FirstNet Chair Sue Swenson, Vice Chair Jeff Johnson resign from authority’s board

FirstNet Chairwoman Sue Swenson and Vice Chairman Jeff Johnson retired from the FirstNet board effective today, although both Swenson and Johnson—part of the original FirstNet board named in 2012—were eligible to serve another year on the FirstNet Authority board.

Swenson and Johnson have both submitted formal letters of resignation to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and notified Assistant Secretary of Commerce David Redl—who also serves as the administrator for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which houses FirstNet within the U.S. government—according to an NTIA press release issued today.

“Secretary Ross and I are grateful for the leadership that Sue Swenson and Jeff Johnson demonstrated in leading FirstNet from a true startup to nationwide deployment,” Redl said in a prepared statement. “We are deeply appreciative of their commitment to public safety and service to their country. The Department and FirstNet have identified talented, experienced candidates for the FirstNet board that will carry on Sue and Jeff’s good work. We look forward to announcing those appointments later this year.”

FirstNet CEO Mike Poth echoed this sentiment.

“We thank Sue and Jeff for their leadership of the FirstNet board and for their commitment to public safety during a critical time in the history of FirstNet,” Poth said in a prepared statement. “From the strategic program roadmap to the nationwide deployment today, the board has worked with the FirstNet team to set a clear path for public safety’s network and, as a result, we are well positioned for continued success, now and in the future.”

Swenson completed her second two-year term as the FirstNet chairwoman during last week’s board meeting, during which she was honored. Prior to being named chairwoman in 2014, Swenson served two years on the FirstNet board as a very active member who led negotiations with early-builder deployments of public-safety LTE and played a key role in helping develop the FirstNet roadmap that guided the organization through its evolution from a startup entity through the award of the nationwide contract to AT&T.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve public safety over the past six years,” Swenson said in a prepared statement. “Having accomplished what Chief Johnson and I set out to do back in 2012 with the deployment of the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) across all 56 states and territories with AT&T, it seems like the right time to transition,” Swenson said. “We remain committed to the FirstNet mission and will seek ways to continue our support of FirstNet in the years following our service.”

Throughout Swenson’s four-year term leading FirstNet, her vice chairman was Johnson, who led FirstNet’s outreach efforts during his first years on the board after being one of public-safety officials who successfully advocated for Congress to pass the 2012 legislation that created FirstNet as an independent authority within NTIA.

“It was a privilege to serve with Sue and represent the fire service community on the FirstNet board,” Johnson said. “I am confident that FirstNet will continue to succeed as it pursues its mission of providing a dedicated broadband network for every first responder in the country.”

With the early resignations of Swenson and Johnson, Ross could name as many as seven new board members to the 15-member FirstNet board when board appointments are announced.