2008 Policy & Legal Conference Speakers
SPEAKER BIOS (In Alphabetical Order)
Jonathan S. Adelstein
Jonathan S. Adelstein was unanimously confirmed twice by the U.S. Senate to be a member of the Federal Communications Commission. He was originally sworn in on December 3, 2002, and for a second term on December 6, 2004. A life-long public servant, Adelstein has dedicated his career to fighting for the public interest. As a Commissioner, his approach is guided by the key principle that the public interest means securing access to communications for everyone, including those the market may leave behind.
Adelstein is a particularly strong advocate for media diversity and localism, and he works diligently to encourage increased voices on the airwaves to support a well-informed citizenry. He has worked to promote access to telecommunications and media outlets by minorities, rural and low-income consumers, people with disabilities, and non-English speakers. To ensure that all consumers have access to the latest telecommunications systems no matter where they live, Adelstein has strived to improve universal service. He has also encouraged broadcasters to use the digital transition to better serve their communities with local, public affairs and other cultural and educational programming. He has advocated for a substantive national broadband strategy with aggressive goals and specific policy recommendations. He also has played an active role at the Commission in promoting new policies that improve access to spectrum by both large and small companies so that consumers can continue to maintain those connections in our increasingly portable world.
Adelstein has been a national leader on combating the negative effects of the increasing commercialization of American media. Most recently, he spearheaded vigorous enforcement against reported violations of federal payola rules – a payola scandal that he believes may represent the most widespread and flagrant violation of any FCC rules in the history of American broadcasting. The effort resulted in an historic settlement with a number of major radio companies that establishes strong procedures to prevent future recurrences of payola.
Before joining the Commission, Adelstein served for fifteen years as a staff member in the United States Senate. For his final seven years, he was a senior legislative aide to then United States Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD), where he advised Senator Daschle on telecommunications, financial services, transportation and other key issues. Previously, he served as Professional Staff Member to Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman David Pryor (D-AR), including an assignment as a special liaison to Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), and as a Legislative Assistant to Senator Donald W. Riegle, Jr. (D-MI). Prior to his service in the Senate, Adelstein was a Teaching Fellow in the Department of History, Harvard University, while studying at the Kennedy School of Government. Adelstein also was a Teaching Assistant in the Department of History, Stanford University where he received an M.A. in History and a B.A. with Distinction in Political Science. He also served as a Communications Consultant to the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Adelstein was born and raised in Rapid City, South Dakota. He now resides in the Washington, D.C. area with his wife Karen, son Adam and daughter Lexi.
Andrew Afflerbach
Andrew Afflerbach, Ph.D., P.E., CEO/Director of Engineering for Columbia Telecommunications Corporation, specializes in system-level planning, design, and implementation of wide-area and local-area telecommunications networks. His expertise includes emerging technologies and state-of-the-art technological applications. As Director of Engineering, he oversees all engineering work performed by CTC.Dr. Afflerbach has assisted numerous local governments and non-profit institutions with technological projects – ranging from fiber-optic to wireless communications networks; from educational to homeland security applications; from cable system performance evaluation to development of local emergency override capabilities; and from negotiations with the telecommunications industry to technical briefing of Commissioners and staff of the Federal Communications Commission.
Dr. Afflerbach received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Wisconsin—Madison in 1996. He received his Bachelor of Arts in physics from Swarthmore College in 1991. He was elected to the science and engineering honor society, Sigma Xi , in 1990. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Matthew C. Ames
Matthew C. Ames specializes in cable television issues and new communications technologies affecting local governments, and in the drafting and negotiating of franchise agreements and cable television ordinances. Mr. Ames has represented a variety of public and private sector clients in FCC rulemakings, including such matters as cable rate regulation, leased access, telecommunications inside wiring, and universal service, among others. He also has a broad background in corporate, commercial, and contract law, and has participated in the drafting and negotiation of cable television system purchase agreements, software licenses, television production contracts, and a wide variety of other transactions. He has also advised clients regarding the regulatory aspects of the deployment of intelligent transportation systems. He is admitted to practice in Virginia and the District of Columbia. He received his law degree, cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center in 1987, and his B.S. in 1980 from the College of William and Mary.
