Affiliation: GCI Communication Corp.
Candidate Questionnaire
1. Public Contact Information:
a) Please provide one URL to an online location (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) where community members can dialogue with you. [Optional.]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/leifsawyer/
b) Please identify your organizational affiliations. Note that Advisory Council (AC) members serve as individuals required to take ARIN’s best interests into account—not those of the organizations with which they are affiliated.
NANOG, elections committee (2nd term, exp. 2028)
2. Relevant Biography:
a) Please describe your relevant professional experience and expertise and explain how this background will make you an effective AC member.
From a technical perspective, I have been my company’s primary IP administrator for nearly 30 years, currently providing governance and architectural oversight for our working IP administration group. My current role is in architecture and engineering, developing the hardware and configuration standards for our implementation engineers to follow.
From a soft-skills perspective, I have been performing as an actor and musician for over 40 years, from background to lead roles in classical, musical, and operatic performances, as well as performing in multiple bands. Communication and public speaking comes naturally to me, and I continue to use those skills when addressing the ARIN community.
Lastly, I have been an AC member since 2014, shepherding multiple policies through the development process, as well as vicechairing and chairing the 15-member council and interfacing with the Board of Trustees. My time on the AC has provided many outreach opportunities with other RIRs as well as ICANN, giving me a varied and expansive view into the worldwide registry ecosystem and their impact on ARIN.
b) Attach a resume, curriculum vitae, or other biography highlighting your experience most relevant to the duties of the AC. (PDF, DOC, DOCX files only)Remove any personal contact information (postal address, email, and/or phone number) from your resume/CV, as it will be posted publicly as part of the candidate information.
https://arin-elections.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/sawyer-resume.pdf
c) Optionally, you may also include additional web links to external websites (e.g., social media), though not as a substitute for your biography.
https://icannwiki.org/Leif_Sawyer
3. Eligibility:
a) Please disclose any conflicts of interest you may have, real or perceived, that would impact your ability to perform your duty as a member of ARIN’s Advisory Council. How do you propose to resolve any such conflicts?
I have no material conflicts of interest. I restrict my participation in other communities purposefully to maintain my primary availability for the AC.
b) Are you currently eligible to serve on the Advisory Council, according to the Conflicts of Interest Policy?
Yes
c) If not currently eligible, how will you become eligible to serve if elected (e.g.. “If elected, I will resign from the position of ______ before 31 Dec 2026”). If not applicable, simply enter “N/A”
N/A
d) Describe any limitations on your ability to: attend AC and Public Policy Meetings in person; or serve all of the elected term.
I have no limitations on my ability to continue participating on the advisory council. My employer continues to support my ongoing AC work.
4. Nominee Information
a) Have you attended ARIN meetings or otherwise participated in ARIN activities in the past? What did you find the most rewarding from those meetings or activities? What suggestions for improvement do you have?
I have been continuously participating in ARIN meetings since 2012. So far, the most important and rewarding aspects of attending them have been the people. Making connections from around the world provides a huge degree of insight into all the various ways that RIR policy impacts its community. Being able to take all of those distilled concerns back to the editing room allows for a more rounded approach to the crafting of the policies. The explosive growth of the fellowship program has been a tremendous boon for the AC as well as the overall membership community, and its continuance will keep feeding the AC with new voices, new questions, and new experiences.
b) What areas of Internet number resource policy, if any, need more attention by ARIN, and why?
Oh, there are a lot of areas that can use attention, but in today’s world where the only method of procuring significant IPv4 space is via the transfer market, retiring old policy that is specific to ARIN issuance of space would help tighten up the policy manual. Detangling policies is a tricky job without omnibus changes, but it will always be better to be sharply focused instead of making sweeping deletions – and so far the AC has been diligent in following that ideal.
c) Aside from the professional experience and expertise detailed above, describe any other specific skills, background, and/or areas of expertise you believe will assist the Advisory Council in carrying out its duties.
Aside from my continuing work with the ARIN AC, I also attend NANOG and have been a member of their elections committee – you may even have seen me moderating their board candidate forum over the past several years. Bridging the policy community and the operator community has allowed me to increase my personal reach for policy concerns; and presenting ARIN policy at NANOG events has provided an even wider audience. I will continue to strive for this “cross-contamination” as long as I’m a part of both communities.