Session Speakers: WISPAPALOOZA 2022

Profile Picture	Full Name	Company	Job Title	Speaking At	Attendee Bio
	Jimmy Schaeffler	The Carmel Group	Chairman/CSO	Broad Policy Changes, Their Effects On Your Business, And Practical Strategies To Reduce Or Eliminate Their Debilitating Effects	Jimmy Schaeffler is chairman/CSO of The Carmel Group, a telecommunications, computer, and media industries business analysis and expert consultant. Under the umbrella of The Carmel Group, Mr. Schaeffler has helped wireless communication and media companies to plan, value, and optimize their systems, since 1995. He worked with and interviewed hundreds of wireless Internet service providers to create the Wireless Internet Service Provider Associations (WISPA) 2021 “Lift-off” report, which covers key benchmarks and trends in the Fixed Wireless and Hybrid Fiber Wireless Broadband industry. Mr. Schaeffler and The Carmel Group focus their expertise in cable, satellite, wireless, and telephony, and such new and/or advanced services as broadband, VOD, DVRs, HDTV, AI, VR, AR, interactive TV, and satellite radio. His insights and views are reported in such publications as Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, Newsweek, TIME Magazine, Business Week, and The Wall Street Journal. He is also a regular speaker at international events such as the NAB, NCTA Cable Show, WISPAPALOOZA, CTAM, and CES. The Carmel Group’s website link is www.carmelgroup.com
	Kelley Lace	Total Highspeed LLC	Sales Manager	Getting the Most Out of Your Sales Team What Does it Mean to be a Manager? Connecting With Employees Selling to Businesses	In 2005, Travis Allen founded TA Highspeed, a small company consisting of one, to find a way to provide an Internet solution for his parents and their neighbors in Ozark, Missouri. Over the years, Travis’ determination has led him to expand his horizons to include not just the neighborhood in Ozark, but throughout the Southwest Ozark region of Missouri and Northern Arkansas. The name of the company changed over the years as well with expansion and Travis’ promise to bring Internet solutions to as many people as he could in the rural areas of our state. TA Highspeed morphed into Total Highspeed Internet Solutions in 2011 and today the company of one has grown to over 70 employees. Total Highspeed Internet Solutions offers wireless Internet through towers, silos, telephone poles and barns around the Ozarks as well as the new Fiber-To-The-Home projects you will see being constructed in small communities all over the Ozarks. Travis’ commitment to providing the same or better Internet service to rural homes as you can get in the big cities allows those of us living in the Ozarks to work from home, home school, run a business and maintain a job during these pandemic times. With always looking for ways to accomplish long term solutions to the ongoing and increasing need for good Internet and speed, Travis, his family and the Total Highspeed family, hope to provide their neighbors with access to the future and the world.
(not set)	Mark Foster	TP-LINK USA CORPORATION	Director of IoT	CBRS and Other Private Network Strategies	(not set)
	John Bagalini	Triad Wireless	COO/CFO		(not set)
	Rory Conaway	Triad Wireless	Managing Partner	What Does it Take to be a WISP Owner? Competition - Fiber, Satellite, Cable, DSL, 5G	Rory P. Conaway is an entrepreneur and technology expert with over 30 years of experience in the telecommunications and wireless industry. He is the founder and president of Triad Wireless, a leading wireless network engineering and consulting company based in Phoenix, Arizona. Rory began his career in the early 1990s as a telecommunications engineer and quickly became a recognized expert in the field. He has worked on a wide range of projects, from designing wireless networks for major companies and government agencies to developing cutting-edge technologies for wireless communication. His expertise in wireless network design, deployment, and optimization has earned him a reputation as a leading authority in the field. Mr. Conaway is also the author of "Tales from the Tower", a popular blog series that is on the Triad Wireless website and many other blog sites.
(not set)	Brian Vargyas	Vargyas Consulting, LLC	CEO	Fiber Technologies - 10Gbps Design Overview Exit Strategies	Serial Entrepreneur focused on IoT, 5G wireless technologies.