Marcine Anderson
Marcine Anderson is a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney with the Civil Division of the King County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney. Her practice involves drafting ordinances, litigating, and providing legal advice and assistance, to King County departments on technology issues. Before moving from New England to Seattle, Ms. Anderson served as assistant general counsel and special assistant for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Boston, clerked for Hon. Joyce London Alexander in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and was a Reginald Heber Smith Community Lawyer Fellow for the Southeastern Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation. She also taught legal writing at the New England School of Law. During her almost 23 years of practice, Ms. Anderson has represented both public and private clients.
Ms. Anderson received her J.D. from Suffolk University School of Law and her B.A. and a Certificate in Ethnic Studies from the University of Oregon.
On September 16, 2004 Ms. Anderson was sworn in as the first Asian American member of the Board of Governors of the Washington State Bar Association in its 115 year history.
Jim Baller
Jim Baller is the founder and president of the Baller Herbst Law Group in Washington, DC. He represents public entities nationally and in more than 35 states on a broad range of communications matters. Over the last decade, he has been involved in many of the Nation’s leading municipal cable, fiber, and wireless projects.
Both the Fiber to the Home Council and Public Technologies Institute have called Jim “the nation’s most experienced and knowledgeable attorney on public broadband matters.” He was NATOA’s Member of the Year in 2001 and its first Community Broadband Visionary of the Year in 2007. In 2006, MuniWireless awarded him its first “Esme Award,” and Washingtonian Magazine recently listed Jim as one of Washington’s “Best Lawyers” (defined as the top one percent).
Jim is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Cornell Law School.
Constance Ledoux Book, Ph.D.
Constance Ledoux Book, Ph.D. is a professor and researcher in the field of telecommunications. She has explored the pivotal role television plays in American society and public policy. She is the author of DTV and Consumers, the first book dedicated to understanding how our nation’s transition to digital television impacts the general consumer. Dr. Book’s research has received five, first place awards in the past six years from the National Association of Broadcasters educational group. Her work included the first national assessment of municipal officials’ attitudes toward cable television oversight and the subsequent national assessment of municipal cable administrators’ attitudes toward cable television oversight. She has conducted quantitative and qualitative assessments of television service in large, medium and small markets across the United States.
Dr. Book serves at the Governor’s invitation on the board of the North Carolina Agency for Public Television. She is also the executive director of the Sunshine Center for the North Carolina Open Government Coalition housed in the School of Communications at Elon University.
Dr. Book’s research has been recognized in several nationwide competitive settings, including the National Association of Broadcasters, the National Cable Television Association the National Association of Telecommunication Officers and Advisors, the Broadcast Education Association and the Association for Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication. Her work has also been published in legal and academic journals.
Dr. Book was recently awarded a fourth competitive grant from the National Association of Broadcasters to conduct research studies related to the impact of satellite radio on local broadcasting. As a professor, she has been awarded several research grants for assessments related to digital television, recognized on several occasions for outstanding teaching and her students have won awards in national competitions sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Advertising Federation.
Dr. Book has appeared on panels at the Federal Communications Commission, the National Cable Television Association, the National Association of Broadcasters, the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, and regional cable television associations. She is often invited to lecture and moderate discussions on telecommunications issues. As a working broadcaster for several years, Dr. Book’s work received honors from the Associated Press and the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters.
Dr. Book is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She graduated with degrees in Mass Communication from Louisiana State University, Northwestern State University and the University of Georgia. Her doctoral studies focused on television oversight. She currently is the associate dean and associate professor in the School of Communications at Elon University in North Carolina. She lives on a small farm with her husband and their two children.
