WASHINGTON—Today, NetChoice President & CEO Steve DelBianco is pleased to announce that Bartlett Cleland and Patrick Hedger will be joining the team. Bartlett Cleland will be serving as General Counsel & Director of Strategic Initiatives, and Patrick Hedger as Director of Policy.
“I am pleased to welcome Bartlett Cleland and Patrick Hedger to NetChoice. These two capable policy experts will be superb advocates for NetChoice’s fight to protect free expression and free enterprise online,” said DelBianco. “With Cleland’s decades of work in technology policy and Hedger’s experience as a policy stalwart for free market principles, I am confident they both will be skillful additions to our industry-leading team.”
About Bartlett Cleland
Bartlett Cleland serves as General Counsel & Director of Strategic Initiatives for NetChoice.
Cleland’s decades of work on technology and innovation in public policy have been informed by his broad array of work and education outside of traditional public policy channels. Whether relying on his business background of MBA, work at a human resources consulting firm or as a CEO, he seeks to make every policy debate relevant to what happens to real people and to real business. Through that experience, Cleland understands how our fundamental belief in free enterprise and free expression fuels our work.
His tenure on Capitol Hill intimately involved him in numerous early-internet debates critical to the tech industry, including encryption and “supercomputer” export controls, the Internet Tax Fairness Act, Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Communications Decency Act, the 1996 Telecommunications Act and others, including efforts to increase information for citizens about Congressional activities and efforts.
He previously served on the Internet Education Foundation Board of Directors, working with the Internet Caucus on Capitol Hill. Cleland served two terms as the Chair of the Communications and Technology taskforce of the American Legislative Exchange Council. He also was a member of the Internet Safety Technical Taskforce, a group of Internet businesses and organizations formed by 49 state attorneys general to identify online safety tools.
Cleland graduated from Millikin University with a B.S. in philosophy and business administration. He received an MBA and a JD with a specialization in international and comparative law from St. Louis University.
About Patrick Hedger
Patrick Hedger is the Director of Policy at NetChoice. He is an expert in antitrust policy, content moderation and free speech issues, data privacy, and how limited government-policies best facilitate innovation and competition.
Prior to joining NetChoice, Hedger built his career and policy expertise in the free market, limited government movement. He served as Director of Policy at the FreedomWorks Foundation, a Technology and Telecommunications Research Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and most recently Vice President of Policy and Executive Director of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
Hedger grew up in a small business household, which inspired him to pursue a career advocating for policies that promote innovation and entrepreneurship. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Government and International Politics and Master’s Degree in Public Policy, both from George Mason University.
Hedger originally hails from the Tampa Bay area of Florida. He enjoys traveling, cooking, Formula 1 racing, and is an avid Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan.
Please contact press@netchoice.org with inquiries.