National Journal Leadership

Afzal Bari serves as the Chief Operating Officer, where he oversees the product development, marketing, events, operations, the Presentation Center, and the Leadership Council's research functions. Afzal was previously a lead technology analyst at Bloomberg Government and advisor to several startups. He also spent five years with the Corporate Executive Board in its technology practice and its sales operations consulting division. Afzal holds an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and undergraduate degrees from the University of Maryland College Park. He lives in Chevy Chase, Md. with his wife Sofia and their two young children.

Deron Lee is the copy chief for National Journal, having worked as a copy editor for the company since 2006. He has also served as a correspondent for the Columbia Journalism Review and as an associate writer for National Journal Hotline. Deron received a master's degree from the University of Kansas William Allen White School of Journalism, and a bachelor's degree from Trinity University in San Antonio.

Jeff Dufour is editor in chief for National Journal Daily. Prior to National Journal, he was a columnist and editor for The Hill newspaper and the Washington Examiner. He also spent six years as the D.C. editor for UrbanDaddy, a lifestyle media company. He began his journalism career in 1998 at American Healthline, then a National Journal product. He has been a panelist and guest on NBC's "Today Show," Fox News, MSNBC, "The Dennis Miller Show," Sirius XM, and WTOP radio. A Connecticut native, Jeff is a graduate of Georgetown University.

Katie Collins is the chief business development officer, senior vice president of National Journal. In this role, she manages the company’s relationships with heads of government affairs at Fortune 500 companies and leaders of industry trade associations and oversees business development strategy.

In her previous role as vice president of development, Katie successfully launched the Network Science Initiative and managed National Journal’s strategic advertising relationships. She also helped lead the transition of National Journal’s client base from individual subscriptions to organizational memberships as National Journal shifted from a media company to a consulting model providing research and advisory services.

Katie’s prior experience spans nearly 15 years in business development and advocacy at National Journal, Corporate Executive Board, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Katie is a graduate of Georgetown University. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband.