Obama administration announces technology policy working group from VentureBeat by Eric Eldon Technology policy may not be dominating president-elect

Technology policy may not be dominating president-elect Barack Obama’s agenda so far, but it’s moving forward along with the rest of his transition. Today, Change.gov, the site his campaign uses to announce transition moves, has posted an update on who will be shaping his administration’s plans for action once he assumes power.

The three people in charge of “Technology, Innovation & Government Reform” — the catch-all tech category — are listed below. We’ve mentioned Sonal Shah and Julius Genachowski as possible candidates for Obama’s planned “Chief Technology Officer” position, a job that would apparently be charged with implementing the plans these three come up with. Note, for what it’s worth: The other six working groups have either one or two people in them.

From the site:

Blair Levin is a Managing Director of Stifel Nicolaus and serves as the firm’s principal telecom, media and tech regulatory and strategy analyst. Prior to his work as an analyst, Mr. Levin served as Chief of Staff to Chairman Reed Hundt at the Federal Communications Commission from 1993 through 1997. Before joining the FCC, Levin was a partner in the North Carolina law firm of Parker Poe, Poe, Adams and Bernstein.

Sonal Shah heads Google.org’s global development efforts. Prior to joining Google, she was Vice President at Goldman, Sachs and Co. developing and implementing the firm’s environmental policy. She is also the co-founder ofIndicorps , a U.S.-based non-profit organization offering one-year fellowships Indian-Americans to work on development projects in India. Sonal also worked at the Center for American Progress on trade, outsourcing and post conflict issues and the Center for Global Development on development policy issues. Sonal worked at the Department of Treasury from 1995-2002 on various economic issues and regions of the world, including Bosnia, Kosovo, the Asian crisis and sub-Saharan Africa. During that time she also worked at the National Security Council from 1998-1999. Sonal received her BA in economics from the University of Chicago and her MA in economics from Duke University. She is on the Obama-Biden Transition Project Advisory Board.

Julius Genachowski is co-founder of Rock Creek Ventures and LaunchBox Digital, a special advisor at General Atlantic, and a member of various boards of directors and advisors. From 1997 to 2005, he was a senior executive at IAC/InterActiveCorp, where his roles included Chief of Business Operations, General Counsel, and a member of the Office of the Chairman. Genachowski served at the Federal Communications Commission from 1994 to 1997, including as Chief Counsel to the Chairman. From 1991 to 1994 he served as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter, to U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. (ret.), and to Chief Judge Abner J. Mikva of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He worked in Congress from 1985 to 1988, for Sen. Charles E. Schumer (then a U.S. Representative), and for the joint select committe on the Iran-Contra Affair. He is a on the Obama-Biden Transition Project Advisory Board.