Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Appoints Five New Members to the First Responder Network Authority Board

Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced the appointment of five leading experts on public safety, wireless broadband communications, and state and local government to serve on the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) Board.

The following individuals were appointed to the board:

1. Chris Burbank, Chief of Police, Salt Lake City Police Department
2. James H. Douglas, former Governor of Vermont
3. Annise Parker, Mayor, City of Houston, Texas
4. Frank Plastina, technology executive, North Carolina
5. Ed Reynolds, retired telecommunications executive (reappointed)
6. Richard Stanek, Sheriff, Hennepin County, Minnesota

The terms of four FirstNet Board members expired on August 20: Sam Ginn (Chairman), Chief Charles “Chuck” Dowd, Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald, and Ed Reynolds. In addition, former Denver (CO) Mayor Wellington Webb, whose term expires in August 2015, had earlier expressed his intent to step down from the Board once a replacement to fill his seat was appointed. Craig Farrill, a retired telecommunications executive, resigned from the Board last month.