Lawrence E. Strickling was sworn in as Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the Department of Commerce in June 2009. In this role, Strickling serves as Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the Executive Branch agency that is principally responsible for advising the President on telecommunications and information policy. Previously in government, Strickling served at the Federal Communications Commission as Chief of the Common Carrier Bureau from 1998 to 2000, working to promote competition and protect consumers in the telecommunications sector and implement many of the key provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Prior to that, Strickling was Associate General Counsel and Chief of the FCC’s Competition Division. In the private sector, Strickling was Chief Regulatory and Chief Compliance Officer at telecommunications service provider Broadwing Communications, LLC, from 2004 to 2007. His private sector experience from 2000 to 2004 included serving in senior roles at competitive communications service providers Allegiance Telecom, Inc. and CoreExpress, Inc. and as a member of the Board of Directors of Network Plus. From 1993 to 1997, Strickling was Vice President, Public Policy at Regional Bell Operating Company Ameritech Corp., where he was responsible for developing and implementing Ameritech’s state and federal regulatory and legislative agenda. Strickling was also a litigation partner at the Chicago law firm of Kirkland & Ellis. Strickling earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Maryland with a degree in economics.