Our Team

Maria A. Pallante is President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers and a recognized authority on copyright law.  With her talented team, she leads the U.S. publishing industry on matters of public policy, advancing solutions that drive human empowerment, scientific progress, and a vibrant creative economy.  Her areas of focus include protections for publishers and authors, online markets, freedom of expression, international trade, public-private collaborations, and diverse and sustainable business models.

From 2011 to 2016, Maria served as Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office where she led an extremely active period of statutory and regulatory analysis.  She advised and helped commence the first comprehensive review of the Copyright Act by the Congress in decades, testifying on complex issues of law and technology; highlighting the centrality of authors to the public interest; and conducting rulemakings and roundtables about existing and emerging legal questions.  She represented the United States on treaty and diplomatic delegations involving intellectual property.

Under Maria’s leadership, the Copyright Office published several key studies that documented and advanced the law, on issues such as the making available right under U.S. law; music licensing; small copyright claims; and digitization, orphan works, and collective licensing, as well as a public index of fair use opinions.  She also led public proceedings to modernize the records, technology, and regulations of the agency itself, to better serve the fast-moving licensing transactions of the digital marketplace.  Notably, Maria produced a complete overhaul of the authoritative Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, making it widely available for the first time as a living digital publication for courts, lawyers, and examiners.  She established the competitive Barbara A. Ringer Honors Fellowship and the Abraham L. Kaminstein Scholar in Residence.

Maria is a former Trustee of the Copyright Society and a recipient of the DC Bar’s Champion of Intellectual Property Award.  She has delivered numerous distinguished copyright lectures, including the Horace S. Manges Lecture at Columbia; the David Nelson Lectures at Berkeley; the Christopher Meyer Memorial Lecture at George Washington University; the Roger L. Shidler Lecture at Washington University; and the Robert W. Kastenmeier Lecture at the University of Wisconsin.  She currently serves on the American Bar Association’s Copyright Task Force and is a member of the George Mason University’s Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation Policy (C-IP²) Advisory Board.

Earlier in her career, Maria served for eight years as in-house counsel with the Guggenheim Museums and Foundation, New York, where she advised on governance, publishing, and exhibitions and directed the global licensing and branding program for the institution’s famous name, buildings, and collections.  She began her career in private practice and as a staff attorney with the Authors Guild.  She is a graduate of the George Washington University Law School.

The U.S. publishing industry serves hundreds of millions of readers a year by investing in and delivering a vast variety of literature and information in both print and digital formats.  These offerings include many of the most innovative services and important works of authorship in the world, including award-winning fiction, children’s literature, political commentary, biography and history books, scientific research, textbooks, learning platforms, study tools, professional content, and research analytics.

Currently Reading:

“Permanent Record”

by Edward Snowden

Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.

With more than 25 years in the education industry, Kelly’s prior roles include the Director of Education Policy and Government Affairs at Discovery Communications and senior policy analyst for the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Kelly has also served as an educational consultant for The Vanguard Group and held positions at various institutions of higher and K-12 education, including Boston University, SUNY Empire State College in New York and the Dalton School in New York City.

Kelly L. Denson is Vice President of Education Policy and Programs for the Association of American Publishers. In this role, Kelly advises AAP members on state and federal education initiatives that impact the American publishing industry, advocating for clear policies that reflect and advance the important contributions of education publishers. These include digital materials personalized to the individual learning needs of the student and high-quality content accessible to and affordable for every student. Kelly also serves as a key advisor to the academic community, leading joint publisher-academia events and other public outreach that promotes the critical partnership between the publishing and education communities.

Kelly holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in the Biological Basis of Behavior from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s in education degree from Harvard University.

Currently Reading:

The Upper Room Daily Devotional

Terrence Hart serves as General Counsel for the Association of American Publishers (AAP). He joined AAP from the U.S. Copyright Office, where he served as Assistant General Counsel.  He previously served as Vice President of Legal Policy at the Copyright Alliance for six years.  A 2010 graduate of Chicago-Kent College of Law, he has been an adjunct professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School and is the founder and author of the well-regarded Copyhype, which the American Bar Association recognized as one of the top 100 legal blogs in the United States.

Shelley Husband is the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Special Projects at the Association of American Publishers.

