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UTC Staff

Meet the UTC Staff

CEO

Jimmy R. (Rusty) Williams

President and CEO – Ex Officio

  • rusty.williams@utc.org
  • 202.833.6817
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Executive Office

Tiffany Bennett-Jolly

Senior Vice President, Operations, Finance & Member Services

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Brett Kilbourne

Senior Vice President of
Policy & General Counsel
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Karnel Thomas

Senior Vice President, Conferences & Professional Development

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Advocacy

Cordell Briggs

Vice President, Advocacy & Cybersecurity

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Eric Wagner

Director, Advocacy

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Communications

Brittany Luckett

Director of Marketing, Communications & Publications

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Sandy McClafferty

Marketing &
Communications
Designer
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Shawn McClafferty

Marketing &
Communications
Designer
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Finance

Juanita Campbell

Manager, Administration
& Finance
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Dan Thrasher

Advisor, Operations &
Finance
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Membership

Denise Weathers

Vice President,
Member Services

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Meetings

Kelly Moran

Senior Director,
Conference & Events
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Cheryl Stratos

Business Development Associate

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Cynthia Perez

Director, Education

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Ronald Bilodeau

Education Advisor, UTC Academy

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Spectrum Services

Joann Howell

Vice President, Spectrum Services

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Mike Etzel

Senior Frequency
Coordinator
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Tiffany Bennett-Jolly

Executive Office

Email: tiffany.bennett@utc.org
Phone: 202.833.6822

Brett Kilbourne

Executive Office

Email: brett.kilbourne@utc.org
Phone: 202.833.6807

Brett Kilbourne is Senior Vice President of Policy and General Counsel at the Utilities Technology Council, where he provides legal and regulatory guidance and advocacy for utilities on matters affecting their telecommunications and information technology interests pending before the Federal Communications Commission, as well as Congress, the federal courts and state public utility commissions and legislatures.   In addition to working with UTC, he was employed at the law firm of Stevens & Lee, as well as BellSouth and the law firm of Baker & Hostetler.  Brett received his Juris Doctor degree from the Catholic University, Columbus School of Law in 1998 and he received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the South in 1987.  He is licensed to practice law in the state of Maryland, and he is admitted to the United States Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.  He is also a member of the American Bar Association and the Federal Communications Bar Association.  He has nearly 40 years of experience working in communications law, including over 25 years at UTC.

Karnel Thomas

Executive Office

Email: karnel.thomas@utc.org
Phone: 202.833.6816

Karnel Thomas is a 30-year employee of the Utilities Technology Council, with 15 years of executive management responsibilities for the association. Mr. Thomas oversees strategic, tactical and fiduciary responsibilities for UTC membership and all domestic and international association events. In his role, Mr. Thomas manages select UTC committees and has direct responsibilities for operations of 10 UTC geographic regions.
He is a trusted member of the senior management leadership team with a wealth of association and industry knowledge. Mr. Thomas is a Marine and served in Washington as a member of Commandant of the Marine Corps personal staff.

Cordell Briggs

Advocacy

Email: cordell.briggs@utc.org
Phone: 202.833.6806

Cordell Briggs is the Utilities Technology Council’s VP, of Advocacy & Cybersecurity. He is responsible for leading UTC’s cybersecurity advocacy initiatives and representing UTC member interests in various industry bodies and public-private partnerships. Also, Cordell will provide UTC’s membership with timely and actionable cybersecurity information ranging from legislative, regulatory, and legal developments to threats and vulnerabilities impacting UTC members.
Cordell comes to UTC with experience in IT/OT cybersecurity, public-private partnerships, and cyber operations. He is the staff liaison to UTC’s Security, Risk, and Compliance Committee (SRCC) and Information Technology and Operations Technology (IT/OT) Committee.
Cordell, graduated from California State University, San Bernardino with a degree in Cybersecurity. When not at UTC, he spends his time advocating for men’s mental health, tuning his project cars, and making memories with his family.

Eric Wagner

Advocacy

Email: eric.wagner@utc.org
Phone: 202.833.6801

Eric Wagner is the Utilities Technology Council’s Senior Legislative Assistant. He is responsible for reviewing, analyzing, and communicating details of developments in the information communications technology space to UTC members. He works with members on various federal broadband grant programs; on UTC’s efforts to protect and expand spectrum for critical wireless utility communications; and on matters affecting federal and state pole attachment policies, resilient network, and cybersecurity.
Eric rejoined UTC as a Senior Legislative Assistant after previously serving as UTC’s Manager, Advocacy and Industry Affairs Manager. Before joining UTC, he worked at Verizon in federal regulatory affairs and carrier negotiations as well as in regulatory affairs at the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom. He is a staff liaison for the Telecom Committee and the Utilities Broadband Committee.
Eric earned his bachelor’s degree from Saarland University of Applied Sciences, Saarbrücken, Germany, and his master’s degree in Business Administration from George Mason University, Fairfax, Va.
When he’s not busy advocating for and advancing the interests of UTC members you can find Eric on local trails training for his next marathon or century bike ride.

Brittany Luckett

Communications

Email: brittany.luckett@utc.org
Phone: 202.833.6813

Brittany Luckett is the Utilities Technology Council’s Director of Marketing, Communications & Publications.  She manages all outgoing communications, including the UTC Journal and regional & national meeting marketing collateral.
Brittany comes to UTC with experience in strategic advertising and marketing, social media management, and copywriting.  She is the staff liaison to the UTC Foundation.
Brittany received her bachelor’s degree in Communications with a Strategic Advertising major and Political Science minor, from the Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va. When not at UTC, she is at the dog park with her black labradoodle, Howie.

