The 19th Annual Optoelectronics Industry Development Association (OIDA) Annual Forum, to be held on Nov. 16-17 in Arlington, Va., focuses on two major areas in which the photonics/optoelectronics industry takes on special significance: U.S. competitiveness and the future of telecommunications. Senior-level speakers include representatives from Oclaro, Finisar, University of Southern California, Google, Carnegie-Mellon University, Corning, University of California - Davis, Baller-Herbst Law Group, OneChip Photonics as well as from a number of government agencies including the US Department of Defense, NIST, and the USDA-Rural Utilities Service. Key speakers at the 19th Annual Forum will include leaders from Verizon, FCC and the Council on Competitiveness: Thomas Tauke is executive vice president - public affairs, policy and communications, at Verizon. He is responsible for the development of the company’s public policy positions and advocacy at the local, state, federal, and international levels. Tauke serves as a member of Verizon's Leadership Council and is a past chairman of the U.S. Telecom Association where he is currently on the board of directors and a member of the executive committee. Phoebe Yang, senior advisor to the Chairman on Broadband at the FCC, heads the core team managing the commission's broadband priorities and works with other federal, international, state and local entities on advancing the commission's broadband agenda. She serves as the commission's primary point of contact to enable the use of broadband to promote key national priorities, such as improving heath care, education, and energy efficiency. William Bates, vice president of government affairs, manages the Council on Competitiveness' outreach and message to US administrators, including congressional members and governors. The Council serves as a forum for elevating national competitiveness to the forefront of national consciousness, to rethink and redefine how US companies will remain competitive. He also serves as the Executive Director of the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils. OIDA is a Washington-based, member-based non-profit association that promotes optoelectronics. Its members include the leading providers of optoelectronic components and systems enabled by optoelectronics, as well as universities and research institutions. OIDA serves as the voice of industry to government and academia, acts as liaison with other industry associations worldwide, and provides a network for the exchange of ideas and information within the optoelectronics community. For more information, visit: www.oida.org