FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell

Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW
Washington, DC 20554
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Mr. Powell, a Republican, was nominated by President William J. Clinton on July 31, 1997, and confirmed by the United States Senate on October 28, 1997.

In addition to his normal duties, Mr. Powell serves as the FCC's Defense Chairman and is responsible for overseeing all National Security Emergency Preparedness functions for the Commission. He also served as the FCC representative to the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion which was established by President Clinton on February 4, 1998, to address the Year 2000 computer problem.

Mr. Powell previously served as the Chief of Staff of the Antitrust Division in the Department of Justice. In that capacity, he advised the Assistant Attorney General on substantive antitrust matters, including policy development, criminal and civil investigations and mergers. Prior to joining the Antitrust Division, Mr. Powell was an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of the law firm of O'Melveny & Myers LLP, where he focused on litigation and regulatory matters involving telecommunications, antitrust and employment law. Mr. Powell graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center following which he served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Harry T. Edwards, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Before attending law school, Mr. Powell served as a policy advisor to the Secretary of Defense on matters involving the United States-Japan security relationship. Mr. Powell's experience also includes military service as an armor officer in the United States Army. He spent the majority of his active service with the 3/2 Armored Cavalry Regiment in Amberg, Germany, serving as a cavalry platoon leader and troop executive officer. While on duty, Mr. Powell was seriously injured in a training accident and, after spending a year in the hospital, was retired from service. Mr. Powell graduated in 1985 from the College of William and Mary with a degree in Government.

Mr. Powell currently serves on the Georgetown University Law Center’s Board of Visitors and the Board of Directors of the United States Telecommunications Training Institute. He is also a 1999 Henry Crown Fellow of The Aspen Institute.

Chairman Powell is married to Jane Knott Powell. They live with their two children, Jeffrey and Bryan, in Fairfax Station, Virginia

FCC - Chief, Policy Development

Mr. Robert Pepper

Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW
Washington, DC 20554
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Robert Pepper is Chief of Policy Development at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In this capacity, Pepper serves as a direct advisor to the Chairman of the FCC on long-term policy planning including formulating and evaluating long-range policy options especially those that cut across traditional industry and institutional boundaries, particularly as a result of new technological developments and convergence. Among other responsibilities, he is co-chair of the Commission’s Internet Policy Working Group and has primary responsibility for developing the Commission’s overall relationship with the financial community. Before his appointment to his current position in March 2003, Pepper was Chief of the Commission’s Office of Plans and Policy beginning in 1989. At OPP, Pepper's responsibilities included leading teams developing policies for digital convergence; implementing provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996; assessing the development of the Internet and electronic commerce; designing and implementing the first spectrum auctions in the United States; developing more market-based spectrum policies; assessing competition in the video marketplace; and assessing the impact of the development of the Internet on traditional communications industry and policy structures. He also was responsible for providing strategic advice on industry and policy developments to the Commission’s Chairman and Commissioners.

Pepper's previous positions at the FCC have included Acting Deputy Chief of OPP and Senior Advisor to Commissioner Dennis. Before joining the FCC, Pepper was Director of the Annenberg Washington Program in Communications Policy Studies, a joint project of the University of Southern California and the University of Pennsylvania where he held an academic appointment. He also has been Director of Domestic Policies and Acting Associate Administrator for Policy Analysis and Development at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce and he developed a program on communications, computers, and information at the National Science Foundation. His academic appointments have included being a professor of Communications at the University of Iowa where he was program Chairman and he was a Research Affiliate of the Program on Information Resources Policy at Harvard University. He serves on advisory boards for Michigan State University and the City University of New York.

Pepper has published and lectured widely on telecommunications policy issues. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also received his doctorate.

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FCC - Deputy Chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) Julius Knapp

Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW
Washington, DC 20554
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Julius Knapp is Deputy Chief of the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology (OET). OET is the Commission’s primary resource for engineering expertise and provides technical support to the Chairman, Commissioners and FCC Bureaus and Offices. Mr. Knapp has responsibility within OET for spectrum allocations and technical rules for radio frequency devices. .

Prior to assuming his current position in May of 2001, Mr. Knapp served as the Chief of the Policy & Rules Division and as Chief of the FCC Laboratory where he was responsible for the FCC’s equipment authorization program. Mr. Knapp has held a variety of other positions during his twenty seven years with the FCC, including heading the Frequency Allocations Branch in the late 1980’s where he was responsible for FCC frequency allocation proceedings for the cellular service, private land mobile services, and mobile satellite services.

