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Bunnie Riedel, President
As the longest serving Executive Director of the Alliance for Community Media, Bunnie Riedel has advised municipalities and nonprofits throughout the United States. With over twenty years experience in telecommunications and nonprofit management, Ms. Riedel has provided strategic advice to regulators at the federal, state and local levels of government and has filed authoritative comments with the Federal Communications Commission. Additionally, she has assisted nonprofit executives and Boards of Directors in achieving their goals.
An innovative leader and energetic advocate, Ms. Riedel has conducted ordinance and regulatory review, assisted communities in franchise negotiations and PEG startup and delivered hundreds of speeches and workshops on telecommunications across the nation.
Additionally, Ms. Riedel has delivered addresses on best practices in cable telecommunications to The Broadcasting Institute, South Korea; the OurMedia conference in Colombia; and the Next Communications Civilization symposium in Paris. At the U.S. Department of State's request she has frequently advised international audiences from Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Poland, Thailand, Venezuela and Ukraine.
Ms. Riedel has been interviewed on dozens of radio programs and quoted in newspapers from coast to coast. In addition to articles in three college textbooks her publication credits include:
- Community Media Review (Award Winning Quarterly Journal)
- Campaigns, Candidates, Elections and PEG
- Successfully Negotiating a Franchise Renewal
- Community Media Resource Directory
- Guide to Controversial Programming
- Public Policy Update
- Producer’s Handbook
- "Creating an International and Domestic Communications Policy for the Public Interest," The Next Communication Civilization, Ed. Haidemenakis, E. S.T.E.P.S. Foundation: 2000.
- Article "Protecting Community Public Interest," American Independent Video and Filmmaker (AIVF) Magazine.
Her contributions in telecommunications and nonprofit management have brought her local and national recognition. Her awards include:
- Gold Circle Financial Management Award, American Society of Association Executives
- Everett Goldberg Memorial Award, Baltimore Community Access Corporation
- Hammer Award for Re-inventing Government, Vice-President Al Gore
- Associations Advance America Award, American Society of Association Executives
- Leadership Award, California State Senate
Bunnie Riedel holds a Master’s Degree and is a Phi Kappa Phi Scholar
Team Members
Riedel Communications continually seeks out the best and the brightest when putting together a team for a project. You can be assured that every team member has the experience you need. Because each project is unique,
Bunnie Riedel hand-picks the experts she thinks will best fit that particular project.
Below is a listing of potential team members and their areas of expertise.
Meet Our Newest Team Member!
Laura Rossi--Conference Planning
Laura Rossi has over five years experience in nonprofit conference planning. Laura most recently served at one of the premiere association mangement firms in the country, Drohan Management. Her conference planning experience includes: logistics planning including transportation, menu selection, room and audio-visual set-ups and planning. Laura has coordinated over 100 speakers, 1,500 attendees and dozens of trade show exhibitors.
Laura works great with volunteers and is a phenominal asset to Riedel Communications because she does everything professionally and on deadline. Riedel Communications has asked Laura to be part of the team in order to expand our offerings to our nonprofit client. Because we have worked with her personally we are very excited to have her aboard!
Needs Assessment, Strategic Planning
and PEG Start UP
Needs Assessment, Strategic Planning and PEG Start UP
Chuck Sherwood, Senior Partner, Community Media Visioning Partners
Chuck Sherwood has over 25 years of experience in access center management, consulting franchise authorities on all aspects of community needs assessment, development and implementation of strategic plans for community media (with emphasis on converged telecommunications). He specializes in access organization "Start-Up" to include convening of a board of directors, development of bylaws, operating rules and procedures and the creation of managment structures and budgets.
Mr. Sherwood will also review existing public, educational and governmental access programming services and help communities bring those services into the new digital era. Other areas of expertise include board development, human resources policies, strategic marketing plans, public relations and fundraising.
Chuck has served as Executive Director of Cape Cod Community Television (C3TV) in Massachusetts, the Cincinnati Cable Access Corporation (CCAC) in Ohio and the Channel L Working Group (CLWG). His clients include the cities of: Atlanta, GA; Gary, IN; Boulder, CO; Alexandria, VA; Takoma Park, MD; Rotterdam, Netherlands; as well as the Town of Arlington, MA; Village of Fairport, NY; Newton Communications Access Center, Newton, MA; Boston Neighborhood Network, Boston, MA and Manhattan Neighborhood Network, New York, NY.
