Advisory Board

Brad Knox
Senior Vice President and Federal Relations Counsel, Aflac

Brad Knox joined Aflac in 2006, most recently serving as vice president & counsel of Federal Relations. Brad is responsible for leading Aflac’s Federal Relations team and representing Aflac in legislative and regulatory matters with the federal government, including providing policy direction, coordinating federal affairs initiatives and lobbying for the company’s interests in Washington, D.C.

Prior to joining Aflac, Brad served as chief counsel to the Committee on Small Business for the U.S. House of Representatives, where he was actively engaged in supporting international business development efforts in Central and Eastern Europe for domestic small- and medium-sized businesses. Prior to his congressional work, he founded and was president of DigiTech Systems Solutions Inc. in Montgomery, Alabama. For ten years he served as an Air Force Judge Advocate General (JAG), during which time he achieved the rank of major and served as chief of civil litigation; a faculty member at the Air Force JAG School; and a reservist assigned to the Joint Task Force on Global Network Operations in Washington, D.C. Brad began his professional career with Shell Oil in Houston as a computer programmer and analyst.

Brad holds a bachelor’s degree from Oral Roberts University and a Juris Doctor from Regent University School of Law. He is a founding member of The Gloucester Institute and Washington Heads of Office (WHOO) and serves on the boards of Meridian International Center, Congressional Awards Foundation, Small Business Council of America and the Hoops for Youth Foundation in Washington, D.C. His community involvement also includes work with Healthy Babies Project, Inc., a local organization supporting at-risk mothers and families.

Danny O’Brien
President, Hanwha USA Corporate Affairs

Danny O’Brien is the President of Hanwha USA Corporate Affairs. In this role, Danny leads the company’s government relations, corporate communications and sustainability functions. Hanwha is a South Korean corporation with multiple US subsidiaries, including, Qcells, Hanwha Aerospace USA, Hanwha Defense USA, and Hanwha Ocean that provide a range of products and services.

Prior to joining Hanwha, Danny served as the Executive Vice President and Head of Government Relations for Fox Corporation. In this role, he led the Company’s legislative, regulatory and strategic policy matters. Since joining FOX in 2018, Mr. O’Brien successfully managed advocacy campaigns that achieved the company’s priority telecommunications policy goals.

Before joining FOX Mr. O’Brien served as the Government Relations Leader for GE Transportation, where he oversaw GE’s global engagement on commercial and public policy issues impacting GE’s aviation and locomotives businesses.

Mr. O’Brien served as a long-time senior advisor in the United States Senate where he was chief of staff to Senators Torricelli, Biden and Menendez. Serving the three Senators, Mr. O’Brien managed their policy, communications and political strategies. In the Senate, Mr. O’Brien also served as the staff director for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee where he managed the Committee’s policy and legislative priorities in the areas of national security, economic statecraft, human rights and democracy.

Having a deep background in electoral politics, Mr. O’Brien was a key advisor to President Joe Biden’s 2008 presidential campaign as well as other nationwide and statewide campaigns across the country. Mr. O’Brien holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Redlands in political science and Spanish.

Nancy Ziuzin Schlegel
Vice President of International Government Affairs, Lockheed Martin International

As the Vice President of Lockheed Martin International Government Affairs, Nancy Ziuzin Schlegel leads the corporation’s diplomatic and senior executive customer engagements for the company’s growing international business portfolio. Nancy has nearly 30 years of experience as an industry leader in the international trade, global defense, and aerospace sectors, with expertise in political advocacy, exports, and trade policy. She joined Lockheed in 1992 where she directed the Corporation’s lobbying efforts in support of the international priority and must-win programs on Capitol Hill and with the Administration. Prior to coming to Lockheed Martin, Nancy managed international aerospace and defense issues at the Aerospace Industries Association, served in the US Department of Commerce, and was a legislative aide on Capitol Hill. She serves on the boards of several strategic international security, foreign policy and women’s leadership organizations within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region, including the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), the Center for US Global Leadership, the Executive Council on Diplomacy, the National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce, and the British American Business Association (BABA).

