Michael Belski is the Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of Leasing & Marketing of Vertical Bridge. He is responsible for creating deep relationships with clients, working with some of the country’s largest carriers to develop leasing contracts. Prior to co-founding Vertical Bridge, Belski was the Senior Vice President of Leasing & Marketing at Global Tower Partners (GTP), where he was responsible for leasing and marketing the company’s portfolio of assets and securing build-to-suit contracts. He previously held senior positions at Morrison Hershfield Corporation and SBA Communications Corporation.
Jessica is CEO of the Michigan-based telecommunications construction company, MDTS. She is a hands-on entrepreneur with experience ranging from tower climbing to project management and is dedicated to identifying areas of opportunity for providing value to others through delivery of effective, efficient solutions. Jessica’s diverse skillsets and intimate understanding of the industry enable her to be an insightful contributor to numerous initiatives and strategic collaborations. Jessica is a staunch contributor to the NATE organization and an avid supporter of assisting veterans in gaining entry to careers in the telecommunications industry. Jessica’s advocacy for veterans in the workforce includes participation in the Military of NATE committee, as a key collaborator in development of the NATE Veteran Sourcing Program (VSP), and as both a speaker and author for veteran employment communications. In addition to her role as a member of the W4W Board of Directors, Jessica is seated on the NATE Board of Directors, is Chairwoman of the Women Of NATE newsletter, a member of the Wireless Industry Network (WIN) Speakers Bureau, and serves on the Michigan Wireless Association Board of Directors.
Steven is the Director of Business Development within the Engineering Services organization of Corning Optical Communications (COC). In this role, he manages teams that provide daily support for COC’s carrier networks customers in North America and CALA, and teams that provide passive optical network EF&I services. Steven joined Siecor (now Corning Optical Communications) as a field engineer in 1995. In his 25-plus years with Corning, he has held numerous management positions in Engineering Services and Cable Technology including field engineering, application engineering, systems engineering, project services, and product testing. His focus since the mid-2000’s has been Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH), helping customers design and build these networks. Corning has also used Steven’s experience to directly support FTTH initiatives in several emerging markets outside of the America’s. Prior to employment at Siecor/Corning, Steven was a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy specializing in nuclear propulsion. Steven holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University and Master’s degree in Business Administration from Lenoir Rhyne University.
Eric Dudek is the Vice President of Network Operations for American Tower, a leading independent owner, operator and developer of wireless and broadcast communications real estate. He is responsible for the field operations and maintenance of American Tower’s 40,000+ assets in the United States. He joined American Tower in 2012 as Vice President of Network Development. Eric’s career in the wireless telecommunications industry began with Nextel in 1994. He has been involved with the design, deployment and system performance for several major cellular network initiatives over the past two decades. This includes leadership positions in radio frequency engineering, field operations and network deployment. Eric spent the majority of his career leading radio frequency planning and performance teams as well as site development in Northeast markets, deploying iDEN, CDMA, and 4G wireless networks for SprintNextel, Clearwire, and Lightsquared. Eric has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Western New England University. Eric has been a member of the W4W board since 2016. American Tower has been actively involved with W4W since the inception and is proud to support an organization committed to the training and recruitment of our veterans for the wireless industry.