Mr. Sherwood is a member of the Alliance for Community Media, National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) and the Cape Cod Technology Council. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Government from Louisiana State University and has conducted post-graduate studies at Loyola University School of Law, the Urban Institute at University of New Orleans and the New School for Social Research, New York.
Engineering
Dr. Andrew Afflerbach, Principal Engineer, Columbia Telecommunications Corporation (CTC)
Columbia Telecommunications Corporation (CTC) provides telecommunications engineering consulting services to numerous public sector and non-profit clients. CTC plans and supports advanced networking and technology projects, examines the issues behind the technologies and provides technical advice to policymakers. They also provide strategic communications planning services and expertise in field engineering and right-of-way "ROW" use and planning.
CTC assists local and state jurisdictions in planning and negotiating franchise agreements with carriers and operators in the public right-of-way as well as developing and implementing communications tower policies.
The firm oversees the implementation of advanced telecommunications networks including cable systems, I-Nets and municipal networks. Additionally, CTC tests and evaluates communications networks to determine performance, maintenance, safety and compliance with FCC standards and national codes.
Financial Analysis
& Rate Regulation
Richard D. Treich, Front Range Consulting, Inc.
Richard D. Treich brings over thirty years experience in utility and cable regulation to the franchise mangement process. Formerly Senior Vice President, Rate and Regulatory Matters at AT&T Broadband, Mr. Treich serves as FRC’s CEO. The firm is solely dedicated to assisting clients in the governmental telecommunications sector.
FRC believes that its governmental clients are best served by conducting a thorough and cost effective review of the potential issues. FRC is committed to ensuring municipal clients that the consulting activities are performed with the utmost integrity with regards to the recommendations and conclusions. FRC believes its consulting projects will stand the scrutiny by the cable operators, the FCC and/or the judicial system. Mr. Treich prior to joining AT&T had extensive experience in leading a large national consulting practice for an accounting firm and this experience has created a sound foundation for meeting and exceeding his clients expectations on both the resulting recommendations and the cost effectiveness of the engagement.
FRC can assist governmental entities with a variety of professional services in the telecommunications arena including:
- Financial Analyses surrounding Franchise Transfers and Renewals;
- Franchise Fee Reviews and Audits;
- FCC Rate Regulatory Filings (Forms 1205, 1210 and 1240);
- Effective Competition Filings;
- Customer Service Standards and Reviews; and
- Regulatory and Litigation Support.
FRC has gained significant in roads to the governmental arena by having such notable clients like NATOA, the City of St. Louis, Miller and Van Eaton, Creighton Bradley and Guzzetta, the Office of Cable Television and Telecommunications (District of Columbia), Montgomery County, the City of Glendale, the City of Burbank, the City of Santa Monica, the City of Fullerton and Rutan & Tucker.
Garth Ashpaugh, CPA and Carolyn Sculco, CPA
The firm of Ashpaugh & Sculco have leveraged 31 years of accounting experience to assist over 200 local governments in cable television and telecommunications matters. Garth and Carolyn serve their clients by analyzing a cable operator’s financial capabilities and providing sound advice on cable rate regulation. As accountants who understand of the provisions of the Cable Act’s renewal procedures, the 1996 Telecommunications Act and local government’s "burden of proof" under those procedures, A & S brings a unique perspective to financial evaluation of the cable industry.
Services include the following:
- Franchise Fee Review
- Cable Television Rate Filings
- Franchise Agreement Negotiations and Discussions
- Rate and Cost of Service Studies
- Litigation Services and Expert Testimony
- Telecommunications Education and Planning
Facilities & Equipment Planning for
Public, Educational and Government
Access Television Stations
David Hawksworth, Facilities & Equipment Assessment and Planning
David Hawksworth has been involved in public, education, and government access since 1989. Most recently, he served as Executive Director of Community Access Television in Salina, Kansas. In that role, he formulated short-term and long-term capital purchase plans, and researched, purchased, and installed all production equipment, transitioning the facility to an all-digital production environment. In addition, he oversaw the building of a new production truck for the organization.
