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Chair’s Blog: Previewing the January Board Workshop

19 January 2023
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.

As 2023 gets underway, the ICANN Board is eager to continue its work in furtherance of ICANN's mission.

We are kicking off the new year with a Board Workshop 19–22 January in Los Angeles. I wanted to share some highlights of our agenda for the workshop, which includes many of the topics that are priorities for the Board and for ICANN this year:

  • ICANN Org: We will begin with a dialogue with ICANN's Interim President and CEO, Sally Costerton. This discussion will provide an opportunity for Sally to update the Board on the many projects and initiatives the ICANN organization (org) is working on, including the CEO's goals for FY23.
  • WHOIS Disclosure System: The Board will continue its discussion of a new system to streamline the intake and routing of requests for access to nonpublic generic top-level domain (gTLD) registration data, which is based on the proposed WHOIS Disclosure System, in preparation for a vote on whether to approve the system.
  • RA and RAA Amendments: The Board will review the proposed 2023 Global Amendments to the Base gTLD Registry Agreement (RA) and 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA), on which the contracted parties will begin voting on 19 January. If approved by the contracted parties, the Board will then consider the proposed amendments. For details on the voting period and upcoming informational webinars, read this blog.
  • Strategic Planning: The Board Strategic Planning Committee will lead a session to evaluate one of the five strategic objectives of ICANN's FY21–25 Strategic Plan: Improve the effectiveness of ICANN's multistakeholder model of governance. We will assess ICANN's progress toward this objective and consider trends and events that might impact these efforts.
  • Intergovernmental Organization (IGO) Engagement: The Board will discuss outcomes from last year's International Telecommunication Union's Plenipotentiary Conference and the 2022 Internet Governance Forum (IGF), with updates on the Coalition for Digital Africa since its launch at the IGF. We will also look ahead to upcoming IGO processes and opportunities for further engagement.
  • Subsequent Procedures: Last month, ICANN org delivered to the Board an Operational Design Assessment (ODA) of the recommendations of the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Policy Development Process. The workshop will include a full day to discuss the two options for the next round of new gTLDs outlined in the ODA. Before making a decision, we aim to gain a full understanding of the options and dependencies, including those related to Universal Acceptance and Internationalized Domain Names.

The workshop also will include a Board Meeting, during which we will vote on any pending resolutions. The meeting agenda will be published beforehand on the Board Activities and Meetings webpage.

Additionally, the Board will continue to advance our regular work, which includes a review of the Draft Five-Year Operating and Financial Plan and the Draft Annual Operating Plan and Budget. We encourage members of the community to participate in the Public Comment proceeding for these plans, which will be open through 13 February.

After the workshop, I will follow up with a blog to recap our progress. I look forward to a productive year for the Board and community.

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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