P. Michele Ellison | Chief of Staff
Ms. Ellison previously served as Chief of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, which is responsible for effectively carrying out the agency’s rules and orders. Previously, Ms. Ellison was Acting General Counsel of the agency, where she served as primary legal counsel to the Commission and prior to that, she served as Deputy General Counsel for twelve years. She has counseled the Commissioners and other senior staff on legal issues related to the regulation of the various communications industries, including advising on litigation risks associated with rulemaking and adjudicatory decisions.
Before joining the Commission in 1995, Ms. Ellison was a partner, and earlier an associate, at Williams and Connolly. She clerked for the Honorable Damon J. Keith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and for the Honorable Paul R. Webber, III of the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. Ms. Ellison received her J.D., cum laude from Howard University School of Law, and her B.A. from Duke University.
Dave Grimaldi | Chief Counsel and Senior Legal Advisor
Mr. Grimaldi previously served as Chief of Staff in then Commissioner Clyburn’s office after serving as Senior Counsel to House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn on technology and telecommunications, foreign affairs, and financial services regulation. He previously counseled corporate, financial and non-profit clients as Senior Counsel at The Raben Group and served as Legislative Counsel to Representative Ed Towns (NY-10), on the House Energy & Commerce Committee and its Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. A native Washingtonian, Mr. Grimaldi holds a J.D. from the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America and a B.A. in English from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
Louis Peraertz | Legal Advisor | Wireless, International, and Public Safety
Louis Peraertz will serve as Legal Advisor for wireless, international, and public safety issues. Mr. Peraertz joined then Commissioner Clyburn’s staff in October 2009. Prior to this, he served as Special Counsel in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau focusing on competition, spectrum allocation, and infrastructure policy issues. Mr. Peraertz began his communications career in the Office of General Counsel where, among other things, he represented the Commission in several cases before courts of appeal. Before coming to the FCC, Louis served as an appellate litigator in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and represented the United States in more than 60 cases before federal courts of appeals. He began his legal career in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and was honorably discharged as a Major. Mr. Peraertz received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and his J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Rebekah Goodheart | Legal Advisor | Wireline
Ms. Goodheart has worked at the Commission since January 2008, most recently as the Acting Wireline Advisor for Commissioner Clyburn. She served as Deputy Director of the Technology Transitions Policy Task Force and Associate Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau. Ms. Goodheart previously served as a Senior Policy Advisor for the Omnibus Broadband Initiative, developing many of the recommendations in National Broadband Plan. She also served as Assistant Division Chief in the Industry Analysis Division of the Media Bureau. Prior to joining the FCC, Ms. Goodheart served as a Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division in the Telecommunications and Media Enforcement Section, and was an associate at the law firm Wiley Rein LLP. She holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, and a B.S.F.S., cum laude, from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
Sarah Whitesell | Legal Advisor | Media
Ms. Whitesell previously served as Deputy Bureau Chief of the Media Bureau, where she shaped policies for the media marketplace on broadcast ownership, children's issues, and media transactions, among other matters. Prior to joining the Bureau in 2005, she served as Associate Chief of the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis, Associate Chief of the Cable Bureau, Acting Legal Advisor to Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein on media issues and Legal Advisor to Commissioner Gloria Tristani for common carrier issues. Ms. Whitesell has also served as a member of the Telecommunications Task Force for the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division and as an associate at the law firm Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. She has taught telecommunications law as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and legal writing as an adjunct professor at George Washington University Law School. Ms. Whitesell was a law clerk to the Honorable Jane R. Roth, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, received her law degree from the Yale Law School, and obtained her undergraduate degree from Davidson College in North Carolina.
Drema Johnson | Confidential Assistant
Ms. Johnson is responsible for managing the office as well as the Acting Chairwoman’s personal schedule and travel arrangements. She previously served as Special Assistant to former House Speaker Thomas S. Foley and as Confidential Assistant to former FCC Chairman William Kennard. More recently, she was appointed to the Federal Commission for the Jamestown 400th Anniversary Commemoration on behalf of Senator Mark Warner and former Governor, now Senator Tim Kaine.
DeeAnn Smith | Staff Assistant
Ms. Smith joined the agency in 2009 and assists in carrying out the mission of the Clyburn office and the agency. She has an extensive administrative background, including experience in the legal and marketing industries.
Dorothy Terry | Special Assistant
Ms. Terry is an experienced researcher, interviewer, reporter and entrepreneur. She spent a number of years at Pepco Holdings, Inc., Computing Technologies, on the Hill and in the newsrooms of two daily papers. Ms. Terry received a Master’s in Public Relations and Corporate Communications from Georgetown University and a B. A. in Print Journalism from Howard University.
Carol Lott | Special Assistant
Carol Lott brings over 26 years of administrative and office management experience to the Acting Chief of Staff as a Special Assistant. The Administrative Management Specialist in the Enforcement Bureau previously served as a senior staff assistant in the Chairman’s office, the Executive Administrator and Office Manager for Temple Strategies and an Executive Assistant in the Office of General Counsel.