Nancy studied Diplomacy and World Affairs at Occidental College in California, and graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, with a B.A. in Political Science. She currently resides in Northern Virginia with her husband and two sons.

Anna Schneider
Senior Vice President of Industry-Government Relations, Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Anna-Maria Schneider is the Senior Vice President, Industry-Government Relations at Volkswagen Group of America. She is responsible for the development of the company’s legislative and public affairs priorities, and leads all advocacy efforts at the federal and state level. Active in leadership positions in several trade associations and chambers of commerce, she promotes and builds awareness among key audiences in Washington and in the states of the Volkswagen Group’s environmental stewardship, safety innovations and corporate philanthropy. She sits on the Board of the Volkswagen Workers Foundation.

Schneider previously served as vice president of Industry and Government Affairs and the deputy to the Group Vice President at Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMA), the holding company for Toyota’s North American sales, engineering and manufacturing operating units. There she was responsible for oversight of department operations, including personnel, office administration, budget, affiliate relations and development of public policy priorities.

Before joining Toyota, Schneider was Executive Director for Government Relations of the U.S. Operations for Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) where she headed Mitsubishi’s government relations office for 13 years.

Prior to joining Mitsubishi, Schneider served as Director for Intergovernmental Affairs for Global USA, Inc., an international trade consulting firm, where she worked closely with foreign governments and corporations, assisting them in understanding and responding to U.S. government policies. Earlier in her career, Schneider served as an account executive in the International Trade Practice Division of Hill and Knowlton Public Affairs Worldwide.

Schneider graduated with honors from Bucknell University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations and has a Master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University. She also studied at the Institute for European Studies in Vienna, Austria. She sits on several Boards, including the Women’s Congressional Policy Institute (Vice Chair), DC Scores (Sustainability Committee Vice Chair), Public Affairs Council, the Organization for International Investment, the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (Secretary, DADSS), the U.S. Capitol Historical Society (Development Committee Chair) and the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce. She also serves on the Advisory Board of the Congressional Study Group on Germany, a division of the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress. She enjoys fundraising for the March of Dimes, mentoring, and is the executive sponsor of Volkswagen Group’s Women’s Employee Resource Group.

Jeff Werner
Vice President of Corporate & Government Affairs, Panasonic Corporation of North America

Jeff Werner joined the Panasonic Corporation North America as head of corporate and government affairs in January 2018. Werner manages multiple activities in his new role including the government and public affairs office in Washington, DC, and environmental and product safety compliance units at the company's Newark, NJ, headquarters.

Werner currently serves on the boards of the Organization for International Investment, the Information Technology Information Council, the Consumer Electronics Association’s Video Board, and Cultural Tourism DC.

Prior to joining Panasonic, Werner was General Manager for International and Public Policy in Daimler’s External Affairs office in Washington, DC, where he managed the company’s international government affairs for US, Mexico and Canada. Werner joined the DaimlerChrysler Corporation as Manager for International Government Affairs in 2005.

Prior to joining Daimler, Werner served as the Executive Director of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) US Office from 2003 to 2005. He joined the TABD in 1999 as its Deputy Director and worked under the TABD chairmanships of The Coca-Cola Company, the Boeing Company, PricewaterhouseCoopers, United Technologies Corporation and the Xerox Corporation. Werner previously worked for the European-American Business Council and Organization for International Investment.

Werner received an MSc in the Politics and Government of Western Europe from the London School of Economics (LSE), a BA in political science from Hobart College, and studied at the University of Bath (UK). He currently serves on the boards of Cultural Tourism DC and the Northumberland Cooperative, and lives in Washington, DC with his wife Claudia. He is a dedicated fan of DC United, the local professional soccer team.