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Lauren Baker
Team Leader | Digital & Emerging Technology | AI Policy & Governance | International Trade Policy | Government & Industry relations
Lauren Baker is currently the Deputy Director of the Digital and Emerging Technology Services (DETS) at the International Trade Administration (ITA). In this role, she leads a team of analysts focused on advising on office strategy, analyzing policies related to artificial intelligence and other digital issues, and developing U.S. positions on key digital policy matters. Her responsibilities also include creating metrics for performance tracking and formulating budgets for her team.12
Professional Background
Lauren has a diverse background in international trade, having previously held positions such as Senior Advisor and Senior International Trade Specialist within the ITA. Her work has involved stakeholder engagement, legislative coordination, and managing significant projects like the President’s Global Infrastructure Initiative. She has experience in both policy analysis and organizational strategy, aiming to enhance U.S. businesses' competitiveness in international markets.13
Education and Skills
Lauren holds a Master's degree from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina. She is multilingual, speaking English, Portuguese, and Spanish, while also learning French.1 Her expertise spans various areas including trade policy, AI governance, and government-industry relations.13
Current Focus
At DETS, Lauren is particularly focused on promoting policies that enable U.S. providers to compete globally in emerging technology sectors. This includes monitoring regulatory issues and collaborating with small to medium-sized tech companies to facilitate export opportunities.2
Highlights
I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as the Team Leader for the Digital and Internet Services team at the International Trade Administration! I am excited for the new challenge and grateful to my wonderful colleagues in Industry & Analysis at ITA for their support along the way.
Over this past weekend, I was fortunate to lead the latest installment of the U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration's multi-year workstream on cybersecurity in United States – Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance. Experts from public and private sectors in Asia-Pacific shared perspectives on the importance of standards-based approaches to cybersecurity for critical infrastructure, and we set the scene for future collaboration in APEC to align approaches and work together to confront evolving cyber threat. The Asia-Pacific region is home to some of the most complex and interconnected supply chains in the world, and the security of critical infrastructure that enables trade and economic growth impacts all Asia-Pacific economies
Many thanks to our wonderful partners at U.S. SEGA - none of this would have happened without them!
