Eric Rhoads' Blog
Genachowski Sworn In, Names Staff
WASHINGTON -- June 29, 2009: Newly sworn-in FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has chosen Edward Lazarus to serve as his Chief of Staff. Lazarus joins the FCC from the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, where he oversaw the litigation practice and served on the management committee. Lazarus is a former Asst. U.S. Attorney who served in the Central District of California.
Genachowski also named a number of other staffers, including legal advisers. He said, "The FCC should be a model for excellence in government, and this extraordinarily accomplished team will help us achieve that. The agency will benefit enormously from their leadership, from their private- and public-sector experience, and from their dedication to public service. I look forward to drawing on their diverse and strong talents to ensure that the FCC pursues policies that unlock opportunity, unleash innovation and job creation, protect consumers, and help address many of our nation's most pressing challenges."
Advisers Named
Genachowski has named Colin Crowell his Sr. Counselor. Crowell, a longtime staffer with Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), will serve as a strategic adviser on a range of issues.
Bruce Liang Gottlieb is named Chief Counsel to Genachowski and senior legal adviser. He'll manage the FCC agenda and be responsible for policy coordination among the bureaus, and will have particular responsibility for wireless, engineering and technology, and public safety issues. Gottlieb has spent the last three years as a legal adviser to Commissioner Michael Copps.
Priya Aiyar, meanwhile, is named legal adviser with responsibility for wireless competition and international issues. She was most recently a partner and Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evan,and Figel, working in litigation and telecommunications.
Sherrese Smith is also named a legal adviser, responsible for media, consumer, and enforcement issues. She was most recently VP/General Counsel for Washington Post Digital and before that was a member of the intellectual property group at Arnold and Porter.
Daniel Ornstein joins the FCC as special assistant to the Chairman, coming over from CBS, where he led several new media initiatives. Mary Beth Richards comes in as Special Counsel on FCC reform, heading a "comprehensive program to provide openness and transparency at the agency." She is an FCC veteran now in her second stint at the commission, most recently as Deputy General Counsel and acting Managing Director.
Sherry Gelfand will serve as Genachowski's Confidential Assistant. She is a former executive assistant in the U.S. Department of Justice who most recently served as Manager/Business Intake for a Tampa law firm.
Finally, Ruth Milkman will lead the transition effort in the new Chairman's office. She is a former FCC staffer who has held posts as Deputy Chief of the International and Common Carrier Bureaus and senior legal adviser to then-Chairman Reed Hundt.
Thanks To Adelstein
Genachowski also thanked outgoing FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, who is heading to a new post at the Department of Agriculture. Genachowski said, "I would like to thank Jonathan Adelstein for more than six years of outstanding public service at the Federal Communications Commission. Throughout his tenure at the commission, he has tirelessly championed the public interest. The FCC and the public have benefited greatly from his rich understanding of media and technology policy, and his devotion to the democratic process. While I regret that I won’t have the pleasure of serving with Jonathan at the FCC, I look forward to forging a strong partnership with him in his future work."
Copps Statement
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, who has been serving as acting Chairman since the resignation of Kevin Martin earlier this year, said, "This is a day of welcome and farewell. We welcome our new Chairman Julius Genachowski, who begins what promises to be a public-spirited and distinguished tenure as chairman. He knows the FCC well, brings impressive private sector and technology experience with him, and enjoys deserved renown for innovative thinking and new approaches. I look forward to working with him on the many issues awaiting his attention."
Copps continued, "But having to bid farewell to my friend and colleague Jonathan Adelstein makes it a difficult day, too. Jonathan and I have worked closely together on so many issues that it makes it hard for me to imagine a commission without him. Our thoughts most often run in the same direction, whether the issue is media, broadband, rural America, the disabilities communities, reaching out to nontraditional stakeholders, or upholding a shared vision of the public interest. His intelligence, good judgment, wide experience, and invariably good humor combined to make him a highly productive commissioner across a wide gamut of issues. I will miss him here but wish him all good things as he moves ahead in the confirmation process toward becoming Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. I look forward to our continuing work together and to our friendship through the years."
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