Adelstein sworn in as FCC commissioner

Jonathan Adelstein today was sworn in as a member of the Federal Communications Commission, filling the vacancy created when Gloria Tristani resigned from the commission in September 2001. His term will expire June 30, 2003.

Prior to joining the FCC, Adelstein served 15 years as a staff member in the U.S., including the past seven years as a senior legislative aide to Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle, D-S.D.

Adelstein today named his staff, including Senior Legal Advisor Zalina, who most recently served as vice president of industry and regulatory affairs for Shenandoah Telecommunications Co., which provides wireline and wireless telephones services, as well as cable television services, through several holding companies.

Zalina also previously served as senior counsel and deputy bureau chief for the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau (formerly the Common Carrier Bureau), as an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University, and in senior-level posts with NECA (National Exchange Carrier Association), NARUC (National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners) and OPASTCO (Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies).

Adelstein said in a statement that Zalina’s 15-plus years of experience in the telecom industry, “have given her a unique understanding of the impact of the Federal Communications Commission’s action on every American household.”

Other key appoints included interim legal advisors Eric Einhorn (wireline competition), Barry Ohlson (spectrum and international) and Sarah Whitesell (media).

--Glenn Bischoff, Senior Writer