Brian Fontes is the Chief Executive Officer for the National Emergency Number Association, a position he has held since June 2008. 

  Prior to joining NENA, Fontes was Vice President, Federal Relations for Cingular Wireless and served in that capacity after its acquisition by AT&T.  Previously, Fontes was Senior Vice President for Policy and Administration at the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA).  Before joining CTIA, Fontes served as the Senior Advisor to Commissioner James H. Quello, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and as the FCC’s Chief of Staff.  Fontes started his professional career as a Professor of Communications at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

  In 1995, President Clinton appointed Fontes as Ambassador and head of the United States Delegation to the International Telecommunication Union’s World Radio Conference held in Geneva, Switzerland.  Fontes also served as Chairman of the Council of the Communication Regulatory Agency in Bosnia-Herzegovina.  Fontes has served on numerous U.S. Telecommunications delegations. 

He is currently on the Board of Directors of the NG9-1-1 Institute and an emeritus member of the Quello Center for Telecommunication Management, Policy and Law.  Previously, he served as co-chair of the Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (Department of Commerce) and on the FCC’s Communications, Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council. 

Fontes received a Ph.D. in Mass Media/Telecommunications from Michigan State University’s Department of Telecommunications.