	Dominic Villecco	VCOMM Telecommunications and Engineering	Founder and President	How To Fund And Build Your Fixed Wireless Network To Comply With Environmental, RF, and Other Infrastructure Siting Rules	Dominic Villecco has 40 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. As Founder and President of V COMM Telecommunications Engineering, he has led the company from two employees to more than 50, with three offices on the East Coast. He is a qualified expert witness in telecommunications engineering in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Michigan. He has also testified in Federal Court on behalf of the FCC and US Department of Justice in high-profile cases. Prior to founding V COMM in 1995, Mr. Villecco led all engineering efforts for Comcast Cellular Communications, Inc., and Comcast International Holdings. As former Director of Engineering for American Cellular Network Corporation (AMCELL), he helped design the first regional cellular network in the United States with propriety automatic call delivery among independent carriers. Mr. Villecco’s expertise provides a positive impact upon his clients’ growth rates and their ability to secure financing from key vendors. He previously served as Vice Chairman on the Board of Advisors for Drexel University’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and received the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2001. He also served as Chairman of the Technical Subcommittee for the Association of Public Safety Officials-International, Inc. (APCO) Region 28 and its 700 MHz initiatives. Mr. Villecco is recognized as a telecommunications expert by the FCC and the US Department of Justice. He is President of the Board of Trustees for the New Jersey Wireless Association (NJWA).
	Raj Singh	Velankani Communications Technologies, Inc.	CEO	Drafting Grant Proposals to Apply for These Federal Funds	A creative and dynamic leader, Raj has been finding innovative solutions to complex problems in the broadband industry for more than 25 years. Raj became CEO of Velankani Communications Technologies, Inc. in 2005; technology developed by VCTI can be found can be found in the access networks of more than 500 service providers, globally. In 2019, VCTI pivoted to a mission to deliver software, SaaS and managed service solutions, leveraging machine learning and AI, that directly enable broadband providers to accelerate the expansion of their services and automation of operations. Today, VCTI’s unparalleled expertise in GIS modeling, network planning, software and services, legal and public affairs is being leveraged by leading and emerging broadband service providers to successfully win, defend and challenge subsidy programs.
(not set)	Amie Hsu	Vilo	COO	Earning Additional Revenue from Customers	(not set)
(not set)	ELLA GEMMELL	VILO	ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE	Culture vs Company Values: What Do I Need?	(not set)
	Matt Larsen	Vistabeam	(not set)	Developing Public Private Partnerships With States and Local Governments WISP Financing Broad Policy Changes, Their Effects On Your Business, And Practical Strategies To Reduce Or Eliminate Their Debilitating Effects	Matt Larsen started deploying wireless broadband in 1999 and is experienced in the design of data networks, NOC operations, wireless deployments, voice over IP implementation, business development and overall management of ISP operations. In 1995, Larsen was part of the volunteer group that launched FortNet, the first ISP in Fort Collins, Colorado. After moving to Scottsbluff, Nebraska in 1997, he started Scottsbluff Networx, an ISP that provided competitive dialup Internet access in Western Nebraska and was the first non-ILEC to offer DSL service in Nebraska. Frustrated with the incumbent bureaucracy, Matt turned to wireless as an alternate way to deliver broadband, bypassing the phone companies completely. In November 2000, Larsen sold Scottsbluff Networx to Airwave Wireless, a company that held LMDS and cellular licenses for the Scottsbluff area. From November 2000 through October 2003, Larsen worked on ISP operations for Airwave, and concentrated on business development and the deployment of unlicensed wireless broadband systems. In October 2003, Larsen left Airwave to pursue opportunities in wireless broadband access and established Vistabeam. Vistabeam has deployed wireless broadband systems covering approximately 40,000 square miles across Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota and Nebraska.
	Jeffrey Moore	Wave7 Research	Principal	Competition - Fiber, Satellite, Cable, DSL, 5G	Jeff Moore is Principal of Wave7 Research, a wireless research company that covers U.S. postpaid, prepaid, smartphone, and fixed wireless competition. He writes a monthly column for Fierce Wireless and is an expert on wireless retail. He is also Conference Director of the All Wireless & Prepaid Expo. Jeff has over 25 years of telecom industry experience, including 13 years of work for Sprint. Prior to Sprint, Jeff worked as a telecom analyst for Current Analysis and The Strategis Group. Jeff holds an MBA from Cornell University.