David also re-designed Community Access Television’s master control operation, making it more efficient and improving workflow for staff and volunteers, and completely re-designed the City of Salina’s government meeting production facility, vastly improving its capabilities as well as its production quality. He also served as a consultant for Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina to put together a capital purchase plan for their television production facility.
Prior to his tenure in Salina, David served as Access Channel Administrator for the New Providence (NJ) School District, designing and installing its initial television production system. David also served as Station Manager for Communities on Cable, Inc., in Summit, NJ, where he researched, purchased, and installed major equipment upgrades.
Legal Counsel
Walter & Haverfield, LLP
John H. Gibbon
Partner
Chair, Public Law Group
John offers his municipal clients over ten years’ experience with cable television and telecommunications law, combined with 25 years of public law experience. In addition to cable television franchise negotiations, he has developed comprehensive customer service regulations, performed franchise compliance reviews, reviewed and negotiated franchise ownership transfers and developed legislation governing the management of the public rights-of-way. He is currently the Law Director for the City of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, which has historically been on the cutting edge of many municipal legal issues, and he served as Law Director for the City of Aurora, Ohio for six years. He has represented numerous public entities – including municipalities, counties, housing authorities, nonprofit corporations, Regional Councils of Government, and insurance defense pools throughout Ohio – as special counsel on nearly all aspects of public and administrative law, including a specialty in cable television and telecommunications law on behalf of local government.
John has written numerous articles regarding cable television and telecommunications issues for municipal publications such as “The Urban Lawyer” and “Local Government Law Weekly,” both published by the American Bar Association, as well as “Ohio Cities and Villages” magazine. A chapter on telecommunications, authored by John and other members of the Walter & Haverfield Telecommunications Practice Group appears in the book, “Privatizing Governmental Functions,” published by Law Journal Press. He has also spoken on these issues to many municipal groups, including the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Administrators (NATOA), the International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA) and its predecessor, the National Institute of Municipal Law Officers (NIMLO), the Ohio Municipal Attorney’s Association (OMAA), the Ohio Municipal League (OML), the Mayors’ Association of Ohio, and Kent State University’s Elected Officials Program. EDUCATION Case Western Reserve University, J.D., 1972. Oberlin College, B.A., 1967
William R. Hanna
Partner
Bill concentrates his practice in public sector and employment law. His public sector practice involves all types of municipal litigation. Bill worked in the Department of Law of the City of Cleveland Heights from 1996-1999. During that time he provided legal counsel for all City departments and advised on labor and employment matters. In addition, Bill has advised municipalities with respect to residential nuisance abatement programs, including internal appeals and recovery of costs incurred by such programs.
In the area of cable television, Bill represents municipalities, townships and other local franchising authorities in cable television franchise renewals, transfers, and enforcement efforts, and has negotiated with most of the major cable television operators. He has assisted a number of local franchising authorities with respect to the development and effective enforcement of cable television customer service standards. And he has represented a number of local Cable Television Commissions, including those of the Cities of Cleveland Heights, Pepper Pike, and North Royalton, with respect to the enforcement of cable customer service standards. EDUCATION Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, J.D., 1997. Miami University, Ohio, B.A., 1988.
R. Todd Hunt
Partner
An experienced trial and appellate lawyer, Todd concentrates his practice in public law, general litigation, land use and development issues, and telecommunications. He has managed and tried a wide range of civil and administrative cases and has counseled business owners, developers and public officials on related matters. He has also successfully defended a wide variety of zoning and land use cases, tort and civil rights actions, construction and supply contracts, and employment and labor issues.
Todd is also the Director of Law for the City of Richmond Heights and Assistant Director of Law/Solicitor for the cities of Cleveland Heights and Hudson. He has served in the same capacity with the City of Cleveland. EDUCATION Case Western Reserve University School of Law, J.D., 1984. Case Western Reserve University, MSSA, 1984. Indiana University of Pennsylvania, B.A., 1976
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