Bill Rivers has 25 years’ experience in languages for economic development and national security. He is the executive director of the Joint National Committee for Languages (JNCL) and the National Council for Languages and International Studies, representing more than 130 language organizations to the Federal Government and business community. Before JNCL, Bill was the chief technology officer of a research company, and spent 15 years in higher education. He taught Russian at the University of Maryland, worked as a freelance interpreter and translator for aerospace projects, and lived and conducted field work in Kazakhstan. Bill holds a PhD in Russian from Bryn Mawr College.