Commissioner Deanna Tanner Okun

Deanna Tanner Okun, a Republican of Idaho, was nominated to the ITC by President William J. Clinton on November 10, 1999, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 19, 1999. She was sworn in as a member of the Commission on January 3, 2000, for a term expiring on June 16, 2008. She served as Chairman of the ITC from June 17, 2002, to June 16, 2004. She served two separate terms as Vice Chairman of the ITC, from June 17, 2004, to June 16, 2006, and from June 17, 2000, to June 16, 2002.

Prior to her appointment, Commissioner Okun served as counsel for international affairs to Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK) from 1993-1999, where she was responsible for the international trade issues with which the Senator was involved as a member of the Senate Finance Committee. She also handled international energy and foreign relations issues for the Senator in his position as Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Earlier, Commissioner Okun served as a legislative assistant to Senator Murkowski, where she was responsible for his Foreign Relations Committee work, with an emphasis on East Asian affairs. Prior to her work with the Senator, Commissioner Okun was an associate attorney and member of the International Trade Group at the Washington, DC, law firm of Hogan & Hartson. Earlier in her career, she was a research associate specializing in trade at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC.

Commissioner Okun holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science with honors from Utah State University and received her J.D. with honors from the Duke University School of Law. She is originally from Paul, Idaho. Currently, Commissioner Okun resides in McLean, Virginia, with her husband, Bob Okun, and two daughters, Rachel and Kelsi.

June 2006