Chris Boyer
Chris Boyer serves as Assistant Vice President – External Affairs and Regulatory. Mr. Boyer’s responsibilities include developing and coordinating at the Federal and state levels AT&T’s policies on regulatory issues impacting AT&T’s emerging services and technologies such as broadband and IPTV and for acting as a subject matter expert on AT&T’s Project Lightspeed and U-verse initiatives.
Project Lightspeed is AT&T’s plan to expand fiber optics into neighborhoods to deliver IP-based video, voice, and High Speed Internet access services under the AT&T U-verseSM brand. Mr. Boyer joined AT&T in 1993 and has held various positions in AT&T’s corporate regulatory policy, network planning and engineering, network regulatory, wholesale marketing and network services departments including extensive experience working on AT&T’s broadband, VoIP and IPTV initiatives.
Mr. Boyer holds a Bachelor of Science - Business Administration degree from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas and an MBA from the University of Houston in Houston, TX. He and his wife Marnie have one son, Matthew, and reside in San Antonio, Texas.
Robert Dezego
Robert Dezego is an independent consultant. He was formerly Vice President and Research Analyst covering the Cable and Satellite sector at Banc of America Securities. Mr. Dezego co-authored the “Battle for the Bundle” research report series with Telecom Analyst David Barden. This quarterly publication surveyed and analyzed pricing changes for major cable, telecom, and satellite operators.
Mr. Dezego was previously Vice President and Research Analyst covering the Government IT Services sector in 2006. From 2000 to 2006, Mr. Dezego was part of Banc of America Securities’ Wireline and Wireless Telecommunications Services equity research team. From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Dezego was a senior associate portfolio manager at Sanford C. Bernstein, LLC, Inc.
Mr. Dezego has an undergraduate degree from Tufts University in Economics and holds a MBA from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University.
Kenneth S. Fellman
Ken Fellman is a partner in the Denver law firm of Kissinger & Fellman, P.C. His practice emphasizes local government representation, particularly telecommunications law. Ken has represented numerous local governments in Colorado and nationally in connection with cable television franchising, transfers, renewals, and enforcement actions. He works with local governments in development of telecommunications policy documents, rights of way management, tower and antenna siting, litigation in all courts and at the Federal Communications Commission, and other related telecommunications and land use issues. He has also worked with governments, private property owners, homeowner associations and Indian tribes on telecommunications infrastructure issues. Ken is general counsel for the Greater Metro Telecommunications Consortium, an agency comprised of 29 cities and counties in metro Denver.
Eloise Gore
Eloise Gore serves as Associate Chief of the Media Bureau. Ms. Gore joined the Cable Services Bureau as a Senior Staff Attorney in 1996 following ten years with the Commerce Department as a Supervisor in the Bureau of Export Administration and seven years as a staff attorney with the Federal Trade Commission specializing in consumer protection. She was promoted to Special Assistant for Law and Policy in the Cable Services Bureau in 1999; promoted to Assistant Division Chief in the new Media Bureau 2002, and promoted to Deputy Chief of the Policy Division in 2007.
Ms. Gore’s primary focus at the FCC on Commission initiatives that promote competition in the distribution of video programming and other services: Digital television (DTV) transition: Periodic Review; Channel Election; Cable and Satellite Carriage Requirements. Key role in the Commission’s implementation of the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999 and the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act of 2004 that regulate DBS providers’ delivery of local and distant broadcast stations. Rulemakings and complaints concerning cable and satellite carriage of local broadcast stations on cable and satellite systems. Rulemaking and enforcement for the Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule, which preempts local restrictions that attempt to limit use of satellite dishes and other antennas.. Ms. Gore is a Member of the District of Columbia Bar.
