FirstNet Board Members Announced at APCO Conference

Rumors that the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) Board of Directors would be revealed at the APCO Conference this week in Minneapolis have been confirmed.  Today four Public Safety representatives along with 11 other members of the FirstNet board were announced by Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank.

The Public Safety representatives who will be participating in the system design, buildout, and governance of the first ever nationwide Public Safety Broadband network are:

• Jeff Johnson, retired fire chief, former president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, former chair of theInteroperability Council in the State of Oregon, and CEO of the Western Fire Chiefs Association.
• Kevin McGinnis, CEO of the North East Mobile Health Services in Maine, and program manager for the National Association of State EMS Officials.
• Paul Fitzgerald, former president of the National Sheriffs Association and sheriff of Story County, Iowa.
• Charles Dowd, deputy chief at the NYPD.

Additional members include multiple active and retired telecommunications executives and government technology experts.  A term of service of a FirstNet Board member is three years; however, the terms of the inaugural members are staggered with four members serving for three years, four members serving two years, and three members serving one year.

All eyes will be on FirstNet in coming months, eager to learn about decisions being made regarding what will become the nation's  first-ever nationwide Public Safety Broadband Solution.