Energy:
Joseph Vasapoli, Partner
Ryan, Phillips, Utrecht & MacKinnon

Joseph Vasapoli has extensive experience in regulatory and legislative policymaking, particularly in the energy and resource areas. Mr. Vasapoli was counsel to the Republican members of the U. S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce from 1985 to 1989, where he assisted the members on a wide range of legislative matters. He has also served in numerous posts on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and participated in proceedings involving the electricity, hydroelectric development and natural gas regulation.

In the private sector, Mr. Vasapoli was a senior associate in the energy department of the law firm Skadden, Arps, Meagher and Flom, and was manager of federal regulatory affairs for Cinergy Corporation. Mr. Vasapoli holds an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D. C., and a law degree from the College of William and Mary Law School.

Telecommunications:
Phil Weiser
Associate Professor of Law and Telecommunications and Executive Director of the Silicon Flatirons Telecommunications Program at the University of Colorado

Philip J. Weiser is the Founder and Executive Director of the Silicon Flatirons Telecommunications Program and Associate Professor of Law and Telecommunications at the University of Colorado. He was previously Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division at the United States Department of Justice and law clerk to Justices Byron R. White and Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the U.S. Supreme Court. He has written widely in the areas of telecommunications and information policy, including a recent book, Digital Crossroads: American Telecommunications Policy in the Internet Age (with Jon Nuechterlein).

Water:
Harold W. Furman II, Chairman and Managing Director
The Furman Group, Inc.

Harold W. Furman II is the Chairman and Managing Director of The Furman Group, Inc., a public affairs and professional consulting firm. Mr. Furman also serves as the Executive Director of the U.S. Desalination Coalition, a non-profit advocacy group of water agencies and utilities that are developing water desalination projects. The Furman Group provides professional consulting services to clients involved in the development and financing of water, sanitation, energy, and transportation projects. Since its inception, The Furman Group has advised some of the largest municipal water and sanitation districts and investor owned utilities in the United States. The firm has been a leader in developing innovative financing plans involving both private and government financing for the development of water, wastewater, airport, and other infrastructure projects.

Prior to founding The Furman Group in 1992, Mr. Furman was a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of an international law firm that he joined after serving as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science in President Ronald Reagan’s Administration. In that capacity, Mr. Furman was responsible for the management of the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Bureau of Mines. Mr. Furman served as the principal water policy adviser to three Secretaries of the Interior. Prior to joining the Reagan Administration, Mr. Furman served as Legislative Counsel to United States Senator Paul Laxalt of Nevada and was a practicing attorney in Reno, Nevada.

Following the 2000 elections, Mr. Furman served as member of the Department of the Interior transition team for President-elect George W. Bush. Mr. Furman currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Hubbs-Seaworld Research Institute, a nonprofit institution dedicated to conserving marine animals and resolving conflicts the human and marine environments. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Dui Hua Foundation, a human rights organization. Mr. Furman is a graduate of the University of Southern California and the University’s Law School.