	Chris Kilbourn	Wi-Fiber	COO & CMO	WISP Marketing/PR	Chris is the COO and CMO at Wi-Fiber, a WISP that partners with other WISPS to help them grow and get some sleep. He has 15 years of experience as a marketer and entrepreneur with three exits.
(not set)	Mike Cook	Winncom Technologies	Business Development	The Benefits of pLTE	(not set)
	David Burns	Wireless Coverage Ltd	Chief Executive Officer	RF Design and Planning	David Burns is a well-known industry figure in the Fixed Wireless Access industry, as Chairman of UKWISPA and founder of Boundless Networks and Wireless Coverage. In 2018, David launched Wireless Coverage Ltd, which provides ground-breaking software to model property coverage for Fixed Wireless. The underlying technology (WISDM) was initially built to plan and model large scale next generation networks that are based on FWA technology. WISDM technology has several innovative features that are specifically optimised for high speed FWA and 5G modelling. These result in the creation of networks that use the minimum amount of equipment to provide the maximum coverage.
	Louis Peraertz	Wireless Internet Service Providers Association	Vice President of Policy	Spectrum Update	Louis Peraertz is WISPA’s Vice President of Policy. In this role, Louis works to advance WISPA’s successful track record before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and other federal agencies. Prior to WISPA, Louis worked in several capacities at the FCC. Notably, for more than seven years, Louis served as legal advisor to former FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn in the areas of wireless, satellite, public safety, and international policies. In this position, Louis worked to achieve many of the Commissioner’s top policy priorities to bridge the digital divide, such as: increased spectrum for unlicensed services in the TV White Spaces, CBRS, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, and spectrum bands above 24 GHz; dynamic spectrum access management policies in the TV White Spaces, 3.5 GHz, and 37 GHz bands; design of geographic area licenses and competitive bidding policies to enhance the ability of small wireless companies to acquire spectrum at auctions; reform of universal service policies for commercial wireless services. Before the FCC, Louis worked as a federal appellate court litigator for the U.S. Department of Justice, and served in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps. He has a BA from Princeton University and a JD from Harvard Law School.
	Steven Schwerbel	Wireless Internet Service Providers Association	State Advocacy Manager	The Importance of State Advocacy In BEAD Funding Decisions The Importance Of Grassroots Advocacy To Growing Your Business	Steven Schwerbel currently serves as State Advocacy Manager for WISPA. In this capacity, he helps engage our volunteer coordinators in advocacy opportunities with state broadband offices, legislators, and policymakers who are shaping state-level broadband decisions. Before arriving at WISPA, Schwerbel was a staffer for Wisconsin state senator Julian Bradley, serving as his Committee Clerk for the Senate Committee on Utilities, Technology, and Telecommunications. Here, he managed bills related to a variety of utilities policy, including bills making changes to Wisconsin’s broadband grant program, and maintained strong relationships with the state’s Public Service Commission. Prior to this, Schwerbel served as staff for state representative Romaine Quinn, where he focused on broadband and rural development policy, drafting bills aimed at expanding rural broadband access. Here, he also served as the Committee Clerk for the Assembly Committee on Science and Technology and advised Rep. Quinn on broadband and internet-security related policy questions. Schwerbel began his government service as a Peace Corps volunteer in Azerbaijan, where he worked with English teachers in a rural village school.