Brian T. Grogan
Brian T. Grogan is a shareholder with the Minneapolis law firm of Moss & Barnett practicing in communications and energy law. Brian represents local units of government throughout the country on a variety of communications issues, including: cable and telecommunications franchising; right-of-way management; municipal wireless communications; tower leasing; pole attachment negotiations; public safety communications; and litigation. He is a frequent presenter at state and national conferences regarding communications law and he is a member of the American Bar Association (Forum Committee on Communications Law), National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, International Municipal Lawyers Association (Contracts, Franchises and Technology Section), and is past chair of the Communications Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association.
Holly Hansen
Holly Hansen, in her consulting practice, conducts planning and research projects for local governments and non-profit organizations. She performs needs assessments, moderates focus groups, conducts qualitative and quantitative research, and facilitates strategic planning for organizations.
Prior to being a consultant, Ms. Hansen was the division manager for cable communications in St. Paul, MN. She managed the franchise, developed the City’s I-Net, and oversaw the government access operation. She also negotiated several transfers of ownership, franchise renewal, and franchise compliance settlements for the City.
Ms. Hansen has a B.A. in Organizational Management and Business Communications from Concordia University. She has been a member of NATOA for over twenty years and serves on the Policy & Legal Committee. She is also a member of QRCA, the Qualitative Research Consultants Association, and ACM, the Alliance for Community Media.
James R. Hobson
James R. Hobson has 35 years’ experience in cable television and wire and wireless communications as an FCC official, corporation lawyer and private legal practitioner. At the FCC from 1972-78, his posts included Special Assistant to the Chairman (1974) and Chief, Cable Television Bureau, 1976-78. As Washington Counsel for GTE, 1978-91, Mr. Hobson’s assignments included the early stages of the video dial-tone docket and the grant to GTE California of the first Telco-cable urban cross-ownership waiver in Cerritos. Congress changed the law in 1996 to allow Telco entry into cable television.
Mr. Hobson has been in private practice for 17 years and has worked on video, wire and wireless communications matters for a number of clients. Mr. Hobson was a member of the statutory panel of arbitrators which in 1992 recommended changes in the 1993-94 fees paid for satellite carrier delivery of superstation and network TV signals to backyard dish receivers.
Within the field of wireless communications, he has developed a specialty in public safety communications, including 9-1-1 emergency calling where he has represented the National Emergency Number Association (“NENA”) for 14 years. He currently represents or has represented more than 50 licensees in the FCC-ordered reconfiguration of the public safety spectrum at 800 MHz. This experience has led him into 700 MHz spectrum issues, including the plan to create a national public safety wireless broadband license that can inter-operate with a commercial broadband license in the so-called D Block to be auctioned in January of 2008.
Mr. Hobson also is consulted regularly by local governments and citizens’ groups on the sitting of wireless communications facilities under zoning codes and ordinances. He has assisted information technology and public safety departments in negotiating for radio systems and equipment with national vendors.
Mr. Hobson holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Cornell and Georgetown Universities, and his law degree is from the University of San Francisco. He is admitted to practice in California as well as the District of Columbia. Besides having served on the American Arbitration Association’s National Panel, he is a trained mediator.
Jim is the co-author of “Preemption of Local Regulation of Radio Antennas,” Federal Communications Law Journal, Vol. 46, No. 3 (June 1994), and the Co-Editor of The Communications Act: A Legislative History of the Major Amendments, 1934-1996 (Pike & Fischer, 1999). His article, “Wireless Facility Sitting under the Communications Act,” appeared in the March-April 2003 issue of Municipal Lawyer. For the same publication’s September-October 2007 issue, Jim contributed a column titled “Unscrambling the 800 MHz Radio Spectrum.” Mr. Hobson has spoken at numerous municipal association conventions and seminars as well as private educational forums.
