Christine LoCascio

Chief of Policy, Strategy & Membership

Christine A. LoCascio joined the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) in 2001 and is now responsible for coordinating and implementing the Council’s federal, state, and international trade public policy objectives. In this role, Christine advocates in support of DISCUS priorities, such as an end to the imposition of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. spirits exports, expanding spirits direct-to-consumer shipping and cocktails-to-go laws, and securing improved market access for distilled spirits, including spirits based ready-to-drink (RTDs), at the state and federal levels. In addition, Christine oversees the Distilled Spirits Council’s partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Market Access Program (MAP) to promote U.S. distilled spirits exports.

Christine has led successful lobbying efforts on behalf of DISCUS and in the U.S. business coalitions supporting passage of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Korea, Colombia, Panama, Australia, Chile and Singapore, and other trade legislation, including the WTO accessions of Vietnam, Russia and China, and Trade Promotion Authority.

Christine is frequent lecturer on the role of trade associations and advocacy at the Washington Campus, a non-profit, non-partisan, higher education association whose mission is to promote and support public affairs and public policy education for current and future organizational leaders. Christine is a member of Women in Government Relations, Women in International Trade (WIIT), the Washington International Trade Association (WITA), and currently serves as a Board Member of the WITA Foundation. Christine has served as Chair of the U.S. Department of Commerce and USTR’s Industry Trade Advisory Committee for Consumer Goods (ITAC 4) and as an advisor on the Agricultural Technical Committee for Trade (ATAC) in Processed Foods, which provides technical advice on U.S. agricultural trade issues to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). She previously served as a member of the Executive Committee of the U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council and as a Member of the WIIT Board of Directors.

Christine received her B.A. in History and Italian Language and Literature from Washington University in St. Louis and her M.A. in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). She is also a member of the Johns Hopkins SAIS Women’s Alumni Network (SWAN).

Christine’s favorite drink? “Hard to choose! I guess my three favorite cocktails are: Manhattan; Mojito and Gin and Tonic.”

Something you should know about Christine? “Since I am originally from St. Louis, MO, I am of course a big baseball (Cardinals) and ice hockey (Blues) fan. That said, and since I am married to someone from the DC area, I also root for the Nats and the Caps. But, I will always be true to my hometown!”