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Key 2026 Round Updates and Resources

8 April 2026
By
Theresa Swinehart

Theresa Swinehart

SVP, Global Domains & Strategy

Theresa Swinehart is the Senior Vice President of Global Domains and Strategy. In this role, she works with the community, contracted parties, stakeholders, and policymakers to ensure broad and inclusive engagement, consensus-based policymaking through ICANN’s multistakeholder model, and effective, accountable policy implementation. Her responsibilities include policy implementation, review operation, and cross-functional strategic initiatives such as ICANN’s compliance with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. An expert in global Internet governance, Theresa also serves as co-deputy to the President and CEO. Her extensive industry experience, including nearly 20 years as a key contributor to ICANN’s growth and development, gives her a valuable perspective on how ICANN organization can work efficiently and collaboratively to better serve the global Internet community.

Theresa rejoined ICANN after three years as Executive Director of Global Internet Policy at Verizon Communications, where she specialized in emerging issues as well as stakeholder and policy engagement. Prior to this, she served as ICANN’s Vice President of Global and Strategic Partnerships, leading a team responsible for partnership reform, global engagement and outreach, and the participation in international forums. Before ICANN, Theresa was Director of Global E-Commerce at MCI, where she was responsible for such issues as Internet service provider liability, data protection, and participation in Internet-related forums, including the formation of ICANN. 

Theresa has a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of California, Davis, a graduate degree in international studies from the University of Vienna, Austria, and a juris doctorate from American University. She served on the Internet Society’s Board of Trustees and Internet Governance Forum’s Multistakeholder Advisory Committee. Theresa began her career in international human rights. She is fluent in German and is conversant in French.

As we near the opening of the New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program: 2026 Round on 30 April 2026, I'd like to remind all interested parties of the useful resources developed for potential applicants, including materials on preparing for the application and evaluation process. Those resources include the new TLD Application Management System (TAMS) user videos – a great way to get familiar with the system's basic functionality before starting an application.

The videos introduce the applicant dashboard and provide a visual walk-through of how to complete an organization profile, answer dynamic questions, and other aspects of the application. The videos are just one of a range of resources created for newcomers and potential applicants available on the 2026 Round website.

On other 2026 Round-related topics, last week the ICANN Board approved a resolution to use $4.9 million of 2012 Round auction proceeds to provide a 75-percent discount on gTLD evaluation fees for eligible Applicant Support Program applicants. As a result of community feedback, the Board is now considering increasing the discount to 85 percent and requests additional community input via written correspondence. You can read more in a blog by ICANN Board Chair Tripti Sinha.

One important aspect of operating a gTLD is deciding whether to outsource or provide your own back-end technical services. Registry Service Providers (RSP) offer critical technical services such as proxy, Internationalized Domain Name, Domain Name System (DNS), and DNS security extensions. If you plan to outsource this aspect of your business, ICANN has published a list of providers that have cleared evaluation and are available to support you.

If you plan to manage these back-end services with your own technical team, your organization also must go through the RSP Evaluation Program. Only providers that have been vetted through ICANN can support gTLD applicants in the 2026 Round. The RSP Evaluation Program will open a second evaluation period on 30 April 2026 and run in conjunction with the 2026 Round application window, through 12 August 2026.

If you're interested in participating in the 2026 Round as an evaluator, there are two opportunities to get involved. ICANN recently issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a provider to design, administer, and operate auctions to resolve string contentions. The ICANN organization also is extending the deadline to respond to the RFP for vendor panels, which will determine whether gTLD applications may constitute reserved or geographic names.

Stay tuned for more information and updates as we approach the 30 April 2026 opening.

Authors

Theresa Swinehart

Theresa Swinehart

SVP, Global Domains & Strategy
Theresa Swinehart

Theresa Swinehart

SVP, Global Domains & Strategy

Theresa Swinehart is the Senior Vice President of Global Domains and Strategy. In this role, she works with the community, contracted parties, stakeholders, and policymakers to ensure broad and inclusive engagement, consensus-based policymaking through ICANN’s multistakeholder model, and effective, accountable policy implementation. Her responsibilities include policy implementation, review operation, and cross-functional strategic initiatives such as ICANN’s compliance with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. An expert in global Internet governance, Theresa also serves as co-deputy to the President and CEO. Her extensive industry experience, including nearly 20 years as a key contributor to ICANN’s growth and development, gives her a valuable perspective on how ICANN organization can work efficiently and collaboratively to better serve the global Internet community.

Theresa rejoined ICANN after three years as Executive Director of Global Internet Policy at Verizon Communications, where she specialized in emerging issues as well as stakeholder and policy engagement. Prior to this, she served as ICANN’s Vice President of Global and Strategic Partnerships, leading a team responsible for partnership reform, global engagement and outreach, and the participation in international forums. Before ICANN, Theresa was Director of Global E-Commerce at MCI, where she was responsible for such issues as Internet service provider liability, data protection, and participation in Internet-related forums, including the formation of ICANN. 

Theresa has a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of California, Davis, a graduate degree in international studies from the University of Vienna, Austria, and a juris doctorate from American University. She served on the Internet Society’s Board of Trustees and Internet Governance Forum’s Multistakeholder Advisory Committee. Theresa began her career in international human rights. She is fluent in German and is conversant in French.

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