I think they had become friendly based on prior meetings...he had the whole crew of 24 down to his compound. That being said, the notion that a woman who plays a CTU agent on a TV show should be on a serious panel about terrorism is the same idiocy as Meryl Streep talking about pesticides after playing a farm owner.
The forum was on how the show "24" has affected the American view on terrorism.
She said as much when she was asked questions on the panel. The panel was also about the effects of 24 on America's perception of the war on terror.