Masterclass: The Latest in Strategic Trade and Export Controls

Dr. Justine Walker has held influential roles at the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, HM Treasury, and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

She is widely recognized for her expertise in sanctions, counterterrorism, and financial crime, and regularly contributes to media, UN expert groups, and parliamentary hearings.

She holds a Ph.D. from the University of St. Andrews.

Melissa advises multinational and high-tech companies on international trade matters, including export controls, OFAC sanctions, CFIUS, digital trade, tariffs, and national security. She counsels on compliance, licensing, rulemakings, and disclosures, and frequently advocates before U.S. regulators. Recognized by Chambers for her strong technical expertise, she is a trusted authority for leading publications and associations. Melissa began her career at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and has since built deep experience across technology industries, as well as financial, manufacturing, consumer goods, and clean energy sectors. She also dedicates significant pro bono work to arts organizations and nonprofits in Washington, D.C.

Heather Epstein is the Americas Head of Sanctions & ABC at the London-headquartered bank, Barclays. As part of the Americas Financial Crime Compliance team, she is responsible for advising the bank’s business units on complex sanctions and anti-bribery and corruption investigations and compliance matters. Prior to joining Barclays, Heather spent a decade with the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, providing legal counsel on multiple sanctions programs, focusing on counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics, and country-based programs, including Iran. Heather started her career as a sex crimes and domestic violence prosecutor in New York before becoming a Federal prosecutor, and joined the Department of Homeland Security in 2002, soon after the new Cabinet agency formed.  She is based in Washington, D.C.

Valerie is the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Project. She leads the organization’s research on weapons of mass destruction supply networks, which is used by governments to support sanctions and counterproliferation actions. Valerie is Editor of Iran Watch, a website she created in 2003 to track and analyze Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and international efforts to counter these programs. She also oversees the Wisconsin Project’s Risk Report, a comprehensive database of entities suspected of involvement in WMD proliferation or sanctions evasion. She leads outreach efforts in over 40 countries to support effective strategic trade controls, including through use of the Risk Report.

Prior to joining the Wisconsin Project, Valerie worked as a researcher in several Washington D.C. think tanks and at the New York Times and Newsweek in France. She earned an M.S. at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a B.A. from Smith College. Valerie is a Gender Champion in Nuclear Policy.