NEWS Federal Communications Commission 445 12 th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEWS MEDIA CONTACT November 3, 2014 Michael Snyder: 202-418-0997 E-mail: Michael.Snyder@fcc.gov FCC ANNOUNCES PANELISTS FOR THE FORUM ON ACCESSIBLE WIRELESS EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY Washington, D.C. – The FCC today announced the panelists and moderators for the forum on Nov. 7, 2014 to promote the latest advances in accessible wireless emergency communications, including text-to-911. What: Accessible Wireless Emergency Communications Forum Date: Friday, November 7, 2014 Time: 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Location: FCC Headquarters, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554 Panel 1: Government strategies to ensure accessible alerts and communications Moderator: Cheryl J. King, FCC/CGB/Disability Rights Office (DRO) ? Gregory Cooke, FCC/Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) ? Charles McCobb, FEMA Integrated Public Alert & Warning Systems (IPAWS) ? Gay Jones, FEMA Office of Disability Integration and Coordination (ODIC) ? Richard Ray, ADA Technology Access Coordinator, City of Los Angeles, CA, ? Robyn Powell, National Council on Disability Panel 2: Disability strategies for research and action in the field Moderator: Suzy Rosen Singleton, FCC/CGB/DRO ? Donna Platt, NC Division of Services for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing ? Norman Williams, Gallaudet University – Technology Access Program ? Bill Belt, Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) ? Helena Mitchell, GA Tech – Center for Advanced Communications Policy ? Kay Chiodo, Deaf Link, Inc. Panel 3: What it is and what it isn’t – SMS Texting to 911 call centers, known as PSAPs Moderator: David Furth, FCC/PSHSB Deputy Bureau Chief ? Tim May, FCC/PSHSB Policy and Licensing Division ? Brian Fontes, National Emergency Number Association (NENA) ? Mary Boyd, Intrado ? Tim Lorello, TeleCommunication Systems (TCS) ? Matt Gerst, CTIA, The Wireless Association ? Rebecca Murphy Thompson, Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) ? Jeff Cohen, APCO International Panel 4: Public education and outreach [how to, what can be done and by whom] Moderator: Greg Hlibok, FCC/CGB/DRO ? Laurie Flaherty, DOT/NHTSA Coordinator, National 911 Program ? Andrew Phillips, National Association of the Deaf (NAD) ? Lise Hamlin, Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) ? Cheryl Heppner, Deaf & Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network ? Roger Hixson, NENA Technical Issues Director ? Sheri Griffith Powell, Telecommunications Specialist, Chair, NENA NG9-1-1 Education and Training Committee REMINDER: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Exhibition of Accessible Wireless Emergency Communications in the FCC’s Technology Experience Center in the FCC’s Library. Exhibitors are expected to include: Communications Electronics Association, “Using the Internet of Things to Enhance Warnings;” Deaf Link, Inc. “Accessible Hazard Alerting System;” Georgia Institute of Technology, Wireless RERC, Center for Advanced Communications Policy, “Early Bird Project” & “Bluetooth Enabled External Alerting Device” and “Smart Steps Mobile” & “Zyrosky;” Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) Federal Emergency Management Agency U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The event will be free and open to the public. Live, captioned video of the event will be available at www.fcc.gov/live. There will be an opportunity for people to send questions through the Internet and from Twitter. Email questions may be sent to: livequestions@fcc.gov. Twitter questions may be submitted to #FCCAccessibility. For those without Internet access, there will be a listen-only telephone bridge by calling 1-888-858-2144, access code 8926297. The meeting site is fully accessible to people using wheelchairs or other mobility aids. Sign language interpreters, open captioning and assistive listening devices will be provided on site. Other reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Requests should be made as soon as possible and include contact information. Last minute requests will be accepted, but may be impossible to fill. Contact fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY) for reasonable accommodation requests, or to request this press release or any other materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format). For more information please contact Kelly Jones of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at Kelly.Jones@fcc.gov or call (202) 418-7078. For more news and information about the FCC, please visit: www.fcc.gov. -FCC-