Kelley Dunne and Earl Scott were the original Co-Founders of Warriors4Wireless (W4W). Kelley was previously designated by then FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski as the leader of the a national broadband adoption initiative – Connect 2 Compete bringing more than 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. He is recognized as an industry pioneer in deploying some of the first 4G broadband wireless capabilities across the country. Additionally, Kelley has served as the President and CEO of One Economy, a 12 year old global non-profit that brings broadband and technology to underserved communities in the United States and in 14 countries around the world. Prior to One Economy, Kelley was the founder and CEO of Digital Bridge Communications Corporation from 2005 – 2010. Digital Bridge is a provider of broadband wireless to small and medium-sized communities. As CEO, Kelley created the company’s initial strategic vision, market plan, and led the company from concept, planning funding, and execution to become the second largest wireless WiMax operator and first VoIP over WiMax in the United States. Kelley selected and led the senior management team, including the President and Chief Operating Officer, the Chief Information Officer/Chief Technical Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, the Vice President for Marketing and Sales. Under his leadership the company grew to 25,000 subscribers, 90 employees, with operations in 6 states; he also completed four rounds of fundraising for a total of $50+ million in funding. From 2000 to 2005, Kelley served as Executive Vice President, Operations for Verizon Avenue, the Verizon subsidiary focused on providing bundled communications services to concentrated communities nationwide. His responsibilities included leadership of Network Operations, Program Management, Customer Care, and Field Operations for Verizon’s multi-dwelling unit and concentrated community markets. Kelley was also responsible for initiating and leading Verizon’s Rural Broadband Initiative, leading some of the most innovative broadband wireless deployments in rural markets, Native American reservations, low-income housing areas and U.S. military bases. Previously, Kelley held positions as Vice President of HR, Vice President of Provisioning and Customer Care, and Director of Carrier Services at OnePoint Communications prior to Verizon’s acquisition of OnePoint in 2000. For seven years Kelley worked at AT&T and Bell Labs, where he held management positions in Network Operations, Data Network Planning, and Network Security. In addition, Kelley served as an enlisted serviceman and later as an Army Officer in the US Army’s Signal Corps. He received his BS degree in Communications Systems Management from Ohio University and his MS degree in Information and Communications Sciences from Ball State University.
Tim House is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA). He leads the teams responsible for the association’s workforce development, meetings and events and membership initiatives and oversees day-to-day operations directing the finance and administration team. In 2022, he was appointed by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to the Telecommunications Interagency Working Group. The Working Group, created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and comprised of representatives appointed by the FCC, Department of Labor, Department of Commerce, and the Department of Education, is tasked with preparing a report to provide Congress with recommendations on how to address the workforce needs of the telecommunications industry by no later than January 14, 2023. Tim joined the association in 2007 and has been a key contributor to the evolution of the organization to the industry’s leading voice on all things connectivity. Prior to joining WIA, Tim spent nearly a decade at Discovery Communications Inc., where he was primarily responsible for developing consumer product marketing strategies for Discovery’s hit shows. His campaigns produced three New York Times® Best Sellers and have been featured in Ad Age, USA Today, TV Guide, The Washington Post and the New York Times. A native Washingtonian, Tim holds a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcasting and Cable from The Pennsylvania State University. He was inducted into Gonzaga College High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019 for his accomplishments in Track and Field.
John Hunter is the Senior Director of Technology and Engineering Policy for T-Mobile US where he is responsible for the development and acquisition of electromagnetic spectrum and emerging technologies. Prior to his current role Mr. Hunter served several years in government as a Telecommunications Advisor with the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), advising policy makers on wireless technologies and lawful intercept. As an eight-year Army veteran, Mr. Hunter started his career in telecommunications as a Signal Support System Specialist where he served throughout CONUS and Europe, along with a combat tour in Mogadishu, Somalia. Following his military service Mr. Hunter entered the wireless industry as a Field Engineer and has steadily worked in a variety of leadership and engineering roles throughout his 20-plus year career. He holds an Associate degree in Electronics Technology from Pierce College, a Bachelor’s of Science in Business & Computational Science from Liberty University and a Master’s of Science in Information Technology Management from Grantham University.
As vice president of engineering and network operations for U.S. Cellular, Robert is responsible for ensuring the superior quality of U.S. Cellular’s high-speed network so that customers have the world’s best wireless experience. Jakubek joined U.S. Cellular in 1993, and prior to U.S. Cellular Robert served in the United States Marine Corp. Jakubek has a doctorate degree in computer science from Colorado Technical University, a master’s degree in business administration from University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and a bachelor's degree in Engineering Management from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill. Dr. Jakubek is a senior member of IEEE and ACM. His area of research is disaster preparation and recovery. He is a member of NIST’s community resilience panel. He is also a board member with Warriors for Wireless and on the advisory board for Milwaukee School of Engineering. Robert lives in Barrington IL with his wife. His hobbies are marathon running, triathlons, rock climbing, ice climbing, camping, biking, and spending time outdoors.
