NAB Adds To Government Relations Team

The National Association of Broadcasters has hired Capitol Hill-veteran Mildred Webber, and committee staffers Jamie Gillespie and Kelly Cole to join its government relations team. The NAB said its new hires would be the first in a series of staff additions in the NAB Government Relations department that will include both Republicans and Democrats.

Webber joins the team as senior vice president of government relations. She most recently served as the deputy chief of staff to House Majority Whip Roy Blunt. Prior experience includes five years as staff director for the House Subcommittee on National Economic Growth, Natural Resources and Regulatory Affairs, as well as working in both President George H.W. Bush and President Ronald Reagan's administrations.

She will start at NAB Oct. 2. Webber, Gillespie and Cole will report to NAB Executive Vice President of Government Relations Douglas Wiley.

Gillespie has joined the NAB as director of government relations. Since 2003, Gillespie has worked as a staff assistant on communications issues to Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees broadcast issues. He got his start in Washington as a staff assistant for then Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.).

Cole has joined the NAB as vice president of government relations. She has served for six years as majority counsel for the House Energy and Commerce Committee chaired by Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), where she has handled mass media, Internet and satellite issues. Prior to that, Cole practiced law for Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds in Washington, D.C. and Portland, Ore.

"Kelly is one of the smart people who have come to the Energy and Commerce Committee staff, worked hard and succeeded," said Barton. "Her commitment to public service, her policy expertise and professionalism, and her can-do attitude made us proud of her. We were lucky to have Kelly for six years, and I know she will make her mark at NAB."