Edward P. Lazarus - Chief of Staff

Mr. Lazarus comes to the FCC from Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, where he was co-head of the firm-wide global litigation practice and a member of the firm’s management committee, overseeing more than 800 lawyers. He is a former prosecutor, having served as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, and started his legal career as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun. Mr. Lazarus has also served as the Chairman of the board of AbilityFirst, a provider of housing and vocational services to people with disabilities, and the Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles, a nonprofit legal services organization that represents roughly 25,000 dependent youth in Southern California.

Colin Crowell - Senior Counselor

Mr. Crowell serves as strategic advisor on a broad range of matters, and also has particular responsibility for the communications, legislative, intergovernmental affairs, and public liaison functions of the agency. Mr. Crowell previously worked for more than 20 years on the staff of the Honorable Edward J. Markey (D-MA), serving on the staff of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet when Mr. Markey chaired the panel, and in the Congressman’s personal office when Mr. Markey was the Subcommittee’s Ranking Member.

Bruce Liang Gottlieb - Chief Counsel and Senior Legal Advisor

Mr. Gottlieb manages the Commission’s overall agenda and has responsibility for policy coordination with the Bureaus. In addition, he has particular responsibility for wireless, engineering and technology, and public safety issues.

Mr. Gottlieb served as legal advisor to Commissioner Copps from 2006-2009. Mr. Gottlieb also previously practiced communications law at Harris, Wiltshire and Grannis, and wrote for Slate. He began his legal career as a clerk to the Honorable David S. Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Priya Aiyar - Legal Advisor for Wireline Competition and International Issues

Ms. Aiyar was most recently a partner at Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans and Figel, where she practiced in the areas of litigation and telecommunications. She began her legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable Stephen Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Honorable Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Prior to entering law school, Ms. Aiyar was a Rhodes Scholar.

Sherrese Smith - Legal Advisor for Media, Consumer and Enforcement Issues

Ms. Smith was most recently Vice President and General Counsel of Washington Post Digital. Prior to that, Ms. Smith was a member of the Intellectual Property group at Arnold and Porter. She currently serves on the board of the ABA's Forum for Communications Law, has served on the board of the Media Law Resource Center Institute and was a co-chair of the Copyright Committee of the ABA. Ms. Smith is a frequent lecturer on media, publishing, internet and intellectual property issues and is a faculty member for the Practicing Law Institute.

Maria Gaglio - Confidential Assistant

Daniel Ornstein - Special Assistant

Mr. Ornstein comes to the FCC from CBS, where he managed several new media initiatives and helped run the network's growing mobile business. Previously, Mr. Ornstein worked on a start-up company called Click.TV, which was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2007.

Mary Beth Richards - Special Counsel for FCC Reform

Ms. Richards heads a comprehensive program to provide openness and transparency at the agency. Ms. Richards first joined the FCC in 1984 and held a variety of positions, including Deputy Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs, Enforcement, and Common Carrier Bureaus, Deputy Managing Director and Special Counsel to the Chairman, before moving to the Federal Trade Commission in November 2006 as Deputy Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. She recently returned to the Commission as Deputy General Counsel, and has been serving as Acting Managing Director. In 1995, she received the Presidential Meritorious Executive Service Award.