Panelists:

• Sheryl Riggs, CEO, Utilities Technology Council
• Aryeh Fishman, Associate General Counsel, Edison Electric Institute
• Edward Lopez, Professor, Western Carolina University
• John Windhausen, Executive Director, Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition
• Marc Paul, Vice President, Policy, Charter Communications
• Drew Clark (presenter and host), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast

Panelist resources:

• “FCC Seeks Comment on Pole Replacement Rules,” Broadband Breakfast, March 18, 2022
• “Pole Access Delays Cost Americans Millions a Month, Report Claims,” Broadband Breakfast, December 2, 2021
• Waiting for Broadband Access: The Pole Access and Replacement Timeline, Connect the Future, April 2022
• Advancing Pole Attachment Policies to Accelerate National Broadband Buildout, Connect the Future, November 2021
• Utility Pole Policy: A Cost-Effective Prescription for Achieving Full Broadband Access in North Carolina, NCCTA, August 18, 2021
• Draft FCC Pole Attachment FNPRM Gets Industry Backing, Communications Daily, March 9, 2022
• “The Backbone of Broadband Infrastructure: Understanding the Importance of Utility Poles,” Video by Connect the Future

Sheryl Osiene-Riggs was named UTC’s President and CEO in June 2020, after serving as Interim President and CEO and Senior Vice President, Finance and Operations.  Prior to joining UTC, she worked with organizations in the banking/finance, education, and health and social services industries.  Ms. Riggs earned her Bachelor’s degree from Howard University, and she also conferred two Master’s degrees in Accounting and Human Resources Management.

Aryeh Fishman serves as Associate General Counsel, Regulatory Legal Affairs, for the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the trade association representing U.S. investor-owned electric companies that collectively own and operate vast overhead electric systems, including utility poles, as part of the electric industry’s mission to provide reliable, safe, secure, and efficient delivery of power to the public.  He has worked on a broad variety of legal and public policy issues impacting the investor-owned electric industry, including pole attachments, colocation, middle mile fiber deployments, and spectrum.

Edward Lopez is Professor of Economics, BB&T Distinguished Professor of Capitalism, and Director of the Center for the Study of Free Enterprise at Western Carolina University. He has taught university economics for over two decades and has authored over 60 scholarly publications and two books. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University, where his fields of concentration were public economics and industrial organization.

John Windhausen serves as the Executive Director of the the SHLB Coalition, a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) public interest advocacy organization that strives to close the digital divide by promoting open, affordable, high-quality broadband for anchor institutions and their communities. He founded the coalition in 2009 with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He spearheads SHLB’s membership growth and shapes its broadband policy recommendations.

Marc Paul is Vice President, Policy and External Affairs at Charter Communications. During his career, Mr. Paul has held positions as a Legal Advisor to a Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission, as Senior Counsel to a U.S. Senator, and the position of Of Counsel for two private law firms. Mr. Paul holds a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a BA from Cornell University.

Drew Clark is the Editor and Publisher of BroadbandBreakfast.com and a nationally-respected telecommunications attorney. Drew brings experts and practitioners together to advance the benefits provided by broadband. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, he served as head of a State Broadband Initiative, the Partnership for a Connected Illinois. He is also the President of the Rural Telecommunications Congress.

Photo by Nicolás Gutierrez londoño from PxHere used with permission

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