Stephanie Lester

B.S. Multinational Business and Real Estate, Florida State University

M.A. International Affairs, American University

Established RILA’s product safety working group

Coordinated all advocacy efforts related to congressional passage of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and the related regulatory implementation

In 2007, testified before the U.S. Department of Commerce on its monitoring program of textile and apparel imports from Vietnam

International Trade Committee

Working Groups:

Customs Compliance Working Group

Product Safety Working Group

Board of Directors, Washington International Trade Association

Cleared Trade Advisor, U.S. Department of Commerce’s Industry Trade Advisory Committee 5 (Distribution Services)

Stephanie Lester brings the retail industry a wealth of experience on international trade policy. Since joining RILA in 2007, she has led the product safety working group and coordinated all advocacy efforts related to product safety issues and international trade policy. Lester serves on the board of directors for the Washington International Trade Association and is a Cleared Trade Advisor for the U. S. Department of Commerce’s Industry Trade Advisory Committee 5 (Distribution Services).

Prior to joining RILA, Lester was a professional staff member for the U.S. House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade. In this capacity, she advised members of the committee on a variety of matters including trade remedy laws, World Trade Organization negotiations on rules and dispute settlement, investment, intellectual property rights and trade relations with Southeast Asia, Russia and the New independent States, South America and the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand.

Lester has worked in the U.S. Department of Commerce, serving as chief of staff of the assistant secretary for import administration. In that capacity, she advised the assistant secretary on international trade policy and antidumping and countervailing duty case-related matters. She started her trade career at the Department of Commerce as an international trade analyst, working on antidumping and countervailing duty cases that covered a wide range of products and countries.