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Five Individuals Named to the NS/EPC

Arlington, Va., April 19, 2004 - Five new members have been named to the President’s Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Board’s Committee for National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications (NS/EPC), a 22-member body of Government communications experts that advise the White House on critical infrastructure protection issues involving telecommunications and information technology.

Joining the NS/EPC are Karen S. Evans, the Department of Energy’s Chief Information Officer; Steven Price, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, (Spectrum and C3 Policy); Edward Francis Meagher, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information Technology Management and Deputy Chief Information Officer for the Department of Veterans Affairs; Ronald E. Miller, Associate Director of the Information Technology Services Directorate, Federal Emergency Management Agency; and Frederick Wentland, Director of Spectrum Plans and Policies, and Acting Associate Administrator, Office of Spectrum Management for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

The NS/EPC, renamed and made a standing committee of the CIP Board by Executive Order 13231, “Critical Infrastructure Protection in the Information Age,” advises the President and the CIP Board on issues involving the Nation’s emergency telecommunications capabilities and assets. Formerly known as the National Communications System (NCS) Committee of Principals and chaired by the NCS Manager, the NS/EPC investigates, researches, and addresses critical infrastructure protection communications issues that would affect the Nation in the event of a Federal disaster or national emergency

Ms. Evans replaces Howard Landon as the Energy Department’s NS/EPC committee member. Before joining Energy, she was Director, Information Resources Management Division, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., where she was responsible for the management and successful operation of the Information Technology program. She is a 20-year veteran of Government service, working with several agencies, including the National Park Service, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) of the Department of Agriculture.

Prior to joining OJP, she served as the Assistant Director for Information Services at Justice Department headquarters, where she successfully managed Internet resources for the Department, including electronic mail services and security. While at FmHA, she served as the acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Management Information Systems, Deputy Director for the Applications Management Division and the Chief of Emerging Technology, where she managed the implementation on a nationwide basis, from inception to continuing operations of several critical automation systems.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and a master’s of business administration degree from West Virginia University.


Mr. Price replaces Navy Rear Admiral Robert Nutwell on the NS/EPC Committee. Prior to joining the Bush Administration in November 2001, Price served as President and Chief Executive Officer of LiveWire, a 2,500 person provider of mission critical software products and outsourcing services for communications, media and utility companies, which he founded.

Mr. Price was formerly the President and Chief Executive Officer of PriCellular Corporation, a publicly traded cellular telephone operator that was sold in June 1998 for $1.4 billion. Prior thereto, he was an attorney with Davis Polk & Wardwell. Previous to practicing law, he served in the U.S. State Department as Special Assistant to the U.S. Ambassador to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) Talks and also worked in the mergers and acquisitions department of Goldman, Sachs & Co.

He is a Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude graduate of Brown University and earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Columbia University School of Law.



Mr. Meagher replaces Robert Bubniak as the Veterans Affairs representation to the NS/EPC Committee. He is responsible for administering the information technology, cyber security, and telecommunications programs across the Department. Prior to his appointment, Meagher served as a member of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs senior staff and principal advisor to the Secretary on all information technology issues.

Most recently, Mr. Meagher has run his own consulting practice working with technology-based start up companies. Prior to that, he served as a Principal at American Management Systems in its Department of Defense business unit; General Manager for Telecommunications and Healthcare at SSDS, Inc.; and Executive Vice President at Comprehensive Technologies, Inc. In addition, Mr. Meagher held the position of General Manager of Capital Systems/Systemshouse, Telecommunications Systems Integration business unit.

He attended the University of Dayton (Ohio) and served in the United States Air Force from 1966 to 1970 with tours of duty in The Philippines and Vietnam.


Mr. Miller replaces Clay Hollister as FEMA’s NS/EPC Committee representative. Mr. Miller manages and operates FEMA’s information technology and telecommunications systems, and provides information technology and telecommunications services to FEMA and other federal, state and local agencies when required. He joined FEMA in June 2001 as the agency’s Deputy Chief Information Officer and Deputy Assistant Director for the Information Technology Services Directorate.

Prior to joining FEMA, Mr. Miller was a team leader and information technology project manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Tampa. He also spent eight years with SAIC in such positions as senior requirements analyst, project manager and division manager at various sites, including Satellite Beach and Tampa, Florida, and Stuttgart, Germany.

Miller also served in the U.S. Air Force, assigned as an air intelligence officer and attaining the rank of captain. His awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Air Force Commendation Medal. A native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, Miller holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, and a master’s degree in international relations from Troy State University.

Wentland takes over NTIA’s seat on the NS/EPC Committee from William Hatch. Wentland has been with NTIA for the past 22 years and has worked in all facets of spectrum management. His Spectrum Plans and Policies Directorate office is responsible for spectrum plans and policies domestically and internationally with direct participation in World Administrative Radio conferences, continuity of Government operations in emergencies, spectrum allocation planning, public safety, satellite coordination and improvement of spectrum management processes through automation.

Prior to his employment with the NTIA, Wentland spent 22 years with the Air Force as an officer and worked in the area of communications and satellites of which he spent over seven years with the Department of Defense Joint Spectrum Center. One of his major achievements with the Air Force was his participation directly in NASA’s Gemini/Apollo programs as a flight controller at Houston and also on the first lunar landing in July 1969.

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