	Eric Slee	Wireless Internet Service Providers Association	Vice President of Government Affairs	The Importance Of Grassroots Advocacy To Growing Your Business	Eric Slee currently serves as Vice President of Government Affairs for WISPA. In this capacity, he helps guide the advocacy efforts of the association’s 1000 members before Capitol Hill, as well WISPA’s growing state and local, and grassroots portfolio. Before arriving at WISPA, Slee was Legislative Director for Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS), former Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. In that role, Eric managed Senator Roberts’ legislative staff and worked to implement the Senator’s legislative agenda. He also served as primary advisor to the Senator on policy matters related to telecom, energy, trade, and the environment. Prior to that, Slee was Senior Account Executive for the DCI Group in Washington, DC, developing and maintaining long-term relationships with think tanks, political activists, issue experts, and advocacy organizations on public policy issues related to the telecommunications industry. Other positions Eric has held include Communications Training Director for the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia; and Legislative Correspondent for former Representative Mark Green (R-WI-8) in Washington, DC. Slee earned his BA degree in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
	David Zumwalt	Wireless Internet Service Providers Association	President and CEO	How the IIJA and Other Congressional Statutes Have Changed the Regulatory Landscape and Impacted Your Plans for Fiber and Wireless Deployments Issues In Selling And Buying A WISP	David Zumwalt As of June 1, 2022, David Zumwalt serves as President & CEO of WISPA, the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association. WISPA’s service providers, supported by vital vendors and suppliers, deliver primary broadband connectivity in traditionally underserved and unserved suburban, rural and Tribal communities nationwide, with a growing subscriber base now reaching nine million Americans. WISPA’s members are often entrepreneurs who live in, serve, and continually reinvest in their communities. Prior to WISPA he served as Chief Operating Officer of Broadband VI, a major Internet Service Provider in the US Virgin Islands, where his role included full P&L responsibility and had a primary mission to prepare the company to scale. In 2021, Broadband VI sought and won $84.5 million in FCC Connect USVI funding to supplement its private investment in Territory-wide network expansion and was subsequently acquired by a unit of publicly traded Liberty Latin America late last year. He then led Broadband VI’s post-acquisition transition efforts. Previously, he served as the CEO/Executive Director of the University of the Virgin Islands Research & Technology Park (RTPark), an instrumentality of the USVI government formed to establish and grow a vibrant knowledge-based sector in the Territory’s economy. He led policy, workforce investment, infrastructure and market outreach initiatives and guided RTPark to become a rare example of a sustainable three-way partnership with private sector, governmental and university stakeholders. Earlier, he founded and served as Chairman and CEO of Dallas, TX-based CNet, Inc., a leading provider of radio frequency (RF) engineering and operational support system software and services to the worldwide wireless communications industry, securing significant customer relationships in forty countries. Over the course of his career, he has served on the Boards of, and as a transitional chief executive in, several venture capital and private equity-backed businesses, working closely with management teams, stakeholders, capital partners and governmental/regulatory counterparts. His portfolio spans private sector, public sector and academic initiatives. He has engaged with accelerators, incubators and private equity partnerships to mentor emerging companies in markets including simulation/gaming, logistics, internet content, search, and network services. A graduate of Rice University, he has been named a Fellow of the Radio Club of America in recognition of his wireless industry contributions and is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Texas.
	Richard Bernhardt	WISPA	National Spectrum Advisor	Opportunities in the MTE-MDU Market Spectrum Update	Richard Bernhardt is the National Spectrum Adviser for the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA). He serves as the liaison between WISPA members and industry related to spectrum policy and regulatory matters. He regularly represents WISPA to industry organizations and coalitions, manufacturers, and various wireless and telecom operators and service providers. Mr. Bernhardt serves on the board of directors and is an officer of the Wireless Innovation Forum (WInnForum), a global spectrum standards development organization and is the lead representative for WISPA to the WInnForum. WInnForum created the baseline standards for CBRS and is currently working on the 6 GHz band standards. He serves as the co-chair of its Spectrum Sharing Committee (SSC) and chairs its Operations working group which covers bests practices for CPIs, CAs (security), band co-existence, PALs, secondary market and many other CBRS technical areas. Mr. Bernhardt is the co-chair of the FCC rules directed 6 GHz multi-stakeholder group (MSG) and he serves on numerous industry panels and committees including chairing the Fixed Wireless Access group for CBRS Alliance (now the OnGo Alliance). He has served in leadership roles in the networking, wireless and telecom industry for over 30 years. Mr. Bernhardt holds a B.A. in communications from the University of California, Davis, and a J.D. from California Western School of Law in San Diego, CA.
