This post is part of our “Spotlight on NTIA” blog series, which is highlighting the work that NTIA employees are doing to advance NTIA’s mission of promoting broadband adoption, finding spectrum to meet the growing demand for wireless technologies, and ensuring the Internet remains an engine for innovation and economic growth.
Chris Hemmerlein says he feels fortunate to have a job that he enjoys so much. Hemmerlein, a telecommunications policy specialist in the Office of International Affairs, handles Asia- and United Nations-related issues for NTIA.
Source: International Telecommunication Union
After spending a year teaching English in Japan and studying in Australia as an undergraduate student, Hemmerlein realized his true calling was international affairs. Hemmerlein would go on to earn a Master’s Degree in international relations at the University of California at San Diego.
Hemmerlein found his way to NTIA five years ago after landing a position with the prestigious Presidential Management Fellows program following graduate school. He was hired in NTIA’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) as part of his fellowship. In addition to landing a full-time job, the fellowship also gave him the chance to spend five months in Paris through a rotation at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, where he represented NTIA during the development of the Principles for Internet Policy Making.
While OIA has gotten a lot of attention in the last year for the work it does on ICANN-related issues, Hemmerlein primarily works on Internet policy issues being debated at U.N.-related agencies. Over the coming months, he will be focused on the working group on international Internet-related public policy issues at the International Telecommunication Union and on the U.N.’s upcoming 10-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society. Hemmerlein played a leading role in negotiations at the 2013 World Telecommunications Policy Forum, one of the key meetings leading up to the plenipotentiary meeting. In addition to his U.N.-related work, Hemmerlein represents NTIA at the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation Telecommunications and Information Working Group (APEC TEL), where he co-chairs the Development Steering Group, and manages NTIA’s bilateral relationships with countries in the Asia-Pacific.
Hemmerlein’s job requires a lot of international travel, often to Asia or Europe. He said he enjoys the travel, though he finds it more difficult to be away from home since the birth of his son six months ago. Still, Hemmerlein said it is a privilege to be able to represent the United States at international gatherings. “I like the interactions with the nations of the world,” he says.
Hemmerlein graduated from DePauw University with a bachelor’s degree in English and economics. After earning his undergraduate degree and his stint in Japan, he went on to jobs in sales and marketing in New York City, first with Esquire magazine and later with the Economist Intelligence Unit.
A Cleveland, Ohio, native, Hemmerlein played baseball in college and says he is looking forward to playing on an amateur baseball team in the spring.