John Paul (JP) has worked in the telecommunications tower industry since the age of 16, and has built, modified and maintained all types of towers and antenna systems in 27 different countries over the past 42 years. For 20 years John has also been an advanced instructor for fall protection, rescue, tower safety and tower construction safety. In those 20 years the number of Tower Technicians JP has trained now reaches into the thousands. JP is the President of Tower & Turbine Technologies LLC , and also the President of Safety LMS , both based in Austin, TX. JP also serves as a member of the NATE Board of Directors, is the Chairman of the NATE OSHA Relations Committee, a member of the NATE Legislative and Regulatory Committee and is also a Subject Matter Expert for both the NWSA and TIRAP.
Karen Rohrkemper is the Senior Vice President of Network Implementation & Operations for Crown Castle. Her team is responsible for ongoing operations encompassing over 55k small cell nodes and 80K route miles of fiber with a $1B capital budget. Additionally, she and her team are responsible for project delivery, design, permitting, and build for all new small cell and fiber deployments in the United States driving continued year over year growth. Karen has over 20 years of experience in the telecom industry, having worked 17 years at Cincinnati Bell before joining Crown Castle in 2018. Her wide-ranging experiences have included sales, product management, wireless services and data analytics. She led the comprehensive turn down of wireless for Cincinnati Bell in 2014 when the decision was made to sell the spectrum to Verizon. She began with Crown Castle as a Regional Vice President, leading planning, engineering and construction for the Central region before advancing to her current role in 2021. Karen offers a unique combination of strategic and tactical thinking, along with creative vision and practical effectiveness. She is highly committed to building a culture of commitment through transparency, accountability, fully collaborative teams and leader excellence. She considers herself a positive energizer with a continuous improvement focus. Karen and her husband Evan live in the Cincinnati metropolitan area with their 5-year-old son and twin girls who will turn 3 this year. They will be moving to Houston in 2023.
John Vento is the Executive Vice President of Operations for MasTec Network Solutions, a leading telecommunications engineering, and infrastructure company. He is responsible for MasTec’s national wireless and wireline, tower and civil technicians. One of the industry's largest field force operations. John's diverse Telecommunications career began in 1986 after obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Bridgeport. John started his career as part of a core team that developed Cable Television properties in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom. He held various positions responsible for outside plant engineering and construction, MDU design and installation, customer premise installation, and operations. In 1994, John transitioned into wireless and was part of the team that constructed and launched the industry's first PCS Network in the Baltimore/Washington market. During his career he has held executive management positions with cable television operators, start-up telecommunication service organizations, and large national OEM and Turnkey service companies. Additionally, John's background includes financial management, business development, mergers & acquisitions, construction, and engineering. MasTec has been a key partner to the W4W Program since 2014 and have continued their commitment to the Program by hiring veterans year after year.
Mark Walker is the President of Kelly Telecom powered by NextGen and GTA; both companies operate under the Kelly umbrella while still maintaining two separate brands. His background includes 25+ years of experience in the wireless industry with a leading global telecommunications manufacturer, a world-class carrier, and a comprehensive telecom consulting and solutions provider. Prior to joining Kelly Telecom, Mark served as Network Vice President where his team was responsible for the design, deployment, and operations of Sprint's wireless network for the Northeast Region. He has also served as a leader in RF Engineering, Operations, and the Solutions Engineering teams for Nextel and Sprint. Before joining Nextel, Mark held positions within Motorola's Test Systems and Field Engineering teams. Mark holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Kennesaw State University.
