Board of Directors

Gary Vondrasek, Manager Telecom Sales & Services
In his role as Manager of Telecom Sales & Services, Gary Vondrasek leads JEA’s communication initiatives and manages the 800-mile utility fiber optic network and utility transport networks in addition to the utility wireless networks which includes the utility owned communication towers and other vertical infrastructure.  Gary also manages the Pole Attachment, Wireless Collocation, and Dark Fiber enterprises for collocation and leasing.  Gary is highly skilled in both business development and operational management with the responsibility of developing and implementing strategies across all communications verticals.
Gary joined JEA in August of 2000 as a Product Development Coordinator and ascended through the ranks to become the Manager of Telecom Sales & Services.  Throughout his tenure at JEA, he has held the responsibility for managing multiple types of products and services, new product development, achieving operational and project metrics, budget and vendor management, business case development, and new product integrations.
Gary has over twenty-five years’ experience in the energy, gas, and telecommunications sectors with 15 years specifically with Pole Attachment, Wireless Collocation, and Fiber optic sales and operations.
Gary is a certified Six Sigma Greenbelt and is pursuing his Blackbelt certification.
Gary attended Valparaiso University and received a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in Business Economics.
Gary has been active with Utilities Technology Council (UTC) for over 19 years and is one of the original founding members of UtiliSite.  Gary is presently Chair of the Board of Directors for UTC.

Steve Liegl is currently the Director Infrastruture and Operations for WEC Energy Group, consisting of seven regulated gas, electric, and renewable energy utilities.
WEC Energy Group was formed seven years ago through an acquisition of Integrys Energy Group by Wisconsin Energy. WEC Energy Group is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with major utility operations in Wisconsin, Upper and Lower Michigan, Minnesota, and the Chicago area.
At WEC Energy Group Steve is responsible for managing his group's operating/maintenance budget, capital project budget, staffing, technical training, and outsourcing. Steve also has
responsibility for the strategic, tactical, and operational direction of multiple IT infrastructure and operations teams supporting IT infrastructure, exchange/messaging, service desk, client devices, software deployment, and IT asset management. Along with managing the IT teams, critical business relationships are required due to the unique systems within the various electric and gas utilities.
Since joining the organization ten years ago he has held three different positions ranging from the leader of the network operations group, manager voice/data communications infrastructure, and his current role.
Prior to joining the utility industry Steve spent 17 years in the cellular industry working for companies such as Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile, and BellSouth. While at these organizations Steve held roles in both network operations as well as core network engineering.
Along with six years of active service in the United States Marine Corps, Steve currently holds a Doctorate of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Wisconsin Lutheran College and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Kirt Mayson is a 24-year Employee of NorthWestern Energy (NorthWestern Corporation) and now serves as Senior Engineer – Business Technology, Network Engineering, and Operations for NorthWestern. He has an extensive background in Utility Communications Technologies in the areas of fiber optic and microwave systems. Previously Mr. Mayson was an employee of Tetragenics Company, a subsidiary of The Montana Power Company, and was involved in automation solutions for Communications Site Monitoring Systems, Substation Remote Telemetry Units (RTUS), and Hydro-Electric Generation Plant Control Systems. Prior to his utility career, Mr. Mayson was an engineer in the Natural Gas Compression Industry for approximately 10 years. During his tenure with UTC, he served in officer positions of UTC’s North West Region, Region 9 as well as Chair of UTC’s Regional Divisions. Mr. Mayson received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Petroleum Engineering from Montana Tech (now Montana Technological University).