Consulting Group
Texas Telecom's consulting group includes nationally recognized leaders who are committed to effective Community Technology Development. These experienced professionals represent the very best in innovative local telecomunications planning, development, applications and training. A partial list includes:
Patti Clifford
Patti Clifford is Director of Operations for Texas Telecom, the country's leading consulting organization for community networks and technology. In 2000 she directed technology network planning for more than 30 Texas communities with a total budget of approximately 15 million dollars. Clifford is also Associate Director of the national TeleCommunity Resource Center and Director of the famed "Internet Roadshow" community technology educational programs.
A twenty-year technology industry professional, she was a senior administrator with Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC), worked five years with the Texas legislature and remains an active college technology teacher. She serves as coordinator of the TeleCommunity Bandwidth Conferences and of the National Community Technology Conferences.
Paul Smolen
Mr. Smolen has over twenty years of experience in regulatory compliance and infrastructure development. He manages cable television needs assessments, prepares municipal policy reviews and assists with franchise fee audits. He also prepares feasibility studies and business plans for telecommunications networks. In addition, Paul assists utilities and other entities with the implementation of plans regarding electric deregulation. From 1993 to 1998, Paul worked for the City of Austin, Texas. He served as the Regulatory Affairs Officer, where he negotiated licenses and franchises for cable television and telecommunications providers. In addition, his duties involved rights-of-way management, telecommunications tower siting, Internet public service delivery and other economic development initiatives.
Sue Beckwith
Sue Beckwith is an independent consultant specializing in municipal government online services and community networking. As a part of the Texas Telcom consulting team, Sue has worked with several Texas communities to help them develop community networking strategic plans and apply for grants from the Texas Infrastructure Fund (TIF). All of the communities with which Sue worked received grant funding.
Sue served as the Director of Internet Services for the City of Austin Texas where she developed the City's first Internet strategy in 1995. Sue's company, Beckwith Technology Services, is currently under contract with the City of Austin to advise the City on the strategic direction of the City's web presence including e-commerce, brand development, content management practices, policy development (language, accessibility, advertising, wireless), and public access.
Andrew Cohill
Dr. Andrew Michael Cohill is an information architect and served as Director of the Blacksburg Electronic Village <www.bev.net> from its start in 1993 until 2004. Blacksburg has been widely hailed as the most wired community in the world, with more than 87% of the residents online by late 1999 , and more than half of those users have broadband access--the highest per capita use in the world.
The Blacksburg Electronic Village is a model for the development of community networks around the country, and much of Cohill's efforts are related to teaching others how to create healthy electronic communities. He is co-chair of the Governor's Task Force on eCommunities for Virginia.
Gene Crick
Gene Crick is Executive Director of the TeleCommunity Resource Center (TCRC), working to develop community Internet tools and networks, especially in underserved areas. This 501c3 nonprofit brought free public Internet access to twenty-five Texas towns and cities. Now, TCRC's 1999-2000 national program includes resources and outreach to support local CN builders, plus working with a multi-million dollar grant project designed to bring online network resources to communities throughout Texas.
Mr. Crick is also Executive Director of the Texas Internet Service Providers Association, the country's largest regional ISP association; of Electronic Frontiers - Texas, and of the Metropolitan Austin Interactive Network (MAIN), one of the country's oldest and most successful online community networks. He works state, federal, and international boards and commissions and has won numerous awards for leadership in community networks, including the 1998 Susan B. Hadden award for public service in the field of telecommunications.