	Michael Kellim	Wisp Broker	CEO	Best Practices for Marketing Getting the Most Out of Your Sales Team	CEO of Wispbroker.com & Leverage Social
	Carolyn Haas	Wisper	Talent & Acquisition Coordinator	All Things Employee - Your Most Important Resource Coaching Your Teams: Getting Back to the Facts! Updated Training for Customer Service Representatives	(not set)
(not set)	Mike Starrett	Wisper ISP	Senior Inventory Manager	WISP Management Systems	(not set)
	Nathan Stooke	Wisper ISP	CEO & Founder	Breakfast/Opening Session/State of WISPA Speed Dating WISPA Awards Luncheon All Things Private Equity Entrepreneurial Operating System for WISPs Closing Session and 50/50 Drawing	In the last 19 years, Nathan Stooke went from programming PCs to building Wisper into a successful multi-million dollar Internet service provider. With headquarters in Mascoutah, IL, Wisper now services Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. In 2018, the FCC announced that Wisper ISP won $220.3 million of federal funding in the FCC's rural broadband auction, the Connect America Fund Phase II. This money will be distributed to Wisper over a period of ten years. Wisper was one of 103 providers to win financial support from across the country. As CEO of Wisper, Nathan has provided high-speed Internet service to tens of thousands of happy customers; many in rural, underserved areas where previous service providers had been spotty or nonexistent. Stooke is a well-respected businessman in the St. Louis area; he was selected as a "Top 30 Under 30" by the St. Louis Business Journal and named on the list of the "Top 100 St. Louisans to Know" by the St. Louis Small Business Monthly. Wisper was named one of the Top 20 Small Businesses in 2014 and one of the 50 Fastest-Growing companies in St. Louis by St. Louis Small Business Monthly. Nathan credits his battle with Dyslexia, and his competitive nature gleaned from hours of intense training, which earned him a spot on the. U.S National Swim Team as his catalyst for success. His vision is to create standards in the wireless industry, establish Wisper as a household name, and continue to serve exceptional customers in rural and metropolitan communities. When not at the office, Stooke enjoys spending time with his wife and three children and you can often find him at the McKendree Rec Plex coaching a Seahawks Swim Team. He volunteers on the Wireless Internet Service Provider Association (WISPA) board and is a founding member of the Dyslexic Advantage, an educational, scientific and charitable organization that improves the lives of those with Dyslexia. Stooke attended high school (and currently resides) in O’Fallon, IL and received his undergraduate degree and his MBA from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
	Mark Albertyn	Wisper ISP, LLC	CFO	Financial Accounting for WISP's Preparing for a Financial Statement Audit	Mark is currently the CFO at Wisper ISP and has been with Wisper for almost 4 years. Before joining Wisper Mark was in South Africa as the CFO in the Education and Training space. Mark has been in finance for over 25 years and has worked for the licensed operator of the National Lottery in South Africa as well as in the financial services sector for one of the top 4 banks. Mark has been a part owner in a currency trading business as well as having his own import and export company. Mark holds a bachelor’s and post graduate honors degrees in finance from the University of Pretoria in South Africa and Mark is a qualified Chartered Accountant (SA)… similar to a CPA qualification in the USA. Mark is passionate about sports and grew up swimming while later representing his home country of South Africa in Indoor and Beach Volleyball.
	David Tews	Xtreme Enterprises, LLC	President	Earning Additional Revenue from Customers	David Tews is a telecommunications business executive with proven results over a 30 plus year career. A true Pioneer in the Cellular industry, David began his career in wireless in 1986 in Philadelphia with Metrophone. He managed, designed and built numerous towns, cities and highways of cellular networks in the Northeast United States. In the early 1990s, David became a partner of Americell, a rural cellular operator in the Northeast and Midwest. In the mid 1990s David was recognized as an authority on building and operating cost effective networks in rural America. Throughout his career he has continued to evolve his networks by adopting the latest technology available in the industry. In 2015 David started Xtreme Internet, a Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP), operating in conjunction with a cellular network. As a WISP, Xtreme Internet has deployed and analyzed numerous WISP technologies. As founder and CEO of XtremeLTE, David entered into a strategic partnership with Ericsson to distribute and support a value added LTE solution to the WISP and private LTE market. By strategically partnering with the leaders in the Broadband Industry, XtremeLTE is solving the challenge of bringing broadband to rural America.