FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has appointed six acting bureau leaders as well as the acting general counsel and managing director.
Joel Taubenblatt is the Acting Chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. Taubenblatt has held several leadership positions in the bureau, including Deputy Bureau Chief, Chief of the Competition and Infrastructure Policy Division, and Chief of the Broadband Division.
Trent Harkrader is Acting Chief of the Wireline Bureau. Previously, he advised agency leadership on implementation of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, including its initiatives on broadband adoption and telehealth, while also continuing to serve as Deputy Bureau Chief in the Wireline Bureau. Harkrader has been responsible for numerous Commission broadband policy initiatives since 2011, and has led major reforms of all four of the Commission’s universal service programs. He also spearheaded the agency’s work on the national security supply chain proceeding, and ran the Commission-wide initiative to help fund health care providers offering essential telehealth services to patients.
Erin Boone is Acting Chief of the Media Bureau and Senior Counsel to the Chairman for issues before the Media and Enforcement Bureaus. Before this position, she was Commissioner Nathan Simington’s Chief of Staff and wireless advisor. Prior, she was Deputy Division Chief in the Wireless Bureau’s Competition and Infrastructure Policy Division. Erin also served in the Enforcement and Wireline Bureaus, and worked at T-Mobile, Clearwire, and Level 3 Communications before her time at the FCC.
Debra Jordan is Acting Chief of the Public Safety Bureau. Prior, she was Deputy Chief of the bureau, where she led emergency preparedness and response efforts and represented the FCC at various interagency committees and task forces related to cybersecurity, supply chain risk management, national security, and continuity.
Patrick Webre is Acting Chief of the Enforcement Bureau. He’s held several leadership roles at the Commission, including Deputy Bureau Chief of the Space Bureau, Deputy Chief of the International Bureau, Bureau Chief, Associate Bureau Chief, and Chief Programs Officer in the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau. He’s also been legal advisor to the chief of the Media Bureau, and an attorney in the Wireless Bureau.
Eduard Bartholme is Acting Chief of the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau. He was previously Senior Outreach Director on the Broadband Data Task Force, coordinating external engagement with consumers, governmental entities and filers. He joined the Task Force from the bureau he now leads, where he was previously Deputy Bureau Chief. He joined the FCC in 2019 to lead the FCC’s education and outreach efforts along with the consumer complaints and inquiries division.
Mark Stephens is the FCC’s Managing Director. He oversees the agency’s budget and financial programs, human resources, contracts, purchasing, communications, computer services, physical space, security, and distribution of official FCC documents. Prior, Mark was Chief Financial Officer in the Office of Managing Director. He was also a special advisor for Universal Service Fund Oversight in the Wireline Bureau, and a senior audit manager and systems accountant in the Wireline Bureau.
Jacob Lewis is Acting General Counsel after previously serving as Associate General Counsel. He joined the FCC in May 2003 after 15 years on the Appellate Staff of the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he became an Appellate Litigation Counsel.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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