Contact: Scott Bolden, 202-898-8083, sbolden@naruc.org

Massachusetts Commissioner Charles Peterson Appointed as Chair of NARUC
Committee on Telecommunications

WASHINGTON—National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners President Nick Wagner has appointed Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable Commissioner Karen Charles Peterson as chair of the Association’s Committee on Telecommunications. She succeeds former chair, Paul Kjellander, of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission.

Commissioner Charles Peterson is an active board member of the North American Numbering Council and a member of the Telecommunications Committee at NARUC.  She is also involved in broadband policy development and is a board member of both the Massachusetts Broadband Institute and the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee.  Prior to her appointment as Commissioner in 2014, Charles Peterson joined the Department as its chief of staff in 2011.  Her leadership experience in city and state government includes having served as chief of staff for the Registry of Motor Vehicles, the Executive Office of Transportation and the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority.

“It is my great pleasure to appoint Commissioner Charles Peterson as the chair of the Committee on Telecommunications to succeed Paul Kjellander,” said President Wagner. “Her energetic leadership, knowledge of telecom issues and management will make her successful in guiding the Committee.”

“It is an honor and privilege to be appointed to this role by President Wagner,” said Charles Peterson.  “I look forward to working in collaboration with the other great members of this committee to ensure we provide clear, consistent direction for all current and future issues, particularly those matters that affect service to underserved populations.”

Charles Peterson is a graduate of Suffolk University, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Government. She is also a graduate of the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

NARUC’s eight standing committees propose resolutions that, if approved by the Board of Directors, set Association policy on congressional, federal and industry matters. The committees, populated by state public service commissioners, also hold educational sessions and panel discussions on relevant issues to best serve NARUC members. Committee chairs are appointed by the NARUC President for a one-year term and may be reappointed for a maximum of three consecutive terms.

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About NARUC

NARUC is a non-profit organization founded in 1889 whose members include the governmental agencies that are engaged in the regulation of utilities and carriers in the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. NARUC's member agencies regulate telecommunications, energy, and water utilities. NARUC represents the interests of State public utility commissions before the three branches of the Federal government.