Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced the appointment of eleven public safety, technology, and business leaders, including our own Fire Chief, Trisha L. Wolford, to the Board of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority). Today, Chief Wolford was sworn in as a board member.
The FirstNet Authority Board has three permanent seats: the U.S. Attorney General, The Secretary of Homeland Security & the Director of Office Management and Budget, and 12 non-permanent members selected by the Department of Commerce. The Board oversees activities to ensure that the FirstNet Authority and AT&T (Its commercial partner) develop, build, and operate a nationwide public safety broadband network that best equips first responders to save lives and protect local communities.
Congratulations Chief Wolford!
The Department of Commerce press release can be viewed at: FirstNet Authority Board Press Release.
FirstNet Authority Board Members
Below is the complete list of the new and reappointed members of the FirstNet Board:
New three-year term appointments:
Trisha Wolford, Annapolis, Maryland. Fire Chief of Anne Arundel County, Maryland; first Vice President of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC); and Treasurer for the IAFC’s Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Section Executive Board.
Michael Adkinson, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Sheriff, Walton County, Florida and member of the Board of Directors for the National Sheriff’s Association.
Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta, Georgia. Former Mayor of Atlanta; former Senior Advisor to President Joe Biden; and currently the CEO of KRLB, LLC.
Damon Darsey, Ridgeland, Mississippi. Emergency medicine and EMS Physician; Medical Director for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety; former tenured Associate Professor in Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Mississippi; and member of the National Association of State EMS Officials and the National EMS Physicians Association.
Erik Gaull, Cabin John, Maryland. President of the International Association of Emergency Managers Region III; technology expert and consultant specializing in public safety, emergency management, counterterrorism/homeland security, organizational resilience, and enterprise risk management; Reserve Officer of the D.C Metropolitan Police Department; and member of the Cabin John Park, Maryland Volunteer Fire Department.
Jeffrey Norman, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Chief of Police, Milwaukee Police Department; member of the Major City Chiefs; and member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
Rasheid Scarlett, Coral Gables, Florida. Information technology executive and CEO of NetAesthetics.
Three-year term re-appointments:
Alexandra Fernandez Navarro, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Telecommunications attorney; former commissioner, Puerto Rico Public Service Regulatory Board; former member of the FCC Intergovernmental Advisory Committee; and former member of the NTIA State Broadband Leaders Network.
Sean McDevitt, Braintree, Massachusetts. Partner at Arthur D Little and a member of the TIME (Telecommunications, Internet, Media, and Electronics) and Private Equity branch since 2017.
Warren Mickens, Denver, Colorado. Retired Vice President of CenturyLink Communications and former Vice President of Nokia/Alcatel-Lucent.
Jocelyn Moore, Nyack, New York. Independent director on the board of DraftKings, a publicly traded technology company; OppFi, a publicly traded financial technology company; and Omaze, a private entertainment and media company.