(Fairfax, Virginia) - The National Wireless Safety Alliance (NWSA) announced today that Kevin Dougherty, owner and President of MILLENNIA CONTRACTING INC., Leticia Latino- van Splunteran, Chief Executive Office of Neptuno USA Corporation, and John Marshall, Vice President & Execution Lead at Black & Veatch, have been appointed as new members of the organization's Board of Directors.
NWSA also announced that Mark Ciarfella, EVP, Domestic Operations at SBA Communications Corporations, Andy Haldane, CEO, Tower Engineering Professionals, and Dr. Gemma Frock, GFK Consulting, have been appointed to serve as Executive Officers for the positions of President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer, respectively.
NWSA, headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, is a national non-profit assessment and certification organization established to provide thorough, independent assessments of knowledge and skills and provide verifiable, ANSI accredited trade certifications to enhance safety, reduce workplace risk, improve quality, encourage training, and recognize the skilled professionals who work on towers and other non-standard communication structures.
NWSA currently offers the following industry-wide trade certification programs: Telecommunications Tower Technician 1 (TTT-1), Telecommunications Tower Technician 2 (TTT-2), Telecommunications Tower Foreman and Antenna & Line Specialty Certification Program.
“NWSA is ecstatic to be able to add Kevin, Leticia, and John to the organization’s Board of Directors leadership team that we have assembled,” said Executive Director Duane MacEntee. “Additionally, NWSA is thrilled to have Mark, Andy, and Gemma lend their leadership experience serving as Executive Officers on the Board of Directors for 2024. These respected industry leaders possess the unique talents, relationships, and subject matter expertise that will be an asset in helping our credentialing organization continue to positively impact the marketplace with credentialed, safe workers in the United States,” added MacEntee.
As part of today’s announcement, the NWSA also acknowledged the vital contributions of departing Board of Directors members Don Doty of Broadcast Construction Solutions, LLC and Victor Drouin of Green Mountain Communications, whose terms serving as Directors expired this year.
Industry workers, companies and stakeholders are encouraged to visit the NWSA website at www.nws-a.org to learn more about the organization and how to begin the process of obtaining certification.
Biographies
Kevin Dougherty
Kevin Dougherty is the owner and President of MILLENNIA CONTRACTING INC., a telecommunications construction company that has been in business for the last twenty-five years. As the owner of a small business, Kevin has hands-on experience working in the field, knowledge of the administrative side of the telecommunications industry and is personally involved in the training and implementation of safety standards and measures for the company.
Kevin has been a longtime member of NATE, serves on NATE’s Board of Directors and has been the association’s Secretary/Treasurer for the last four years. He is the Wireless Industry Network (WIN) state liaison for Delaware, serves on the NATE OSHA Relations Committee and participates in the NATE STAR Initiative Program and the NATE-OSHA-FCC Strategic Partnership. He has also been involved in many of the programs and projects that NATE has implemented aimed at improving NATE’s ability to continue to stand strong as the voice of the contractors in the industry.
Leticia Latino-van Splunteran
With over 25 years of experience in the telecom industry, Leticia Latino went from working for Merrill Lynch and Telecom Giant Nortel Networks to accepting the challenge of extending the legacy of establishing her family business in the U.S. back in 2002. Neptuno Group was originally founded by her father in 1972 in South America where they helped deploy some of the first Cellular Networks in the region and where they have built over 10,000 towers. Leticia is a recipient of the Women in IoT award by Connected Magazine, Revolutionary CEO’s by Aspioneer, Most Connected Women in Telecom by Conecta Latam and one of the 30 most influential Leaders in Tech by Insight Success. She served as a full member of the Federal Communications Commission’s Broadband Development Advisory Committee (BDAC) and Chaired the Job Skills and Training Working Group for a 2-year term. She is currently appointed to the FCC Equity and Diversity Innovation and access working group and was an FCC Appointed member to the Telecommunications Interagency Working Group that presented a report to Congress on January 2023 on the challenges of the US Telecom Workforce, as required by the Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act. She’s an avid advocate of Workforce Development, DEI and ESG Initiatives.
In addition, Leticia is a published author, public speaker, mentor to young women and a big advocate of nurturing “Human Connections” through her +200 published episodes Back2Basics Podcast.
John Marshall
John W. Marshall has more than two decades of experience in the construction and engineering industry. He started his telecom career in 1999 in the field with General Dynamics. After working as a lead construction manager for a major wireless customer in Colorado, he was promoted to Project Manager with General Dynamics in the Colorado market in 2006 transferring later that year to his hometown, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In 2008, John joined Black & Veatch as the Director over the local Turf market, and in 2011, he was promoted to AVP Regional Director, overseeing the two markets and multiple national programs. John continued to rise through the ranks, becoming the Regional Director. In 2017, he was named VP Execution Lead over the Turf program, where he oversees the successful site acquisition and execution of numerous projects across the country.
Today, John serves as VP Execution Lead over all Black & Veatch wireless and wireline work in the US, where he brings his passion, extensive experience, and expertise to drive success and excellence.