Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioners Michael Copps, Mignon Clyburn and Meredith Attwell Baker will speak during the 2010 NAB Show at a session entitled "The Washington Face-Off." The session, to be held Tuesday, April 13 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, will feature an informative discussion about spectrum management, media ownership and developments in digital media from the leaders who are currently shaping telecommunications policy in Washington.
Commissioner Copps joined the FCC in 2001 and began his second term in 2006. Prior to joining the FCC, he served as assistant secretary of Commerce for Trade Development at the U.S. Department of Commerce. In that role, Copps worked to improve market access and market share for nearly every sector of American industry, including information technologies and telecommunications.
Copps moved to Washington in 1970, joined the staff of Sen. Ernest Hollings (SC) and served for more than a dozen years as administrative assistant and chief of staff. From 1985 to 1989, he served as director of government affairs for a Fortune 500 company. From 1989 to 1993, he was senior vice president for legislative affairs at a major national trade association. Before coming to Washington, Copps was a professor of U.S. History at Loyola University of the South. Copps received a B.A. from Wofford College and earned a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Commissioner Clyburn joined the FCC in 2009. Previously, she worked on the Public Service Commission (PSC) of South Carolina, where she served as chair from 2002 to 2004. Clyburn was elected to the PSC following 14 years as a publisher and general manager of The Coastal Times, a family-founded weekly newspaper focusing on issues affecting the African-American community.
During her tenure at the PSC, Clyburn participated in a variety of state and regional-based utility organizations. She is a life member of the NAACP and a member of the South Carolina Advisory Council of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Recently, Commissioner Clyburn served as the chair of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' Washington Action Committee. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in banking, finance and economics.
Commissioner Baker joined the FCC in 2009. She recently served as acting assistant secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and acting administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). In that capacity, Baker advised and represented the executive branch on telecommunications and information policy activities. She also served on delegations representing the United States at major international telecommunications conferences.
Prior to joining NTIA, Baker was vice president of the Williams Mullen Strategies firm, where concentrated on telecommunications, intellectual property and international trade issues. She previously served as senior counsel to Covad Communications from 2000 to 2002 and director of Congressional Affairs at the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) from 1998 to 2000. Baker earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington and Lee University in 1990 and a law degree from the University of Houston in 1994. She is a member of the Texas State Bar.
For more information about the NAB Show, visit www.nabshow.com.
