Digital Dollar Project Hires Key Staffers to Expand U.S. CBDC Exploration in 2023

Policy, digital currency and technology staff additions follow a successful year of growth for the DDP

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Digital Dollar Project ("DDP"), a non-profit focused on catalyzing the public discussion around a U.S. CBDC, today announced new hires to support the strategic growth of its policy research and experimentation teams.

"DDP is growing to meet the domestic challenges of varying advances in the international development of central bank digital currencies and these new executives have strategically worked in the middle of central banking, technology, and global money development for decades," said Jennifer Lassiter, Executive Director of the Digital Dollar Project. We are actively engaging with private sector leaders, academia, and policymakers and gearing up for additional experimentation support. This team brings the passion and talent needed to aid leaders as CBDC research continues in the U.S. and develops abroad."

Michael Greco joins as Policy Research Director. Michael's insights and in-depth knowledge of technology and global financial services will be instrumental in the DDP's development. Prior to this role, he was the Government Relations Policy Manager for a global enterprise software company and previously worked in policy management for a leading global professional services company.

Shaun Ferrari joins as Industry Engagement and Experimentation Director. With high levels of expertise in strategic direction and policy formulation, Shaun's tenure stretches from holding the role of Vice President at a central bank conference and relationship management agency to spending 16 years overseeing bank operations and currency issuance strategies for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Mason Rowley joins as Operations Manager. Mason has previous experience in international relations, governance, banking, education, team management, and task administration. Gaining expertise across various roles, both abroad and nationally, she obtained her Master's in International Studies from the University of Wyoming.

Katherine Haar joins as a DDP Fellow in the role of strategy and operations. Katherine hails from a leading global professional services company where she focuses on blockchain business solutioning for digital currency. Katherine has previous experience with banking institutions and approaches to the future of money, as well as experience in international microfinance, focused on stimulating economies through local entrepreneurship.

With the accelerated growth of worldwide CBDC research, experimentation and deployment, DDP's new leadership team is poised to expand DDP's 2022 accomplishments including: 

• The completion of the first private sector initiated CBDC pilot with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), focused on understanding how a digital dollar might operate in the U.S clearing and settlement infrastructure by leveraging distributed ledger technology (DLT).
• The establishment of the Open Digital Currency Initiative (ODCI), which created an open community dedicated to experimentation, information sharing and discussion around CBDCs.
• The launch of the Technical Sandbox Program, a tech-neutral environment for the private sector to explore potential design choices and impacts of a U.S. CBDC.
• The development of working groups, designed to address important and impactful issues to be addressed in developing a CBDC, such as Privacy, Risk, National Security, Small Banks and Businesses, and others.
• The organization and assembly of global convenings around CBDC discussions, meant to ensure a diverse expert community involved in key decision points and the research of a digital dollar.

Additional research efforts on inclusion, privacy, risk, and national security as it relates to the future of money are under development, as are new resources for DDP partners and policymakers. The DDP is committed to providing federal and state governments, policymakers, and private sector organizations with a stronger, clearer picture of what implementing a CBDC in the U.S. would look like, and to answering important questions of what a roll-out might entail across retail, wholesale, and international use cases.

A nonprofit organization, The Digital Dollar Project was created to encourage research and public discussion on the potential advantages and challenges of a U.S. CBDC — or a "digital dollar." The DDP will identify options for a CBDC solution to help enhance monetary policy effectiveness and financial stability; provide needed scalability, security and privacy in retail, wholesale and international payments; and integrate with existing financial infrastructures. The DDP believes it is key and will facilitate opportunities for the U.S. to engage in international standard-setting regardless of whether the U.S. eventually issues a CBDC or not.

For more information on The Digital Dollar Project, please visit https://digitaldollarproject.org

SOURCE Digital Dollar Project