James N. Horwood
James N. Horwood, a partner at Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP, has over 40 years of practice specializing in matters covering a wide range of communications and energy law. Mr. Horwood advises local governments on all aspects of telecommunications, including cable franchise renewal, franchise enforcement, and municipal ownership and operation of infrastructure. This work often concerns questions involving interpretation and application of the federal Cable Act, the U.S. Constitution (particularly the First Amendment), and federal and state antitrust laws. Among his significant matters dealing with cable television are a number of cable franchise renewals, transfers, rate regulation issues, and issues related to public, educational and governmental (PEG) access.
Alexander Hoehn-Sari
Alexander Hoehn-Saric is Democratic Communications Counsel for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Prior to joining the Committee, Hoehn-Saric served as Counsel for Senator Barbara Boxer where he worked on communications and technology issues. Previously, he was an associate in the Communications Department in the Washington, D.C. office of Latham &Watkins and was an associate in the New York office of Sullivan & Cromwell. Hoehn-Saric also clerked for the Honorable Benson Everett Legg in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. He is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles law school and the University of Chicago.
Vivek Kundra
Vivek Kundra was nominated by Mayor Fenty to serve as the Chief Technology Officer for Washington, DC. Most recently Kundra served as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Trade for the Commonwealth of Virginia; he was appointed by Governor Tim Kaine. Prior to joining Governor Kaine’s cabinet, he was the CEO of Creostar, a company focused on cyber security and information warfare. Kundra served as the vice president of marketing for Evincible Software, a technology startup that enabled trusted transactions for the government and the financial sector, which was sold to Exostar. Prior to that, he was the IT director for Arlington, VA, where he was responsible for the government’s strategic technology initiatives. He also served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maryland, teaching classes on emerging and disruptive technologies.
Before joining Arlington he was with SAIC, providing consulting services at the Health and Human Services (HHS). His work focused on growing SAIC’s $1billion business at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Kundra has worked on the World Cities Alliance initiative to advance business and economic development in Arlington, Zurich, Paris, Berlin, and Wales. Within the private sector, he worked with multiple clients to build operations in the United States, Canada, and India.
He received his master’s in information technology and his bachelor’s in psychology and biology from the University of Maryland.
Tillman L. Lay
Tillman L. Lay is a partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm of Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP. He specializes in representing local governments and other clients on telecommunications, cable television, franchising, rights‑of‑way, tax, property law, constitutional law, antitrust and other federal law matters. His clients have included NATOA and scores of local governments across the nation. Mr. Lay was NATOA’s 2006 Member of the Year. He received his undergraduate degree with highest honors from the University of Tennessee, and he is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Michigan Law School.
Erin Lee
Erin Lee is a Program Director for Technology at the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices. In this role, she provides policy research and technical assistance to Governors’ policy advisors on information technology and its application in state government. Since 2001, Ms. Lee has been working with states toward improving public safety interoperable communications by bringing policymakers together to foster ideas and innovation, including coordination and planning of statewide initiatives. With funding from the Department of Homeland Security Office of Emergency Communications, she organized a nationwide conference for all states to provide best practices and criteria for developing a statewide plan.
In addition, Ms. Lee works with states on justice information sharing helping states integrate information across their justice systems, from law enforcement to courts to corrections. This grant funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, provides support to states for implementation.
Prior to working at the National Governors Association, Ms. Lee was a Senior Consultant with Deloitte & Touche. In this role she managed several key projects in the areas of financial management, business process improvement, operations management, and strategy development.
Ms. Lee holds an M.B.A. from George Mason University and a B.A. from George Washington University.
Gerard Lavery Lederer, Esq., CAE
Gerard Lavery Lederer, Esq., CAE is of counsel to the Law Firm of Miller & Van Eaton. He serves as legislative counsel to TeleCommUnity; Director of the City of Laredo’s Washington office and special communications counsel to a number of National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors member communities.
Miller & Van Eaton is a leading telecommunications law firm that promotes the rights of public and private property owners before communications regulators, legislators and in contract negotiations. TeleCommUnity is an alliance of local governments and their associations which are attempting to refocus attention in Washington on the principles of federalism and comity for local government interests in telecommunications.
