The Congressional Award Podcast: Elevating DC Youth

Stanley Pierre-Louis, President & Chief Executive Officer, Entertainment Software Association Stanley Pierre-Louis is the President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the voice and advocate for the U.S. video game industry. With more than two decades of entertainment and media experience, Stan leads ESA’s efforts to showcase the dynamic impact the video game industry has on business, entertainment, and culture. Prior to being named CEO in May 2019, Stan served as the ESA’s General Counsel, leading the legal, policy, and regulatory affairs function for the organization. His responsibilities included advocacy on First Amendment, technology and intellectual property issues as well as supervising the global content protection program. Mr. Pierre-Louis also oversaw all governance, compliance, and contractual matters and served as the Corporate Secretary to ESA’s Board of Directors. Before joining the ESA in May 2015, Mr. Pierre-Louis was Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel for Intellectual Property at Viacom Inc. There, he was responsible for developing strategies to protect digital content, managing major intellectual property litigation, and revamping the cybersecurity governance program. Earlier in his career, Mr. Pierre-Louis worked at law firms as outside counsel to several leading companies, then served as Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs at the Recording Industry Association of America. There, he led several strategic copyright litigations, including the entertainment industry’s litigations against MP3.com, Napster, and Aimster as well as the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case MGM Studios v. Grokster, which resulted in a unanimous decision in favor of the film and music industries. Mr. Pierre-Louis is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Clark University. He earned his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served on the University of Chicago Law Review Board of Editors. Following law school, he clerked for Judge David A. Nelson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Mr. Pierre-Louis has served on several nonprofit boards focused on the arts and education and also served as chair of the board of directors for GetSwift Limited, a publicly-traded technology company focused on delivery management software. He currently serves on the board of the National Symphony Orchestra and on the board of Games for Change, a nonprofit that empowers video game creators and social innovators to drive real-world impact through immersive media.

Deborah Rutter is the President of the historic Kennedy Center. The center was established as a "living memorial" by Congress in 1964, honoring the legacy of President John F. Kennedy and his belief in diversity within the arts. Deborah Rutter assumed the role of president on September 1, 2014. Before her time at The Kennedy Center, Rutter was President of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, leading young professional musicians. As president of the Kennedy Center, Rutter has been integral in establishing REACH, which is designed to facilitate artistic development through innovative indoor and outdoor space. She has developed DIRECT CURRENT, a series that spotlights new art from multiple disciplines and forms. Rutter discusses the value of art in the human experience and her journey working with gifted individuals.

Christopher Dunlavey co-founded Brailsford & Dunlavey and currently serves as president. He is also the co-founder of CENTERS. Dunlavey's roots are in his experiences as an architect and earning an advanced real estate development and finance degree. Dunlavey is known for managing the development of sports venues and "quality of life" projects in higher education. Notable clients are Howard University, Johns Hopkins University, the Catholic University of America, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Marshall University, Jackson State University, and the University of Pittsburgh. Another notable client is his alma mater, George Washington University, where he earned his Master of Business Administration. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows. He earned his bachelor's degree from Columbia College of Columbia University. Dunlavey discusses the business of sports, building his own business, and sports team ownership.

Barbara Humpton is the President and CEO of Siemens Corporation, where she can operationalize her love of diversity and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. Before Siemens, Humpton contributed to new business development for technology consulting in the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security. She oversaw Biometrics Programs, Border and Transportation Security, and Critical Infrastructure Protection at Lockheed Martin Corporation. Humpton earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics at Wake Forest University. Her story and experiences have much to offer young people seeking a STEM career and learning from an innovative thinker.

Currently in her senior year of High School, Medhnaa was inspired at the age of seven to begin raising funds for the Bal Ashram orphanage in India after a visit with her family. During her first fundraiser she raised $4K for the orphanage and began hosting more bake sales and reaching out to donors. She started her own Foundation called Touch of Life which has helped pass bills, work towards advocacy outreach, and has raised over $300,000 for the orphanage. She has a passion for STEM and has volunteered hours towards helping students in India learn robotics, math, and coding. She sees her accomplishments as an extension of her ADHD diagnosis and believes that it is a large motivator in the work she has done. She hopes that more people see it as a positive rather than a negative.

Before obtaining his LLM in Trial Advocacy, Christopher attended the University of Delaware for political science and Villanova for law school. His past experiences include interning for Vice President Joe Biden, working as a judicial clerk, and being an adjunct professor of law at the Delaware Law School. His award journey began in the eighth grade when he took on the self-motivated initiative to find a program that would highlight all the activities he was already doing. His award experience was key to helping him in his future career and he has discussed the experience before in interviews and on resumes. He hopes to either become a lawyer in Philadelphia or work on the White House Counsel in the Fall.

Originally for Los Angeles, Bonnie now lives in Seattle where she has held multiple positions within Microsoft. In her current role she works on the environmental sustainability team where she focuses on corporate environmental strategy. This career path stems from her love for biology and her want to make an impact through conservation. Before Microsoft, she trained as a conservation biologist, in which she was recognized as a National Geographic Explorer for her work in environmental education. Previously, she helped initiate the marine program for the Wildlife Conservation Society in Myanmar, discovered a new sea slug species in the Caribbean, and researched climate adaptation of endangered penguins in South Africa. Bonnie received her B.A. in organismic and evolutionary biology at Harvard University and was an inaugural Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University.