Mr. Patrick Hedren is Vice President, Legal & Policy for Upwork overseeing a team of lawyers focused on litigation, IP, enterprise risk, privacy and data protection, marketing, tax, trade compliance, product counseling, public policy, and more. Particularly focused on deploying first-of-their-kind AI tools, enabling growth into foreign markets, and staying ahead of constantly evolving regulations around the world.

Prior to joining Upwork, Mr. Hedren was Vice President for Labor, Legal and Regulatory Policy at the National Association of Manufacturers. Mr. Hedren led the NAM’s advocacy before Congress and the executive branch on smarter regulations, common-sense legal reform, and labor and employment policies that fit the modern manufacturing workforce.

Prior to his work at the NAM, Mr. Hedren served as Senior Counsel for a Fortune 15 manufacturing company where he helped to grow and manage the company’s Regulatory Advocacy Practice, a multi-business and multi-disciplinary group that enabled business units to provide effective input into the regulatory process and adjust to new regulations. Prior to that role, he worked as a litigation attorney for a regulated financial services company, and for two Members of Congress in campaign and policy roles.

Mr. Hedren is a recognized expert on good regulatory practices and has advised foreign governments on how to improve their regulatory systems. He has also advised multiple U.S. presidential campaigns on regulatory policy topics. He speaks frequently on emerging issues in administrative law and regulatory reform.

A native of Minnesota, he received both his law degree, magna cum laude, and his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Minnesota. He is an alumnus and Advisory Board member of the Atlantic Council’s Emerging Leaders in Environmental & Energy Policy (ELEEP) program.