Lederer possesses an extensive background in municipal telecommunications research, advocacy and management. He earned this experience as a former Assistant Executive Director/General Counsel of the United States Conference of Mayors and as the City of Philadelphia’s Chief Deputy City Commissioner and Washington advocate. Other Washington experience includes: Executive Director of Advocacy and Research Advancement for the Building Owners and Managers Association, International (BOMA) and Executive Director of Government Affairs for the United States Telephone Association. Mr. Lederer is admitted to practice in the State of New Jersey and the District of Columbia, and is an inactive member of the bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Federal Communications Bar Association and the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisor.
Lederer is a graduate of Haverford College and Temple University School of Law; Gerry is married to Sara Denise Trujillo, Esq. (his college sweetheart) and is the proud father of Sara Isabella, Gabriel Lavery and Josie Mariella.
Blair Levin
Blair Levin joined Stifel Nicolaus in 2005, having joined the predecessor firm of Legg Mason Capital Markets in January 2001. He serves as a Managing Director and the firm’s principal telecom, media and tech regulatory and strategy analyst. As Barron’s Magazine has noted, Levin “has always been on top of developing trends and policy shifts in media and telecommunications…and has proved visionary in getting out in front of many of today’s headline making events.”
Prior to his work as an analyst, Mr. Levin served as Chief of Staff to Chairman Reed Hundt at the Federal Communications Commission from December 1993 through October 1997. Mr. Levin’s time at the Commission included the most productive and important period in the Commission’s history. Described by Broadcast and Cable Magazine as “The Sixth Commissioner,” Levin oversaw, among other matters, the implementation of the historic 1996 Telecommunications Reform Act, the first spectrum auctions, the development of digital television standards, and the Commission’s Internet initiative.
Before joining the FCC, Levin was a partner in the North Carolina law firm of Parker Poe, Poe, Adams and Bernstein, where he represented new communications ventures, as well as numerous local governments on public financing issues. A native of Los Angeles, California he is a summa cum laude graduate of Yale College and received his J.D. from Yale Law School.
Jill Novik
Jill Novik has 30 years experience in the public and private sector on health care, land use, and telecommunications issues. She is currently a Strategic Advisor with the City of Seattle, where she is working on digital transition outreach, broadband, and legislative issues. She is immediate past president of WATOA and serves as the WATOA legislative liaison to the Washington legislature. Jill received her bachelor of science from the University of Pennsylvania and MPA from New York University.
Wes Rosenbalm
As President and CEO of Bristol Virginia Utilities (BVU), Wes Rosenbalm serves as the liaison between BVU and its seven-person Board of Directors. He manages all aspects of the municipality’s $55 million utility budget and its 170 full-time employees. In 2006, Wes successfully negotiated a new wholesale power agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to begin January 1, 2008. This was a significant accomplishment as BVU has left TVA almost ten years prior to this new contract agreement.
Mr. Rosenbalm’s visionary perseverance led to the company’s successful deployment of the first municipally-owned fiber-to-the-premise system offering phone, cable and broadband services. The telecommunications and information system, known as BVU OptiNet, has garnered national and international attention in recent years due to the incredible success experienced by both the utility and the community it serves. Almost 65% of residents living in the primary service area of Bristol, VA now subscribe to OptiNet services. These citizens have access to technology available to very few communities across the U.S with the added advantage of stable and affordable pricing. In addition, Mr. Rosenbalm has worked diligently with local and state legislators to secure grant funding to build a fiber-optic backbone infrastructure throughout Southwest Virginia for the purpose of economic development in the region. In early 2006, two high-tech companies announced their moves to SW Virginia. Combined, this represents the creation of 700 new jobs with an average salary of $50K annually. Each entity stated that the availability of fiber-optic infrastructure, installed by BVU, with redundant and diverse routes were a major consideration in their decision process.
