Dave Grimaldi | Chief of Staff and Media Legal Advisor
Dave came to the Commissioner’s office after serving as Senior Counsel to House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, whom he advised on technology and telecommunications, foreign affairs, and financial services regulation. Prior to joining the Whip’s staff, Dave counseled corporate, financial and non-profit clients as Senior Counsel at The Raben Group. Dave also served as Legislative Counsel to Representative Ed Towns (NY-10), where he assisted the Congressman with his duties as a member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee and its Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. A native Washingtonian, Dave 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.
Drema Johnson | Deputy Chief of Staff
Drema L. Johnson serves as Deputy Chief of Staff. Ms. Johnson is responsible for managing the office as well as the Commissioner’s personal schedule and travel arrangements. Ms. Johnson previously served as Special Assistant to former House Speaker Thomas S. Foley and as Confidential Assistant to former FCC Chairman William Kennard. Most recently she was appointed to the Federal Commission for the Jamestown 400th Anniversary Commemoration on behalf of Senator Mark Warner and Governor Tim Kaine.
Rebekah Goodheart | Acting Wireline Legal Advisor
Rebekah Goodheart has worked at the Commission since January 2008, most recently serving as Deputy Director of the Technology Transitions Policy Task Force and Associate Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau. She 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 Commission, Rebekah 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. Rebekah 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.
Louis Peraertz | Legal Advisor | Wireless, International, and Public Safety
Louis Peraertz joined Commissioner Clyburn’s staff in October 2009. Prior to this position, he served as Special Counsel in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and focused on competition, spectrum allocation, and infrastructure policy issues. Louis began his communications career in the Commission’s Office of General Counsel where, among other things, he represented the Commission in several cases before courts of appeal. Before the Commission, 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. Louis began his legal career in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and was honorably discharged as a Major. He received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and his J.D. from Harvard Law School.
DeeAnn Smith | Staff Assistant
Ms. Smith recently joined Commissioner Clyburn after twenty years of successful administrative experience in the legal and marketing industries.
