2026 WITA and Foundation Annual Dinner

Ken Levinson serves as the Chief Executive Officer of WITA – The International Trade Association and Washington International Trade Foundation.

WITA is the world’s largest non-profit, non-partisan membership organization dedicated to providing a neutral forum for the open and robust discussion of international trade policy and economic issues. WITA and its affiliated groups have over 10,000 members, and more than 160 corporate sponsors and group memberships.

Ken has over 30 years of experience working with companies, associations, NGOs and governments, advocating innovative solutions to complex public policy challenges. Over the years, Ken has worked with clients in the technology, telecommunications, biopharmaceuticals, agriculture and food, financial services, retail, apparel, energy, and consumer products sectors.

Previously, Ken served as Senior Director for Global Government Affairs for AstraZeneca. Prior to joining AstraZeneca, Ken served as Senior Vice President and COO at the Washington, DC consulting firm of Fontheim International. Ken joined Fontheim after spending six years on the staff of U.S. Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV.  Ken advised the Senator on foreign policy and national security matters, and served as the Senator’s chief advisor on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, dealing with issues related to international trade and tax policy.

Ken received his Master’s Degree from New York University after doing his undergraduate work at the University of Massachusetts, in Amherst. Ken also spent a year studying at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Ken and his wife, The Reverend Donna Marsh, live in River Forest, IL.

Nasim Fussell serves as Vice President of Trade and International at Business Roundtable, where she leads the organization’s efforts to advance policies that promote U.S. economic growth through international trade and investment.

Prior to joining Business Roundtable, Nasim was a Senior Vice President at a government relations and public affairs firm, where she led the organization’s International Trade practice.

Before that, Nasim held senior roles in both chambers of Congress. She served as Chief International Trade Counsel for the Senate Finance Committee under Chairman Chuck Grassley, and as Deputy Chief International Trade Counsel under Chairman Orrin Hatch. In the House, she was Trade Counsel for the Ways and Means Committee under Chairmen Brady, Ryan and Camp. Throughout her tenure on the Hill, Nasim contributed to major legislative initiatives including the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), Trade Promotion Authority, and customs modernization reforms, among others.

Nasim also brings private sector experience from her work as a partner at a global law firm, as well as in-house roles at multinational companies and a cross-sector trade association. She began her legal career at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Nasim currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Washington International Trade Association (WITA). She holds an LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from the George Washington University Law School, a J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law, and a B.A. in History from the University of Michigan.

Sarah Thorn is the Vice President, Global Government Affairs, International Sourcing at Walmart Stores, Inc. She is primarily responsible for managing international policy issues at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. In this capacity, she advocates for Walmart priorities in legislation and trade negotiations that impact the company’s worldwide sourcing, e-commerce and retail distribution rights. She also leads a team that manages global supply chain policies, including responsible sourcing and labor issues.

In 2011, Sarah led the strategy team that developed Walmart’s Global Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiative, which is focused on empowering women throughout Walmart’s global supply chain. She is actively involved in the implementation of the initiative, focusing primarily stakeholder engagement and global partnerships.

Before joining Walmart, Sarah worked for seven years at the Grocery Manufacturers Association where she led the food, beverage and consumer products industry advocacy on international trade issues. Sarah has also worked as a consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers on business mobility issues and served as an international relations representative with AMP Incorporated. Sarah began her career in Washington as a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Information Agency.

She holds a Master of Arts degree in law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a Bachelor of Arts degree in comparative area studies and comparative literature cum laude from Duke University.

Stephanie Lester is Vice President, Head of Government Affairs at Gap Inc. in Washington, DC, a role she’s held since March 2022. She joined Gap Inc. in 2014, first as Director of Government Affairs, then as Head of Government Affairs starting in 2016, before her promotion to VP.

She is also a longtime Vice President at WITA, a role she’s held since 2006, making her a well established colleague within the organization rather than a newer connection.

Before Gap, she spent about eight years as Vice President of International Trade at the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), and before that six years as professional staff on the House Ways and Means Committee’s Trade Subcommittee, giving her a strong mix of congressional, trade association, and corporate government affairs experience.

She holds a Master’s degree in U.S. Foreign Policy from American University and a Bachelor’s degree in Multinational Business from Florida State University, with recognized expertise in international trade and public policy.

