform efforts passed by Congress like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the government’s response to the 2008 financial crisis including the Dodd-Frank Act, the placement of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship, and the rise of cryptocurrency. He is also the author of the book George Washington: Entrepreneur: How Our Founding Father’s Private Business Pursuits Changed America and the World. The book received rave reviews in the Wall Street Journal and other forums, and was endorsed by eminent historians and scholars such as Richard Brookhiser, Amity Shlaes, and Craig Shirley. Berlau is a contributing writer for Forbes. His work has been published and cited in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Financial Times, Bloomberg News, The Atlantic, Politico, Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, Investor’s Business Daily, National Journal, National Review, American Spectator, Reason Magazine, and more. He is a frequent guest on radio and television programs, including CNBC’s “The Call,” “Power Lunch” and “Closing Bell,” Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” and “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” and Fox Business’ “Cavuto.” He has testified on the impact of financial regulation before the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. A recognized expert on the phenomenon of crowdfunding, Berlau has spoken at prominent conferences such as South by Southwest Interactive in Austin, Money 20/20 in Las Vegas, the FinTech Global Expo in San Diego, the CFGE Crowdfund Banking and Lending Summit in San Francisco and the Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates (CFIRA) Summit in Washington, D.C. He is also author of the widely cited paper “Declaration of Crowdfunding Independence: Finance of the People, by the People, and for the People.” Berlau is an award-winning financial and political journalist. He served as Washington correspondent for Investor’s Business Daily and as a staff writer for Insight magazine, published by The Washington Times. In 2002, he received the Sandy Hume Memorial Award for Excellence in Political Journalism from Washington’s National Press Club. He was a media fellow at the Hoover Institution in 2003. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1994 with degrees in journalism and economics.