Michael Copps, Acting Chairman, Federal Communications Commission

Julius Genachowski may be the president's pick to serve as the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), but make no mistake that acting chairman Michael Copps is fully prepared to hold down the fort until the new chairman is confirmed.

Copps, who is currently serving his second term at the Commission after 30+ years in public service at the Commerce Department and U.S. Senate, has hit the ground running by implementing a series of changes designed to increase openness and communication within the FCC. He has already told staffers, "If we can't communicate with ourselves, we shouldn't have the word 'Communications' in our title."

He's also adamant about improving how the FCC delivers information to the public and to Congress. Whether his time as acting chairman is short-lived or longer than people anticipate, Copps will continue to be a driving force in reforming the agency, completing the digital TV transition, improving broadband, and other areas that he's passionate about.

Susan Crawford, Professor, University of Michigan Law School, and Founder, OneWebDay

Legal expert Susan Crawford has been a persistent supporter of open access and network neutrality principles, taking the Bush administration and incumbent telcos to task and calling on the federal government to make broadband access "a utility" that is available to all Americans. So the fact that she recently co-chaired the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) review team for the Obama-Biden transition is not insignificant.

It's still too early to say what impact she will have on the Commission's agenda in coming months, but you can be sure that the outspoken Crawford will continue to be vigilant on telecom matters. She is also continuing a grassroots effort to evangelize OneWebDay, her "Earth Day for the Internet" celebration, and it's hard to imagine her not taking a keen interest in internet governance debates even though she's no longer on the board at ICANN.

Alan Davidson, Director of U.S. Public Policy and Government Affairs for Google
Richard Whitt, Washington Telecom and Media Counsel for Google

Alan Davidson opened Google's D.C. office as a one-man policy shop back in 2005, and the company has since grown its presence in the nation's capitol as only Google can. Davidson, a computer scientist-turned-lawyer with particular expertise in digital privacy and intellectual property issues, now finds himself overseeing a policy portfolio that runs the gamut from energy efficiency and internet filtering to child safety and net neutrality.

On telecom matters, Davidson has the help of heavy hitters like former MCI exec Richard Whitt, who joined the company a couple of years ago—just in time to take on the FCC and his former telco colleagues in high-profile battles over the 700 MHz spectrum auction and the white spaces.

Those victories notwithstanding, Google's policy team has plenty of work ahead of it, as evidenced by its laundry list of 2009 priorities: protecting an open internet, promoting broadband competition and access, increasing H-1B visas, and accelerating the deployment of smart electric grids.

Jim Dempsey, VP for Public Policy for the Center for Democracy and Technology

One of the original warriors in the fight to protect online privacy and civil liberties, Jim Dempsey heads the Center for Democracy and Technology's (CDT) West Coast office in San Francisco where he focuses on digital privacy, security, and government surveillance issues.

Along with CDT's president and CEO Leslie Harris, Dempsey regularly serves as an advocate and spokesperson for the organization on its many policy initiatives. Currently, he's focused on rewriting and updating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, an undertaking that could have far-reaching implications given the amount of personal data now being stored digitally.

Ed Felten, Professor of Computer Science and Public Affairs and Founding Director of the Center for Information Technology Policy, Princeton University

While the jury is still out on who will be named as the nation's first chief technology officer (CTO), there are strong supporters in Ed Felten's camp who believe his blend of tech savvy and policy expertise are just what the job requires.

For example, along with his colleagues at Princeton, he's made a compelling argument for greater government transparency. But instead of encouraging the Feds to simply publish more data on their websites, he has called on the government to make the underlying data accessible for reuse and sharing via mash-ups and other apps.

It's that kind of out-of-the-box thinking—along with his pragmatic approach to policy challenges—that makes Felten interesting to watch. So, even if he isn't the president's pick for CTO, Felten's fans can take comfort in the fact that he'll continue to be a key contributor to the tech policy community in the year ahead.

Julius Genachowski, Co-founder, LaunchBox Digital and Rock Creek Ventures (expected to be Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission )

He hasn't officially been named yet as the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, but Julius Genachowski is still on everyone's list these days as someone to watch in the Obama administration. And for good reason.

Following his days at Harvard Law School, Genachowski went on to clerk at the Supreme Court, work as a Congressional staffer, and serve as general counsel for FCC chairman Reed Hundt—all before launching a successful career as a tech executive and venture capitalist.

A longtime friend of the president's, he helped craft Obama's technology and innovation agenda during the presidential campaign and stepped in to co-chair the transition team's Technology, Innovation, and Government Reform group. His work on both helped establish much of the groundwork for what can be expected from the administration in the first term. It also points to how he might act as chairman of the FCC, where it's expected he would be a strong backer of increasing broadband access and protecting network neutrality.

Jim Harper, Director of Information Policy Studies, Cato Institute and Founder, WashingtonWatch.com

If you feel like someone is tracking every move you make, don't blame Jim Harper. A scholar at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, Harper has been on a crusade to prevent the U.S. from implementing a national identification card system, something he describes as a "profound threat to American liberty."

During the Bush administration, Harper was outspoken about the dangers of allowing the government to monitor citizens via electronic identification programs like Real ID. With a new administration and Congress, we'll be watching to see what approach they take to these issues—and how Harper responds. There's already talk in Congress of expanding use of the e-verify program to check the employment eligibility of U.S. workers, so we may not have long to wait.