Coalition Leadership
The Advisory Board
Jonathan Spalter
Chairman
Jonathan Spalter has a long track record building and leading innovative media,
technology, and research companies in the U.S, Asia/Pacific, .and
Europe. He founded the independent investment research company, Public
Insight, and was CEO of Snocap, the digital music licensing and company
founded by the creators of Napster. He has also has held senior
management roles at the Paris, France, headquarters of the global
media, telecommunications, and entertainment group Vivendi Universal
where he was appointed executive vice president in charge of business
development and strategy at Vivendi Universal Net, the group's Internet
subsidiary and served as CEO of its affiliate Atmedica Worldwide; and
group senior vice president in charge of the group's public policy
teams worldwide. Spalter also served as principal at the grassroots
marketing firm Dewey Square Group. During the Clinton/Gore
Administration, Spalter was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate to
serve as Associate Director at the US Information Agency, where he also
was appointed CIO. He also served in the White House as Director of
Public Affairs on the National Security Council staff, and chief
international affairs spokesman and speechwriter for Vice President Al
Gore. Earlier in his career, he held various production and editorial
roles in broadcast and cable, including foreign affairs reporter at
PBS's MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. Spalter co-founded and chaired the
non-profit animation studio Climate Cartoons, which produces media
about global warming, which, in November, was awarded the National Emmy
for Best Public Service Announcement/Broadband.
Teri Rucker
Executive Director
Teri Rucker is the Executive Director of Mobile Future. She has more than a decade of experience in journalism beginning in her home state of Texas at the Amarillo Daily-News and, later, the Austin American-Statesman where she was a copy editor on the news desk. In Washington, D.C., Rucker worked for Dow Jones and National Journal’s Technology Daily, where she covered high-tech business and policy, tax and accounting issues and the United States Congress. She also worked in Kiev, Ukraine, for the English-language weekly, The Kiev Post, covering the business community and politics. Rucker has held positions in media relations and public affairs at AT&T and served as the Communications Director for the Democratic side of the Senate Commerce Committee.
Kathleen Q. Abernathy
Advisor
Kathleen Q. Abernathy is a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld where she represents clients at both the federal and state levels, as well as before various international and foreign regulatory agencies. In addition, she consults with foreign governments regarding privatization efforts. Abernathy previously served as a commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission. Nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate to a four-year term in 2001, she was responsible for representing the public interest in each of the policy areas under the FCC’s jurisdiction, including wireless; domestic and international telecommunications; satellite; broadcast; cable; communications equipment manufacturers; and broadband, IP and other advanced communications technologies. She helped develop and implement domestic policy in each of these fields. Abernathy also chaired the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service and participated in numerous international bilateral and multilateral negotiations, including the 2002 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference and the 2003 ITU World Radiocommunications Conference. She was appointed by the ITU to chair the 2004 ITU Global Symposium for Regulators. Before joining the FCC as a commissioner, Abernathy served as vice president, public policy at BroadBand Office Communications; as vice president of regulatory affairs at US West and as vice president of federal regulatory at AirTouch Communications (a predecessor company to Vodafone Communications). Earlier in her career, she served as a legal advisor to two FCC commissioners and as a special assistant to the agency’s general counsel.
Jo-Anne Basile
Advisor
Jo-Anne Basile heads her own consulting firm Jo-Anne Basile & Associates in Guilford, CT. Her current clients include a major global technology company with an interest in wireless, a mobile telecommunications company and an enterprise representing the wireless industry. She served 14 years as a senior executive with the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA). At CTIA, she developed policies and advocated for the association on a broad portfolio of issues before Congress, federal agencies, and the media. As chief advisor to the CTIA Board of Directors, Basile was the lead advocate for the wireless industry on health and environment issues. Basile implemented a global strategic approach to managing critical health issues for the industry and she was instrumental in establishing international organization of industry associations to disseminate information on health issues to policymakers and the public. Basile partnered with the GSM Association and Mobile Manufacturers Forum to support industry advocacy on a global basis. She designed the industry’s first comprehensive recycling initiative; an initiative that was awarded international recognition when adopted by the Basel Convention on mobile phone recycling. She served as an industry spokesperson with local and national print media (including the New YorkNY Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today) and with local and national electronic media (CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC).
Hiram "Art" Contreras
Advisor
Hiram “Art” Contreras served the City of Houston for 36 years with the Houston Police Department. He retired as Assistant Chief of Police in March 1998. While ascending the police ranks, Contreras’ assignments included Auto Thief, Juvenile, Recruiting, Planning and Research, Northeast Patrol and Major Offenders. He was promoted to Assistant Chief in July 1991 and was the only Hispanic to attain the rank of Deputy Chief. As Assistant Chief he directed The Professional Development Command and at retirement he directed the Special Investigation Command. Contreras established the first Houston Police Department storefront in the city and also initiated the Culture Awareness Program. In collaboration with the U.S. Marshal’s Service he initiated the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force. Contreras was nominated by President William J. Clinton to be U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Texas. His investiture as U.S. Marshal took place on March 1998 and he served in that position until August 2002.
Diane Smith
Advisor
Diane Smith is a co-founder and CEO of Auroras Entertainment, an IPTV and advanced media services company. From 2005 to 2007, Smith led Auroras’ evolution from concept to start-up through a merger to become Avail Media, Inc. The company now has more than 50 employees and significant funding from top tier VC firms. Smith continues her leadership as Avail Media’s President for Strategy and Business Affairs. From 1988 to 2002, Smith was a senior executive with ALLTEL Corporation. During that time, she managed teams of public policy specialists as they developed and executed legal strategies and public policies designed to maximize the company’s opportunity for success in the rapidly changing local exchange and wireless industries. In 1994, she co-founded the Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance, an organization that successfully advocated for independent telephone company interests in the years culminating with the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Smith was at Sprint from 1983 to 1988 representing the start-up long distance company before state and federal agencies and legislative bodies, in the first years of emerging long distance competition. She is a member of the State Bars of Montana and Virginia. Smith lives in Whitefish, Montana with her husband David and 13-year-old daughter Ally.