Title: Airport Telecommunications Manager
Employer: New Orleans Aviation Board–City of New Orleans
Featured In:
Disaster Prep 2008, 5/21/08
Disaster Proofing 2006, 7/20/06
Nickname/Alias: PITA – You figure it out... What I'm Best Known For (in the Telecom World): Helping coordinate, test and construct a communications interconnection solution between the 800 MHz trunked public safety radio system in New Orleans and the intercom system on Sikorsky UH-60x Black Hawk helicopters during Hurricane Katrina. This allowed fire fighters on the ground to communicate with helicopter crews making aerial water drops. Other Primary Areas of Expertise: Evaluating different technologies and seeing how they can benefit the overall effectiveness of our organization. I prefer to be a jack of all trades and rely on my support staff for highly technical information so I can make informed decisions. Summary of Professional Background: BS Aerospace Administration – Middle Tennessee State University. MBA with a concentration in IT – University of New Orleans. 20 years of aviation/airport related experience. Ten years of experience in airport telecommunications. Prediction on the Future of Telecom & Telecom Managers: Further consolidation of industry and associated jobs as networks continue to converge. Business will have to focus and in some cases find a new core competency in order to survive. Weirdest Thing People Usually Don't Know about Me: I like classical music and vegetable gardening. When I'm not talking or doing something in relation to telecom, I'm usually... Working on our Art & Crafts Bungalow or trying to find obscure dirt and gravel roads when riding my motorcycle. Book and author I'm currently reading: Leanings 2 by Peter Egan CD currently or most recently in my car stereo: Taking The Long Way by Dixie Chicks The stupidest thing I've ever seen anyone do or say in relation to a phone: Programming speed dials on their call presence buttons or passengers asking where payphones are located when they are standing three feet from a bank of them. Call forwarding issues are a constant source of amusement. | 
