TIRAP Advisory Board
Paul Roberts, Chairperson
Paul Roberts is the Vice President of Compliance for American Tower Corporation. In this role, Paul administers the Environmental Compliance, FAA/FCC Regulatory Compliance, the Safety and Health initiatives of the company as well as regulatory advocacy. Paul is actively involved in advocacy efforts for the industry and has been a key contributor in helping to shape rulemakings affecting telecom. Prior to his work with American Tower, Paul practiced law as a partner in the firm Monaco & Roberts, served as Chief Operating Officer for Visionfactory, a software development firm, and prior to that as Chief Information Officer for the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
He was also previously a Director at Northrop Grumman supporting development of prototype military aircraft, Manager with Lockheed Martin on the Space Shuttle Program and began his career with the United States Air Force.
Beau Aero, Vice-Chairperson
Beau Aero is the President and Founder of GME Supply, a subsidiary of GMES International. He began his career in the tower industry working at his parents’ manufacturing facility, GlenMartin. In 2005, after years of building experience with tower customers, he founded GME Supply. With over 18 years of on-the-job industry experience, Beau has a unique understanding of the equipment needs of tower erectors and maintenance companies.
David Sams, Chairperson Emeritus
David Sams serves as Vice President of Risk Management for SBA Communications Corporation. David joined SBA in September of 2000. He currently has over twenty two years of experience as a Safety and Health Professional in the recognition, evaluation and control of workplace hazards. His qualifications include a thorough knowledge of OSHA, DOT, ANSI, EPA, FAA and consensus safety and health standards.
David has spent the last fourteen years in the tower industry where he has developed and implemented a complete risk assessment and safety policy and procedure program specifically designed for Fall Protection Standards and Radio Frequency (RF) recognition, assessment and training. Mr. Sams holds numerous safety and health certifications. He is also an active member of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE).
Jonathan Adelstein
Jonathan S. Adelstein is the President & Chief Executive Officer of the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA). Since he became President in 2012, over 100 new members have joined the association, the annual wireless infrastructure show has broken participation records, a new association was formed in Europe, and a new nationwide training initiative and WIA PAC were launched. WIA is the principal organization representing the companies that build, design, own and manage telecommunications facilities throughout the world. Its over 200 members include carriers, infrastructure providers and professional services firms, with a combined market cap of over $400 billion.
Mr. Adelstein served as Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 2002 to 2009, for which he was twice nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. In 2009, following the FCC, Mr. Adelstein was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate to serve as the Administrator of U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service. There, he oversaw a $60 billion portfolio of rural electric, water, and telecommunications infrastructure loans.
As a member of the Obama Administration, Mr. Adelstein was appointed as a member of the White House National Science and Technology Council, which coordinates science and technology policy across the Federal government, and the White House Business Council, leading Council meetings with business leaders across America. Previously, Mr. Adelstein held a number of legislative staff positions over 15 years in the U.S. Senate, culminating as a senior policy advisor to the Senate Majority Leader.
Mr. Adelstein received an M.A. in History and a B.A., with Distinction, in Political Science from Stanford University. He has taught U.S. history at Harvard and Stanford.
Richard Cullum
Richard Cullum is the Director of Safety for Crown Castle USA, Inc. In his role, Richard is responsible for developing operational standards and procedures related to tower inspections, construction and maintenance repairs and for assuring internal and vendor compliance with such standards. Richard has extensive field experience in tower construction, maintenance and repair and has worked in various aspects of the tower industry for the past twenty-five years. Richard is a licensed Professional Engineer and holds General Contractor licenses in multiple states. In addition, Richard holds multiple safety certifications and qualifications covering topics such as tower climbing and rescue, weld inspection, confined space entry, trenching and first aid.
Joel Hightower
Joel Hightower is the CEO of Hightower Communications, Inc. Joel grew up working in the farms of North Carolina where he learned his great work ethic. He served in the NAVY in the area of Avionics for 5 years. Joel then started out in the telecommunications industry his first 10 years as a tower technician climbing, learning the skills of stacking, L&A install, microwave, lighting etc. Joel attended night classes and earned an associate’s degree in Electronics Engineering during this time. In 1996 the company he worked for ceased the tower side of the business and Joel started his own company, Hightower Communications, Inc. Joel enjoys giving back to the industry that has been so great to him, his company and his family in many ways such as previously being on the NATE Board of Directors, currently holding the Chairman position for the NATE trade show committee, supporting TIRAP working groups in creating positions for the industry and most recently becoming a TIRAP Board member.
Jimmy Miller
Jimmy Miller is a business owner and senior executive with more than 35 years of experience in the telecommunications technology sector. Since 1998, he has served as President and CEO of MillerCo Inc., which offers installation and integration of all tower obstruction lighting systems and their respective monitoring devices. Prior to that he held management roles with Southern Communications Services Inc. and Mississippi Power Company. Jimmy earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a master’s degree in teleprocessing science from the University of Southern Mississippi. He is a Licensed Master Electrician and an instrument-rated private pilot for complex general aviation aircraft.
Heather Gastelum
With more than two decades in the wireless industry, Heather Gastelum is T-Mobile’s senior manager for national site safety & T-Mobile for Business Development. She serves on the board of governors of the National Wireless Safety Alliance, as well as NATE’s Wireless Safety Task Force and the Tower Industry Association’s TR-14 Structural Committee, the TIA UAS Committee, the TIA Climbing Facilities Committee, the Women of NATE Committee and is the Washington State Liaison on the Wireless Industry Network. She is also the Lean-In co-lead to the Women’s Leadership Network at T-Mobile’s headquarter office in Bellevue. Since joining T-Mobile in 2008, Heather has managed a tower portfolio of more than 8,000 sites and her leadership helped sell T-Mobile Towers for more than $2.4 billion.
Stephanie Brewer
Stephanie Brewer is the Compliance Coordinator for MUTI-Sabre Industries Telecom Services. Joining MUTI in 2007 Stephanie has worked in many areas of the organization but most recently Risk and Compliance overseeing client contract management, subcontractor management, licensing, insurance and leads the continuous improvement process for organizational policies, procedures and systems. Stephanie actively participates in the National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) initiatives by serving on the Board of Governors, and the Written Exam Management Committee. She is an active member of the National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) participating on the Women Of Nate (WON) committee, Member Services sub-committee and the ANSI/ASSP A10.48 editing committee. She also is a member of APEX, Avetta’s Customer Advisory Board.
Advisors to the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program
Deb Bennett, Director of Apprenticeship
Deb Bennett is responsible for the overall administrative operation of TIRAP and compliance with National Standards. She works directly with participating employers to coordinate a wide range of activities related to the registration process. Contact Deb at deb.bennett@wia.org to learn more about TIRAP and the registration process.