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Chair’s Blog: Highlights From the September Board Workshop

24 October 2022
By
Tripti Sinha

Tripti Sinha

ICANN Board Chair

Tripti Sinha is Assistant Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at the University of Maryland (UMD) in the Division of Information Technology. She leads Advanced Cyber Infrastructure and Internet Global Services (ACIGS) and the Mid-Atlantic Crossroads (MAX). She has over three decades of progressive experience in Internet and Cyber-Infrastructure technologies. Her wide-ranging experience includes leadership positions in engineering, operations, finance, governance, advocacy and policy. In her current role, she is the chief executive of the MAX, which operates a high-performance regional research and education (R&E) 100G network for advanced cyber-infrastructure services and research. She is also responsible for UMD's High Performance Computing service and strategy. Tripti is active internationally as the executive and operational head of UMD's global operation of DNS root services. She previously served as Co-Chair of ICANN's Root Server System Advisory Committee (RSSAC) from 2015-2018.

In the United States, she is very involved in the Internet2 community on activities related to the US national R&E Internet backbone. She is also Chair of the Board of Directors of The Quilt whose mission is to provide advocacy for research and education networking on the US national agenda. She has served on many other non-profit and private sector technology advisory boards.

Tripti has an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts and did graduate work in Computer Science at the University of Maryland. She was born in India and lives in the United States. As a child and young adult, she moved back-and-forth between the USA and India which gave her an appreciation for global pluralism. She is proficient in English and Hindi, and has an understanding of Punjabi, Urdu and the ancient Sanskrit language. Tripti has a keen interest in Information and Communication Technology innovation, entrepreneurship, governance and policy, and international affairs. Tripti was nominated to serve on the ICANN Board of Directors by the Nominating Committee in 2018.  Her term will expire at the Annual General Meeting 2024.

Last month, during the ICANN75 Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the ICANN Board of Directors elected its leadership for the coming year. I am honored to have been elected Board Chair, and I look forward to working with the ICANN Board, the Organization, and the Community to serve ICANN's mission.

I am excited to be working with our newly elected leadership, Vice Chair Danko Jevtović and Board Governance Committee Chair Sarah Deutsch. I'm also looking forward to working with ICANN President and CEO Göran Marby and the ICANN Org Executive team. Additionally, I would like to welcome our four new Board members: Chris Chapman, Wes Hardaker, Christian Kaufmann, and Sajid Rahman.

At every AGM, we also say farewell to our outgoing Board members. I would like to thank Akinori Maemura, Ihab Osman, Mandla Msimang, and Kaveh Ranjbar for their service and contributions. Also, my deepest thanks to Maarten Botterman and León Sánchez for their leadership of the Board during the past three years. We are fortunate that we have the opportunity to continue working with you on the Board.

ICANN75 was the first hybrid AGM since the onset of the global pandemic. The energy and engagement of the ICANN Community was palpable and exciting! Prior to the AGM, the Board came together for a hybrid workshop 15–18 September, led by former Board Chair Maarten Botterman. The workshop gave the Board an opportunity to discuss important issues, have a dialogue with the President and CEO, engage in team building activities, and prepare for ICANN75.

Here are some key highlights from the Board Workshop and ICANN75:

  • Improved Community Engagement: The Board discussed different options for how communication, collaboration, and engagement with the Community can be improved.
  • Domain Name System (DNS) Abuse: James Galvin and Sarah led discussions on activities related to DNS abuse that are happening in ICANN Org and in the Community. The Board looks forward to discussing the recent report from the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) DNS Abuse Small Team and reviewing any potential policy recommendations.
  • Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs): Becky Burr led a discussion on Community proposals to protect the rights of IGO identifiers. In an upcoming Public Comment proceeding, the Board will seek input on the recommendations of the Expedited Policy Development Process Final Report on Specific Curative Rights Protections for IGOs, which the GNSO Council approved in June.
  • WHOIS Disclosure System: Göran and ICANN Org staff presented a design paper for a WHOIS Disclosure System and outlined the possible next steps for the Community and Board.
  • ICANN Org's Annual Staff Engagement Survey: The Board reviewed the results of the Org's annual staff engagement survey, which saw an overall favorability score of 83 percent, an all-time high.
  • Resolutions: During the Board meeting at the close of ICANN75, we approved a resolution deferring the Third Registration Directory Services Review to allow the ICANN Community and Org sufficient time to implement pertinent recommendations from the Third Accountability and Transparency Review. The Board also adopted the Country Code Names Supporting Organization's policy recommendations on the retirement of country code top-level domains. Additionally, we honored the work of our many volunteer Community leaders.

With the AGM behind us, we are looking ahead to what promises to be a busy year of work. We are off to a productive start. I am thankful for the Board's support and eager to work closely with the Community and Org to continue our progress as we move forward.

Authors

Tripti Sinha

Tripti Sinha

ICANN Board Chair
Tripti Sinha

Tripti Sinha

ICANN Board Chair

Tripti Sinha is Assistant Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at the University of Maryland (UMD) in the Division of Information Technology. She leads Advanced Cyber Infrastructure and Internet Global Services (ACIGS) and the Mid-Atlantic Crossroads (MAX). She has over three decades of progressive experience in Internet and Cyber-Infrastructure technologies. Her wide-ranging experience includes leadership positions in engineering, operations, finance, governance, advocacy and policy. In her current role, she is the chief executive of the MAX, which operates a high-performance regional research and education (R&E) 100G network for advanced cyber-infrastructure services and research. She is also responsible for UMD's High Performance Computing service and strategy. Tripti is active internationally as the executive and operational head of UMD's global operation of DNS root services. She previously served as Co-Chair of ICANN's Root Server System Advisory Committee (RSSAC) from 2015-2018.

In the United States, she is very involved in the Internet2 community on activities related to the US national R&E Internet backbone. She is also Chair of the Board of Directors of The Quilt whose mission is to provide advocacy for research and education networking on the US national agenda. She has served on many other non-profit and private sector technology advisory boards.

Tripti has an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts and did graduate work in Computer Science at the University of Maryland. She was born in India and lives in the United States. As a child and young adult, she moved back-and-forth between the USA and India which gave her an appreciation for global pluralism. She is proficient in English and Hindi, and has an understanding of Punjabi, Urdu and the ancient Sanskrit language. Tripti has a keen interest in Information and Communication Technology innovation, entrepreneurship, governance and policy, and international affairs. Tripti was nominated to serve on the ICANN Board of Directors by the Nominating Committee in 2018.  Her term will expire at the Annual General Meeting 2024.

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