The CEI team and friends traveled to Bar Harbor, Maine – the summer playground of the nation – for our ninth annual policy summit. While taking in the rugged beauty of the Maine coast, we explored Acadia National Park and welcomed the nation’s first sunrise atop Cadillac Mountain.  

Throughout the week, CEI experts and guest speakers shared their key policy priorities. Topics included regulatory reform prospects and challenges, a live How the World Works podcast interview, the energy demand for AI, the gift and curse of the DOGE, spectrum allocation, and the moral case for trade. On opening night, Bar Harbor resident and Co-Chairman of the Federalist Society Leonard Leo discussed his entrepreneurial and philanthropic legacy defending the Constitution. NEOC founder and CEO Matthew Polstein shared how he built his career guiding people to explore Maine. NetChoice President and summit regular Steve DelBianco moderated a conversation about powering the AI revolution. NCUA Chairman and Bar Harbor native Kyle Hauptman offered insights from both fighting Biden administration policies and forging reforms with his majority-Democrat team. Mary Brown, Executive Director of Wi-Fi Forward, and Sarah Yi, Assistant VP of CTIA, joined CEI’s Brian Rankin to discuss the future of spectrum policy. 

We kicked off the week with a special screening of Dear Mr. President: The Letters of Julia Sand at the historic Criterion Theatre. On Monday, early risers ventured to Cadillac Mountain for America’s first light, followed by a welcome dinner in the Stotesbury Ballroom of the Bar Harbor Club. On Tuesday, summit guests boarded the Miss Samantha for a lobster fishing and seal watching cruise, then experienced an authentic Maine lobster dinner at The Nor’Easter Pound & Market in Northeast Harbor. On Wednesday, guests enjoyed carriage rides along Acadia’s famous Rockefeller carriage roads and afternoon tea at the historic Jordan Pond House, overlooking the iconic Maine “Bubbles.” On closing night, we dined in the wine cellar of Havana, an award-winning restaurant known for its American fine dining with a Latin flair. 

Speakers:

Daren Bakst, Competitive Enterprise Institute 

Mary Brown, Wi-Fi Foward  

Wayne Crews, Competitive Enterprise Institute 

Steve DelBianco, NetChoice 

Kyle S. Hauptman, National Credit Union Administration 

Paige Lambermont, Competitive Enterprise Institute 

Kent Lassman, Competitive Enterprise Institute 

Leonard A. Leo, Federalist Society 

Marlo Lewis, Jr., Competitive Enterprise Institute 

Matthew Polstein, New England Outdoor Center  

Brian Rankin, Competitive Enterprise Institute 

Alex Reinauer, Competitive Enterprise Institute 

Kevin D. Williamson, Competitive Enterprise Institute 

Sarah Yi, CTIA 

Ryan Young, Competitive Enterprise Institute 

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