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New Top Digit At Numbering Group
by Randy Barrett
David Jones has assumed the presidency of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), whose mission is to foster the advancement and implementation of a universal system for emergency telephone numbering.
There is plenty of work for Jones as carriers race to meet an FCC deadline to deploy a 911 system for Internet-based telephone calls by September. "If we truly intend to advance enhanced 911, to surmount the challenges before us, to reach our goal of making [it] available to everyone, everywhere, at any time, we will need a great deal of cooperation, collaboration and good-faith effort," Jones said last week at the NENA's annual convention.
Jones is currently director of emergency services for Spartanburg County, S.C., and has been in the industry for more than two decades. He will continue that job while serving as NENA president. Jones succeeds Bill McMurray, who is communications manager for the Marin County, Calif., sheriff's office.
"I leave NENA in good hands with David Jones," McMurray said in a statement. "I count David as my number one partner on the NENA board. He is a friend, coach, mentor, ally, sparring partner and much more. I look forward to continue working with David in my role as a past president."
Now Lobbying On Civil Liberties
Deborah Vagins has joined the Washington legislative team of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) as policy counsel.
She comes to the job from a stint as deputy general counsel for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, where she handled discrimination, affirmative action and voting rights issues. Earlier in her career, she was an associate at the Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll law firm.
"Deborah Vagins joins the ACLU at a time when our civil liberties are at great risk," Gregory Nojeim, acting director of the ACLU Washington legislative office, said in a statement. "We face a Congress and an administration that are increasingly hostile to protecting civil rights and civil liberties, and all too willing to enact policies that encroach on our freedoms."
"Our constitutional protections must withstand the test of time," Vagins said in a statement. "I am proud to be part of an effort to ensure that our most fundamental freedoms are not eroded."
In other barrister news, Milo Cividanes has accepted a partnership at the Venable firm. He will work with clients on privacy compliance and lobby Capitol Hill on privacy issues.
Cividanes comes from DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary. He once served as a staffer on the former Senate Judiciary Technology and Law Subcommittee under Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., where Cividanes oversaw the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act. ECPA extended the protections against federal wiretapping to e-mails, cellular telephones and other technologies.
"Milo Cividanes has one of the most well-rounded practices in privacy law, and he joins us at a time when privacy compliance, data protection and personal-information screening have become top priorities among business and institutional clients," Venable partner Jeffrey Knowles said in a statement.
Cividanes, who earned his law degree from University of Pennsylvania in 1983 and bachelor's degree from Haverford College in 1979, is pleased with the move. "With one of the leading legislative groups in Washington, a major practice devoted to homeland security, and thriving consumer and telecom practices ... it was abundantly clear that Venable was someplace where I could maximize the various components of my practice."
Deputy Director Leaves Science Agency
Joseph Bordogna has left the National Science Foundation (NSF) after nine years as deputy director. He plans to return to the University of Pennsylvania to teach engineering.
Bordogna, a laser engineer, also was the agency's chief operating officer. Kathie Olsen, associate director for science for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, has been nominated to succeed Bordogna.
"I am deeply honored to have had this opportunity to serve the nation and the science and engineering community," Bordogna said in a statement. "Helping ensure that NSF operates at the outermost frontiers of research and education is an exhilarating responsibility. And broadening participation within it is a wonderfully worthwhile investment for the future of our nation."
Bordogna received his bachelor and doctorate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and a master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
City Official Joins Pioneering Broadband Firm
Communications Technologies (COMTek) has hired Allen Todd as vice president for broadband-over-power-line operations.
Todd previously was the utilities director for the city of Manassas, Va. COMTek currently operates a high-speed Internet network over power lines in Manassas and offers network services around the country. The Manassas project is the first of its kind in the nation.
"Allen Todd is a major boost to the in-house COMTek ... team," CEO Joseph Fergus said. "He brings to us an invaluable insider's perspective as we expand our emphasis on broadband-over-power-line services in Manassas, as well as other towns, cities and regions across the United States."
Before working for Manassas, Todd was employed at Virginia Power in various capacities, including operations superintendent, director of engineering services, manager of telecommunications, and manager of transmission and distribution projects.
He received his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland. He also is an amateur radio operator.
Quote Of The Week
"I'm confident common carriage will survive and Congress will step away from the cliff."
-- Earl Comstock, CEO of the trade group CompTel/Ascent, discussing the rewrite of the 1996 Telecommunications Act.
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