WASHINGTON-CTIA’s Steve Largent continued reorganizing the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, announcing that Carolyn Brandon has been named vice president for policy and Bob Bolster will become director of congressional affairs.
“Bob and I worked side-by-side through much of my time in Congress and I look forward to having him on my team again,” said Largent, CTIA president and chief executive officer.
Bolster was Largent’s legislative director for seven years when Largent was a Republican congressman from Oklahoma. Since Largent’s departure from Congress, Bolster has worked at the General Services Administration and more recently at the House Committee on Financial Services, where he was director of coalitions and outreach.
Largent praised Brandon’s wireless experience as a partner at Wilkinson Barker Knauer, a telecommunications law firm. “Her wireless and technology-focused work in both the public and private sectors are the perfect foundation to support her diverse portfolio of responsibilities with us.”
Brandon is married to Douglas Brandon, vice president for federal affairs for AT&T Wireless Services Inc., but both CTIA and AWS brushed off any suggestion of a conflict should AWS disagree on a policy matter with CTIA, as Verizon Wireless did with wireless local number portability and Nextel Communications Inc. is doing regarding how to solve public-safety interference in the 800 MHz band.
“This is a non-issue,” said AWS spokeswoman Rochelle Cohen. “They are both professionals.”
Bolster graduated from the University of California with a Bachelors of Arts in political science and George Mason University with a Masters of Business Administration.
Brandon graduated cum laude from the University of Scranton and Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law Institute of Communications Law Studies, where she served as associate editor of the Catholic University Law Review.
