Alison L. Kutler

Director of the Trade Advocacy Center
International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce

Alison Kutler is the Director of the Trade Advocacy Center located within the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

 

The Trade Advocacy Center coordinates U.S. Government resources and authority in support of U.S. business interests as they compete against foreign firms for specific international contracts or other U.S. export opportunities. In addition, the Advocacy Center houses the Department of Commerce representatives to the Multilateral Development Banks who are responsible for protecting and promoting American commercial interests within these organizations that finance development projects throughout the world.

 

Prior to joining the Department of Commerce, Ms. Kutler was a partner in the international law firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, resident in both its Washington DC and Chicago offices. She counseled clients on global public policy initiatives; advised on strategic considerations attendant to major transactions in regulated industries; developed partnerships between corporate, governmental and nonprofit entities; and provided compliance and political law counsel. While remaining a partner in the Firm, Ms. Kutler also served on the senior management team of the Chicago 2016 Olympic Committee.

 

Ms. Kutler held several positions in the Clinton Administration from 1993 to 1996, including serving as assistant to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown, and as a congressional affairs specialist at the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Export Administration and the U.S.

Small Business Administration. Ms. Kutler also has experience in Congress, where she served from 1991 to 1993 on the staff of former U.S. Congressman Peter Hoagland. In addition, Ms. Kutler served on the 2000 Gore-Lieberman Presidential Campaign and the 1992 Clinton-Gore Presidential Campaign.

 

A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Ms. Kutler received a J.D. from Stanford Law School and a B.A. in Government from Georgetown University. She is a member of the Stanford Law School Board of Visitors and serves as Vice President of KEEN (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now) USA.