In this panel, we will discuss:
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Elissa M. McGovern
Chief of Policy
Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
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Elissa M. McGovern is the Chief of Policy at the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a position she has held since September 2014. In this role, she is responsible for the office’s Annual Report and recommendations to USCIS. She was formerly the Director of Policy for the Office of Foreign Labor Certification in the U.S. Department of Labor. A graduate of the New York University School of Law, Ms. McGovern has also been in private practice (most recently as counsel with the firm of Greenberg Traurig), specializing in immigration law and compliance. She has served on the American Immigration Lawyers Association Board of Governors and as president of the Washington, DC Chapter, as well as on the staff of the Association. She is a frequent speaker on immigration topics.
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Doug Rand
Senior Advisor, Office of the Director
USCIS
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Doug Rand began serving as Senior Advisor to the Director of USCIS on Aug. 16, 2021.
Previously, he served as a Senior Fellow at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), directing the Technology and Innovation Initiative that focuses on the intersection of immigration policy and artificial intelligence (AI) in advancing the nation’s national security and economic growth.
Rand served in the Executive Office of the President between 2010-2017 as Assistant Director for Entrepreneurship in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, with a portfolio spanning inclusive high-growth entrepreneurship, access to capital, clean energy innovation, commercialization of federally funded research, and high-skill immigration. More recently, he advised the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence.
As an entrepreneur, Rand was the co-founder and president of Boundless, and the co-founder and CEO of Playscripts, Inc.
He is a graduate of Yale Law School and the Yale School of Management, and received Master’s and undergraduate degrees from Harvard, where he studied evolutionary biology.
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Bo Cooper
Partner
Fragomen
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Bo Cooper, Partner, Fragomen Bo Cooper is a Partner in Fragomen’s Washington, DC office, leading the Government Strategies and Compliance Group. He serves on the firm’s Executive Committee, where he works to set Fragomen’s strategic vision and philosophy, manage its worldwide operations, and ensure it remains progressive, agile, efficient, innovative, and consistent across all its jurisdictions. He provides strategic immigration advice to a diverse clientele, including corporations, nonprofits, hospitals, universities, and media outlets. Bo has extensive experience in navigating complex immigration challenges, interacting with Congress, executive agencies, and consulates, and representing clients in federal audits and investigations.
Previously, Bo was General Counsel of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) from 1999 to 2003, directing a legal program of 700 attorneys. He advised top U.S. officials on immigration law and has significant federal litigation experience as a former trial attorney in the Department of Justice. Bo has frequently testified before Congress and appeared in various media outlets such as PBS Newshour, Sixty Minutes, and CNN. He participated in negotiating international immigration agreements and served as a U.S. delegate to international organizations.
Bo has taught immigration, national security and related courses at the University of Michigan, Georgetown and American University law schools, and he currently teaches asylum law as a member of the adjunct faculty at Tulane Law School. He has an extensive pro bono practice and has contributed as amicus in key Supreme Court cases, served as an expert witness in federal litigation, and advised the Department of Homeland Security. He is also on the Advisory Board of the Migration Policy Institute. Bo received his J.D. from Tulane Law School and his B.A. from Tulane University.