Crypto Council for Innovation Expands Leadership Team

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI), a global alliance of crypto industry organizations, announced a slate of new executives to guide its work in policy advocacy and raising awareness of the benefits of virtual currency.

Bringing deep strategic, geopolitical and technical expertise to their roles, team members span the political, civil society, and technology sectors. Former Senator Cory Gardner; global communications expert Amanda Russo; and civic tech veteran Annie Dizon will join CEO Sheila Warren in executing CCI’s mission to educate policymakers, regulators, and people around the world about the transformational promise of cryptocurrency. In addition, Web3 innovator Sean Lee and crypto expert Katherine Wu will build out CCI’s APAC presence and research arm, respectively.

“The combined leadership and global experience of our new team members will fortify CCI’s expertise in a crucial moment, both within our organization and across the crypto industry worldwide,” said Warren. “This expanded team will bolster CCI’s presence on the West Coast as well as in Washington, D.C., and adds critical presence in APAC, supporting the advancement of our priorities to drive the evolution of the crypto ecosystem and support the global policy community.”

Senator Cory Gardner is CCI’s new Chief Strategist of Political Affairs. He most recently served as United States Senator from Colorado from 2015 to 2021, and in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2015. Senator Gardner served on the Foreign Relations, Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Energy and Natural Resources; Budget, and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committees during his tenure.

Amanda Russo joins CCI as its Director of Communications. Russo served as a strategic communications advisor to CEOs, heads of state and policy makers as part of the World Economic Forum’s Public Engagement Leadership Team. As the Forum’s Head of Media Content, she managed a global team working across 20 topic areas including emerging technology and cybersecurity. Prior to the Forum, she managed C-suite media relations and media content for multiple research divisions across Europe, the Middle East and Africa for global information firm IHS Markit.

With more than 20 years of tech, operations, and marketing experience, Annie Dizon has joined CCI as Director of Operations. Prior, Dizon held several senior executive positions at the global social impact nonprofit TechSoup; most recently serving as Vice President of Customer Experience. She led a variety of TechSoup’s global initiatives through her additional roles as Senior Director, Global Marketing, Program Director of Solutions and Services. Prior to TechSoup, she led marketing communications programs for leading Fortune 500 companies in the financial and professional services sectors.

Based in Hong Kong, Sean Lee has an extensive background as an advisor and innovator of Web3 and FinTech platforms. Most recently he served as the CEO of Algorand Foundation, where he built a global team to propel the blockchain protocol into a top-20 crypto asset by market cap during his tenure. He is currently advising several crypto startups and engaged in business mentorship and advocacy programs, including the MIT Entrepreneurship & FinTech Innovation Node and the Chinese University of Hong Kong Business School.

Katherine Wu will bring her expertise in the crypto ecosystem to her role consulting for CCI as its first Research Fellow, helping to generate and oversee research projects that document the opportunities and challenges faced by the crypto industry. Katherine is a full-time Venture Partner at Archetype, a venture capital firm focused on leading early investments in crypto startups. Prior to Archetype, she was the Senior Lead on the Coinbase Ventures team, where she led and scaled investment initiatives.

About the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI)

The Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI) is a global alliance of crypto industry leaders that works to demonstrate the transformational promise of crypto, and communicate its benefits to policymakers, regulators, and people around the globe. The organization addresses crypto’s ability to drive financial inclusion and a lack of awareness and understanding about the products and services available, one of the primary challenges of digital currency. Established in April 2021, members of CCI include Andreessen Horowitz, Block, Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets, Gemini, Paradigm, and Ribbit Capital.