Mr. Knapp received a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the City College of New York in 1974. He is also a member of the IEEE EMC Society and is a Fellow of the Radio Club of America. He was the 2001 recipient of the Eugene C. Bowler award for exceptional professionalism and dedication to public service.

Mr. Knapp lives with his wife and three children in Ellicott City, Maryland.

FCC Wireless Broadband Taskforce head Lauren Van Wazer

Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW
Washington, DC 20554
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FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology

Lauren Van Wazer is currently Special Counsel and Associate Chief of the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology. She focuses on spectrum policy issues, and is the Co-Director of the FCC’s Wireless Broadband Access Task Force. Ms. Van Wazer also served as the FCC spokesperson on 5 GHz WLAN-related issues in connection with the World Radiocommunication Conference held last July in Geneva, Switzerland. She was formerly the Deputy Director of the FCC’s Spectrum Policy Task Force and was a leader of the FCC staff working group tasked with conducting a spectrum viability assessment for advanced wireless services. She joined the FCC in 1999 and, before joining the Office of Engineering and Technology, she held positions as Interim Legal Advisor for Wireless and International issues for Commissioner Michael J. Copps and as Senior Staff Attorney in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. Prior to joining the FCC, Ms. Van Wazer worked as an associate at the law firm of Arnold & Porter and as a law clerk to the Honorable Ralph B. Guy, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Ms. Van Wazer received her J.D., magna cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center, where she was Associate Editor of The Georgetown Law Journal and a member of the Order of the Coif. Ms. Van Wazer is also a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Electrical Engineering, where received a B.S.E. in Systems Science Engineering. After receiving her baccalaureate degree, she worked for several years in various management positions in the Network Services department of AT&T.

United States Senator John Ensign

Member of:

 

Among others:

Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation

Subcommittee on Aviation

Subcommittee on Communications

Subcommittee on Competition, Foreign Commerce, and Infrastructure

Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space

Senator John Ensign has passionately served the people of Nevada from his days as a veterinarian, small business owner, and U.S. Congressman to his present role as the 24th U.S. Senator for Nevada.

Ensign was raised in northern Nevada and later southern Nevada where he graduated from Clark High School. He attended UNLV and earned a Bachelor's degree from Oregon State University. He received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Colorado State University in 1985.

Ensign immediately began practicing veterinary medicine and opened the first 24-hour animal hospital in Las Vegas.

Ensign's public service continued when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994. While in the House, he served on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Ensign's accomplishments in the House included leadership on Congress' historic welfare reform; going head-to-head with the powerful nuclear industry and the leaders of his own party to defeat the Nuclear Waste Policy Act in late 1997; and authoring legislation to provide Medicare coverage for annual mammograms for senior women.

Ensign was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000 and serves on the following committees: Armed Services; Budget; Commerce, Science and Transportation; Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP); Small Business and Entrepreneurship; and Veterans Affairs. Ensign is Chairman of the Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee. In addition, Ensign chairs the High Tech Task Force and serves as Vice Chairman of the Republican Steering Committee, a group that shapes the party's legislative agenda.

Since taking office, Ensign has worked hard to fulfill his promises to the people of Nevada. His Education High Growth Grant amendment, which brings tens of millions of extra dollars to Nevada schools, was included in the education bill signed into law by President Bush. The Prescription Discount Card for Seniors, a key part of Ensign's prescription drug plan, was endorsed by President Bush and would allow many seniors to cut their prescription drug bills by 40%. On the environmental front, enactment of the Ensign/Reid Clark County Lands Bill will protect environmentally sensitive areas in southern Nevada, allow recreational opportunities to continue, and improve the quality of life.

Ensign has taken the lead on technology issues as well. His "Dot Kids" legislation creates a subdomain on the Internet where children can explore the Internet without the fear of being exposed to material parents may deem inappropriate. His bill to delay the 700 MHz spectrum auction from moving forward was a critical step toward improving our nation's wireless network. Both were signed into law by President Bush.

Ensign spends his workweek in Washington and his weekends in Las Vegas with his wife, Darlene, and their three children-Trevor, Siena, and Michael.

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