Renee Gordon named as FirstNet Authority board vice chair

The FirstNet Authority today announced that 911 veteran Renee Gordon is the new vice chair for the FirstNet Authority board, effective immediately.

Gordon, who was joined the FirstNet Authority board last November, is the director of the emergency communications center in Alexandria, Va., and previously served as the 911 director in Baltimore, Md.

“I am excited to name Director Gordon as vice chair and look forward to working together to ensure our nation’s first responders have access to the dependable network and innovation they need for emergency situations,” FirstNet Authority Board Chair Richard Carrizzo said in a prepared statement. “Her deep understanding of the nexus between 911 and first-responder communications will help us further evolve the network and support the men and women who put their lives on the line every day.”

With Gordon’s appointment, it marks the first time that a 911 representative has been in one of the top two leadership roles on the FirstNet Authority board and the first time that public-safety representatives have filled the roles of the board’s chair—Carrizzo is the fire chief for the Southern Platte Fire Protection District in Missouri—and vice chair.

“I am honored to be named to a leadership position on the Board, having seen firsthand how the FirstNet Authority is critical to the success of the network,” Gordon said in a prepared statement. “FirstNet empowers our nation’s first responders with the communication tools they need to protect and serve their communities effectively. As Vice Chair, I look forward to continuing to improve network performance and strengthening our support to public-safety agencies across the country.”

Today’s announcement means that a public-safety representative has served as vice chair of the FirstNet Authority board for nine years. The only non-public-safety vice chair of the FirstNet Authority board was Sue Swenson, who served in the role for six months before being succeeding Sam Ginn as the board’s chair in June 2014.

Gordon’s appointment as vice chair of the FirstNet Authority board is the latest in a flurry of leadership changes associated with FirstNet during the past eight months.

Gordon is succeeding Carrizzo as vice chair, a position he vacated after being named the FirstNet Authority board’s chair in April. In March, Joe Wassel was selected as FirstNet Authority CEO, the top position among the organization’s staff members.

In addition, the person leading the FirstNet team at AT&T changed in October 2022, when Jim Bugel was named as president of the carrier’s FirstNet team that has been charged with building and maintaining the FirstNet system since AT&T signed a 25-year deal with the FirstNet Authority in March 2017.