Sandy McClafferty

Communications

Email: sandy.mcclafferty@utc.org
Phone: 919.740.8175

Sandy McClafferty is the Utilities Technology Council’s Marketing and Communications Designer.  She is responsible for sending out weekly eblasts and creates all the events landing pages and other website updates as needed.
Sandy comes to UTC with experience in graphic and website design.
Sandy received her master’s degree from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. When not at UTC, she enjoys hiking and being active walking around the lake and other greenways.

Shawn McClafferty

Communications

Email: shawn.mcclafferty@utc.org
Phone: 919.987.7905

Shawn McClafferty is the Utilities Technology Council’s Marketing and Communications Designer. He is responsible for the production of the quarterly UTC Journal and graphic design elements for UTC.
Shawn comes to UTC with experience in graphic design, website design, and search engine optimization.
Shawn received his degree from the PIT Technical Institute, Media, Pa.  When not at UTC, Shawn likes to play golf and enjoy the outdoors with his wife and pug, Frankie.

Juanita Campbell

Finance

Email: juanita.campbell@utc.org
Phone: 202.833.6819

Juanita Campbell is Utilities Technology Council’s Manager, Finance and Operations. Working with UTC’s Finance Department, she is responsible for the management of accurate and prompt payments, collections, AP & AR of payments of UTC invoices and bills, and providing technical and administrative support to the finance department.
Juanita was previously contracted by UTC in 2018. She rejoins the association with over 20 years of experience in finance, accounts payable/receivable, budgeting, and collections.
Juanita received her Associate of Arts in Business Administration from American Intercontinental University. When not at UTC, she enjoys watching sports and spending time with her grandchildren.

Dan Thrasher

Finance

Email: daniel.thrasher@utc.org
Phone: 202.833.6837

Denise Weathers

Membership

Email: denise.weathers@utc.org
Phone: 202.833.6809

Denise Weathers is the Utilities Technology Council’s Vice President, Membership and Meetings. She is responsible for leading, managing, and developing membership and event processes and programs to enhance, amplify, and implement organizational vision as established in the UTC’s Strategic Plan for membership, meetings, and education.
Denise has over 35 years of association executive management experience and has been recognized for her expertise in delivering strong revenues, generating growth, community development, and building organizational value in diverse sectors including healthcare, transportation, real estate, and education for large, medium, and small member-based organizations.
For her contributions to the association industry, she was recognized with the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Gold Circle Award of Excellence in Membership Recruitment and selected as an ASAE Diversity Executive Leadership Program (DELP) Scholar.
Denise earned her bachelor’s in Business Management from the University of Maryland.

Kelly Moran

Meetings

Email: kelly.moran@utc.org
Phone: 202.833.6812

Kelly Moran is the Utilities Technology Council’s Senior Director, Conference & Events.  She is responsible for the planning and execution of UTC’s regional meetings and annual UTC Telecom & Technology Conference.

Kelly comes to UTC with 21+ years’ experience in event management, hospitality, and contract negotiations.

Kelly received her bachelor’s degree from Salisbury University, Salisbury, Md.  When not at UTC, she enjoys cooking, shopping, and spending time on the beach or at the pool.  She supports her community through memberships in various local organizations.  Most of all she loves making memories with family, friends, and her boxer Roscoe.

Cheryl Stratos

Meetings

Email: cheryl.stratos@utc.org
Phone: 202.833.6811

Cheryl Stratos is the Utilities Technology Council’s Sales Representative. She is responsible for business development for UTC’s advertising programs, including the UTC Journal and the UTC Podcast, The Intersection.
Cheryl comes to UTC with extensive experience in association management, design and campaign development, and implementing sales strategies.
Cheryl received her bachelor’s degree from George Mason University, Fairfax, Va., and she graduated from the Institutes for Organizational Management, University of Delaware. Cheryl is a trained pilot, and in addition to her love of flying, she enjoys horseback riding and playing outside.

Cynthia Perez

Meetings

Email: cynthia.perez@utc.org
Phone: 202.833.6837

Cynthia Perez is the Utilities Technology Council’s Director of Education. She is responsible for developing educational programs and events together with UTC’s senior management, regional leadership, UTC committees, and other stakeholders.
Cynthia comes to UTC with over 25 years of experience planning, organizing, and delivering professional development and education courses, virtual learning, certification programs, and speaker management.
Cynthia received her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland Global Campus.

Ronald Bilodeau

Meetings

Email: rbilodeau@utc.org

Joann Howell

Spectrum Services

Email: joann.howell@utc.org
Phone: 202.833.6820

Joann Salley-Howell is the Utilities Technology Council’s Vice President, Spectrum Services.   From joining UTC in 1990 as a data entry operator, Joann’s responsibilities now include assigning and helping licensees in the Industrial Business Pool and Part 90 users to obtain licensure with the Federal Communication Commission and ensuring compliance with FCC rules. She does coordination for many entities such as utilities, Schools, and individual businesses for daily uses and helps them with other services as needed.
Joann earned her associate’s degree from Strayer University.  When not at UTC, Joann likes to relax with a good book, especially mysteries set in the Washington, DC, area.

Mike Etzel

Spectrum Services

Email: mike.etzel@utc.org
Phone: 202.833.6839

Michael Etzel is the Utilities Technology Council’s Senior Frequency Coordinator.  They are responsible for filing Form 601 FCC Applications & managing the Power Line Carrier database.
Michael comes to UTC with experience in database management, administrative work, and customer service. They are staff liaisons to UTC’s Security, Risk & Compliance Committee.
Michael received their bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences from Frostburg State University, Frostburg.  When not at UTC, they are out exploring the city or shopping.