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ICANN Board Defers ATRT4, Initiates Pilot Holistic Review

20 May 2024
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.

We are pleased to announce that the ICANN Board approved two actions related to the ICANN Review process: the initiation of the Pilot Holistic Review and deferral of the fourth Accountability and Transparency Review (ATRT4). Both are important steps in the Board's commitment to implement community-issued Specific Review recommendations and to its oversight responsibility over Specific Reviews, including ATRT4.

Initiating the Pilot Holistic Review

The Board's decision to initiate the Pilot Holistic Review is a positive step toward progressing the implementation of ATRT3 recommendations. ATRT3 recommended that ICANN create a new type of Specific Review, called the Holistic Review (Recommendation 3.5). The Pilot Holistic Review will bring together a group of ICANN community members to help design the Holistic Review. If supported by the ICANN community and approved by the ICANN Board, the Holistic Review would examine the continuous improvement, effectiveness, and accountability of the ICANN community structures as well as the collaboration among them. The Pilot Holistic Review will include defining the potential relationship between future Holistic Reviews and the Continuous Improvement Program (CIP).

Please see the published Board resolution for the complete rationale.

The Board recognizes the importance of this work and requested that the Pilot Holistic Review commence no later than September 2024. We encourage the community to review and share the Call for Volunteers to help us build a strong and diverse team. Interested volunteers must apply by 19 June 2024.

Deferring ATRT4

As outlined in the ICANN Bylaws, the next Accountability and Transparency Review – ATRT4 – was due to commence in April of this year. The Accountability and Transparency Review is one of four community-led Specific Reviews outlined in ICANN's Bylaws to examine ICANN's progress on aspects of its commitments.

While the Board recognizes the importance of upholding the timelines outlined in the Bylaws, after consultation with ICANN's Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees, the Board took action to defer ATRT4 for a limited time, not to exceed 12 months.

This decision to defer ATRT4 is intended to minimize running of multiple reviews projects in parallel, to allow for progress in the implementation of ATRT3 recommendations, and is based on community support for a limited deferral. Please see the published Board resolution for the complete rationale. This limited-time deferral will allow for ATRT4 to take place when there is support and involvement of the community to ensure it can be carried out as thoroughly, effectively, and efficiently as possible.

We look forward to continuing to facilitate and support the work of the ICANN community to progress the implementation of ATRT3 recommendations.

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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