Mr. Rosenbalm is now leading his management team into new territory. He and six key employees are working with other communities throughout the United States who are interested in applying BVU’s successful management and operating model to their own unique opportunities. This consulting arm is called BVU Focus. Most recently, this team was asked by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to assist with a CapX/OpX modeling study specific to optical technologies.
In 2003, Mr. Rosenbalm was awarded the President’s Star Performer Award by the Fiber-to-the-Home Council, a non-profit organization established to educate the public on the opportunities and benefits of fiber-to-the home solutions. The award recognizes individuals that have provided significant contributions to the growth and momentum of the fiber-to-the-home industry. The following year, under Mr. Rosenbalm’s direction, BVU was awarded the E.F. Scattergood Award by the American Public Power Association. Only two recipients are chosen each year for this prestigious national award.
Mr. Rosenbalm is also very active in his community. He currently serves Chairman for the Bristol Chamber of Commerce and is the Chairman of the Board at Tri-Cities Christian Schools. Wes actively supports several other non-profit organizations such as United Way, March of Dimes and Santa Pal, Inc. During his tenure in the utility industry, he has also held various positions on industry specific boards and committees.
Mr. Rosenbalm received a Masters in Business Administration and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kentucky. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have five children.
Steve Traylor
Steve Traylor is the Deputy Director, Government Relations for NATOA. Prior to joining NATOA, he was the Assistant General Counsel for the League of California Cities. He also served as a Deputy City Attorney for Sacramento, CA and has prior experience as both a deputy prosecutor and assistant public defender. Steve has a BA in English from the University of Washington and received his JD from Pepperdine University.Gloria Tristani
Gloria Tristani is Of Counsel at the Washington, DC-based law firm of Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP. Ms. Tristani is a former FCC Commissioner and was most recently President of the Benton Foundation.
While an FCC Commissioner (1997-2001), Ms. Tristani worked to accelerate broadband deployment to rural and other underserved areas; advocated for the “E-Rate” program, which provides discounted Internet access to schools and libraries; and served as Chair of the FCC’s V-Chip Task Force. Ms. Tristani has also served as the Managing Director of the Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ, where she advocated for, among other things, a diversity of media ownership and viewpoints, meaningful public interest obligations, and enhanced children’s educational television programming. In addition, Ms. Tristani served for several years on the New Mexico State Corporation Commission, the first woman elected to that commission and its Chair in 1996. In 2002, she was the Democratic candidate for the US Senate in New Mexico.
Ms. Tristani was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with Spanish as her first language. She holds a JD from the University of New Mexico School of Law, and a BA from Barnard College of Columbia University.
Lani L. Williams
Lani L. Williams is the General Counsel for the Local Government Lawyer’s Roundtable, Inc. a non-profit publishing and educational organization which supports local government attorneys by responding to research requests, publishing relevant articles and preparing amicus briefs in support of their positions. She focuses on issues involving telecommunications, land use, economic development, and the environment. She has a personal interest in First Amendment issues, particularly issues involving speech on government property and student speech in schools. She has authored numerous papers and articles, and spoken at legal seminars sponsored by the National League of Cities, the Florida League of Cities, the North Carolina Association of Counties, and Georgetown University, among others.
Jessica Zufolo
Jessica Zufolo, Senior Policy Director for telecommunications, media and technology issues for Medley Global Advisors, an independent policy research firm serving institutional investors and financial asset managers both domestic and internationally.
Prior to joining Medley Advisors, Jessica served as Legislative Director for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). In this role, she was responsible for organizing and directing legislative strategy and policy for all 50 state public service commissions. Prior to joining NARUC, Jessica worked on all aspects of telecommunications policy for the late New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, New York Rep. Charles E. Schumer, and Rep. Peter A. Defazio of Oregon. Jessica graduated from the University of Colorado with a B.A. in History and International Affairs.