Audience:
Open industry. All apparel and footwear industry professionals, regardless of AAFA membership, are encouraged to participate.
Description:
Join Kharon and AAFA for a candid, expert conversation on what it actually takes to build a forced labor due diligence program that meets the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act's (UFLPA) demanding standards — and holds up as global enforcement expands.
In a moderated dialogue format, Ethan Woolley and LeRoy Potts bring complementary perspectives to the hardest questions in forced labor compliance. LeRoy will draw on his experience leading the UFLPA Entity List team at DHS to explain what constitutes credible evidence under the law's rebuttable presumption standard and what risk management strategies give companies the strongest foundation. Ethan will focus on the operational side — what level of information is available in opaque, high-risk jurisdictions, how to integrate risk intelligence into existing supply chain workflows, and how to triage and review alerts effectively without drowning in noise.
The conversation will also look ahead: with the EU Forced Labor Regulation set to take effect, companies that build rigorous due diligence programs now will be better positioned to meet converging global requirements rather than rebuilding from scratch.
Attendees of this webinar will learn:
- What constitutes credible, sufficient evidence under the UFLPA's rebuttable presumption — and what evidentiary gaps most commonly undermine a compliance program.
- How to uncover forced labor risk in complex, multi-tier supply chains where visibility is limited and traditional risk assessments fall short.
- Practical strategies for integrating forced labor risk data into existing supply chain tools and traceability workflows.
- How to review and prioritize alerts so that compliance attention is focused on the highest-risk exposures.
Speakers:
Ethan Woolley
Global Director of Strategy
Kharon
Ethan Woolley is a Director at Kharon, where he supports the firm’s clients on Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) due diligence best practices and the use of data to strengthen risk management programs. Ethan frequently works with organizations in the retail, apparel, automotive, chemical, and telecommunications industries, and regularly speaks at conferences and industry events on forced labor risk. Ethan received his BA in International Relations and Russian from the University of Pennsylvania and an MA in Energy Politics from the European University at St. Petersburg. Ethan speaks Russian and spent time living in Moscow.
LeRoy Potts
Managing Director
The Potts Group
LeRoy Potts is the Managing Director of The Potts Group, a global risk consulting firm specializing in forced labor regulation and compliance. Previously, he served at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the Director of the Entity List Office, where he led the designation of entities under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). His extensive 35-year federal career also includes serving as the Research Division Chief for the Refugee, Asylum, and International Operations Directorate at USCIS, and spending over 17 years at the U.S. Department of State in roles such as advisor to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.
AAFA Host:
Audrey Clark
Trade and Transportation Specialist
AAFA
Audrey Clark is responsible for supporting the association’s trade policy efforts and leading the Transportation Team as the committee liaison. Prior to joining AAFA in November 2023, Audrey worked as Export Program Coordinator at the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS) where she managed eight international export promotion campaigns and supported four DISCUS committees. She previously worked at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) where she was awarded the Pearce Prize Achievement Award and served as Program Coordinator for Streaming & Broadcasting. She has earned both her bachelor’s and master's degrees in International Affairs from Georgia Tech.
Unable to join on June 17?
Register for the webinar to receive an email containing the direct link to access the recording of the webinar and the PDF version of the presentation. The email will be sent 1-3 business days after the webinar.
CONTACT | QUESTIONS
Stephanie Paendong