Prior to joining AAP, Shelley served as Staff Director and General Counsel for the House Committee on the Judiciary from 2013 to 2019, where she spearheaded hundreds of bills addressing copyrights, patents, technology, and antitrust issues, and managed a forty-person team across multiple subcommittees and offices. As top policy, political, and legal advisor to the Chair and committee members, she routinely met with senior government officials and industry representatives. From 2002-2012, Shelley served as Chief of Staff for Congressman Bob Goodlatte.

Among numerous other projects and achievements during her career, Shelley helped launch the bicameral, bipartisan, Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus, which was chaired by Mr. Goodlatte and then-Senator Joseph R. Biden, and she directed a comprehensive, bipartisan review of our nation’s copyright laws which culminated in historic reforms being signed into law.

Karen McInnis is Chief Financial Officer for the Association of American Publishers. In this role, Karen will continue to supervise and implement AAP’s budgeting, auditing, and reporting processes, while playing yet a greater role in strategy, execution, and growth across the organization. In recent years, Karen has been instrumental to transforming the organization’s financial performance, including by reducing the cost structure, modernizing the accounting systems, updating critical policies and procedures, and providing wise advice and support to the CEO and Board officers.  

A veteran of the finance and managerial sector, Karen began her professional career at AOL Time Warner where she held financial management roles at Time, Fortune and Money magazines. Karen has also worked at The Topps Company where she managed real estate, facilities and corporate overhead financial reporting, and digital advertising firm Undertone where she implemented “best practice” accounting, payroll, and benefits policies and operating procedures with a focus on organizational transformation and change management.

Karen graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Politics and from St. John’s University with a Master of Arts in Government and Politics. She is also certified as both a Nonprofit Accounting Professional and a (Retirement) Plan Sponsor professional. In her home state of New York, Karen is an elected official, currently serving as the President of the City Council of Long Beach.

Currently Reading:

‘Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators”

by Ronan Farrow

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

John McKay is the Senior Vice President of Communications for the Association of American Publishers. In this role, John leads communications and works closely with AAP’s staff, membership, and partner organizations to refine the communications portfolio and further AAP’s mission of advancing the policy and creative interests of the U.S. publishing industry.

Prior to joining AAP, John was Executive Officer for Marketing, Communications and Branding at New York State’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where he served as a liaison to the Governor’s Office, advised the Chairman, and oversaw major communications and marketing initiatives, public service announcements, and app development.

Previously he served as Vice President, Corporate Communications for NBCUniversal and as Vice President, Communication for Sony Music Entertainment.

John holds a BA from the Pennsylvania State University.

Currently Reading:

“Aeneid Book VI: A New Verse Translation”

translated by Seamus Heaney

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Lui Simpson is Senior Vice President, Global Policy for the Association of American Publishers (AAP). In this role, she directs the association’s engagement with the U.S. and foreign governments on copyright, technology, and international trade policy issues, provides analysis and guidance for the association and members on a variety of policy initiatives, and manages the association’s content protection programs in key Asian markets. Lui also serves as AAP’s representative to several domestic and international industry coalitions in pursuing shared policy concerns.

Prior to joining AAP, Lui was Senior Counsel for Intellectual Property Policy at the Entertainment Software Association, where she was responsible for developing and guiding the video game industry association’s work in the areas of copyright and international trade policy. Additionally, Lui has also worked as a consultant to a USAID-funded development project in the Philippines and as a litigator.

Lui holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law and a Master of Laws degree in International and Comparative Law from Temple University Beasley School of Law. She is admitted to the New York State Bar.

Currently Reading:

“Genghis: Birth of An Empire”

by Conn Iggulden

Publisher: Bantam

Syreeta Swann is Chief Operating Officer at the Association of American Publishers. In this role, Syreeta supervises and manages key contracts, facilities, IT and software, awards administration, and programs, while elevating statistics products, partnerships and sponsorships, certain external affairs, and member services. Since joining AAP in 2017, Syreeta has improved everything she has touched or been asked to troubleshoot, including office and lease management, website presentation and commerce, membership administration, the Annual General Meeting, DEI internships, and Board and member communications.

Before joining the AAP, Syreeta served for 15 years at the United States Copyright Office where she was special assistant to the head of the agency and contributed to a wide range of programs, legislative policies, and the administration of the copyright laws. Syreeta is experienced in communications, Congressional relations, strategic planning, and project management.

Syreeta earned her BA from Oberlin College as a double major in Sociology and Law and her MA in Strategic Communication from American University. She also earned a certification in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace from University of South Florida.  In her home state of Maryland, Syreeta serves on the Boards of KidsPeace and the Howard County Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management as Communications Chair.