John Murphy is a trade and international affairs specialist with nearly three decades of experience shaping U.S. economic policy on the global stage. He most recently served as Senior Vice President and Head of International at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a role he held from November 2023 until his departure in June 2026, capping a 27-year tenure at the organization. Over his career there, he progressed through senior leadership roles including Senior Vice President for International Policy, Vice President of International Affairs, and Vice President of Western Hemisphere Affairs.

In these roles, Murphy led the Chamber’s international team and represented U.S. business interests across a wide range of global forums, including G7/B7 trade discussions in Paris, USMCA advocacy efforts, and U.S.-Brazil and U.S.-Latin America economic dialogues. His work has spanned critical minerals policy, supply chain security, digital trade, and hemispheric economic integration.

Murphy holds a B.A. in International Affairs from the University of Colorado Boulder and an M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

Maria Cantwell currently serves as a United States Senator for the State of Washington. As a respected leader – both in public service and in the private sector – Maria has always embraced the values she first learned growing up in a strong working-class family. With the help of Pell Grants, Maria was the first member of her family to graduate college. Later, a successful businesswoman in Washington’s hi-tech industry, she helped build a company that created hundreds of high-paying jobs from the ground up.

Maria was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000, 2006, 2012, and again in 2018, pledging to honor the hard work, aspirations and faith of the people of Washington state. She is working to create affordable opportunities for consumers, businesses and families, to make our nation more secure today, to foster innovation for tomorrow, and to stand with parents as they educate and care for their children.

Maria gets results. She cut taxes for the middle-class by ensuring that Washington taxpayers can deduct state and local taxes from their federal returns. She fought attempts by the Bush Administration to raise local electricity rates. When bankrupt Enron officials tried to charge Washington ratepayers for millions of dollars in undelivered electricity, Maria led the effort that successfully stopped them. Maria has protected countless jobs in Washington’s aerospace industry by cracking down on foreign companies’ unfair trade practices and has worked to create still more well-paying jobs through effective investments in new technology and valuable job training. Maria is leading efforts in the Senate to make America more energy independent. She has been a proud advocate for better educational opportunities for our children and less expensive, more accessible health care for our families. Maria continues to build new growth and strong partnerships, insisting on responsibility and making life more affordable for all of Washington ‘s families.

Since joining the Senate in 2017, Todd Young has developed a reputation as a conservative problem solver. On issues like outcompeting the Chinese Communist Party, securing the border, growing the economy, expanding affordable housing options for all Hoosiers, supporting Indiana’s veterans, and harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence, Todd has offered conservative solutions to many of the biggest issues facing Hoosier families.

In 2022, the CHIPS and Science Act, his landmark legislation to outcompete China and create more high tech jobs in the Heartland, became law. Vital to America’s economic and national security, the law is bringing semiconductor production back to the United States to shore up our supply chain and ensure America is never dependent on China for critical chips.

Todd’s path to the Senate went through the United States Marine Corps. After graduating high school, Todd attended the United States Naval Academy, where he played varsity soccer and was elected a class officer. Todd graduated with honors in 1995 and accepted a commission in the U.S. Marine Corps. After training as a rifle platoon commander, Todd served as an intelligence officer, spending time on the U.S. southern border.

Later, while leading a Marines recruiting effort in Chicago and northwest Indiana, Todd put himself through night school at the University of Chicago, where he earned his MBA with a concentration in economics.

After serving a decade in the military, in 2000 Todd was honorably discharged as a Captain. He then spent a year in England, where he wrote a thesis on the economic history of Midwestern agriculture and earned an MA from the School of Advanced Study in London. Upon returning to the United States, he accepted a position at the Heritage Foundation and later worked as a legislative assistant in the U.S. Senate.

In 2003, Todd returned home to Indiana. He worked for several years as a management consultant, advising public and private organizations on how they could implement business practices to provide their constituents and customers with more value, often by investing fewer resources.

Soon after returning to Indiana, Todd met his future wife, Jenny, while earning his JD from Indiana University. They married in 2005, and then worked together at a small law firm in Paoli, Indiana, that was started by Jenny’s great-grandfather in 1933.

In 2010, Todd ran his first campaign for Congress, defeating a strong Democrat incumbent to represent Indiana’s 9th Congressional District. He served three terms in the House before running for Senate in 2016.

Todd and Jenny and their four children currently reside in Johnson County.

He serves on the U.S. Senate Committees on Finance; Commerce, Science & Transportation; Small Business and Entrepreneurship; and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Previously, in the House, he served on the House Armed Services Committee, the House Budget Committee, and the House Ways and Means Committee.