Dan Gonzalez is a Managing Director in Mercury's Washington, DC office. Dan offers strategic counsel to Fortune 100 companies and trade associations, as well as telecommunications, media, and technology companies, on all aspects of government relations, public affairs and regulation. Given his twenty years of government and private sector expertise in telecommunications and technology issues, he provides corporate clients in these sectors with guidance on devising government and public affairs campaigns designed to achieve business results. Prior to joining the firm in 2009, Dan served for nearly four years as Chief of Staff of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under Chairman Kevin J. Martin and served for over a decade in various senior staff positions throughout the FCC. As Chief of Staff, Dan managed all aspects of the agency’s operations and directed the FCC staff in implementing all components of the agency’s mission including broadband, media, wireless and wireline telephone services, enforcement, consumer issues and public safety/homeland security communications issues. Before being elevated to the Chief of Staff post, Dan was then-Commissioner Martin’s Senior Legal Advisor, advising him generally on wireline, enforcement and consumer issues. In between his government service, Dan was Vice President of External and Regulatory Affairs for XO Communications, formerly NEXTLINK. He was responsible for government relations and regulatory issues for the competitive local exchange venture founded by entrepreneur Craig McCaw. During his previous tenure at the FCC, Dan served as Legal Advisor to FCC Commissioner Rachelle B. Chong. He was principally responsible for advising the Commissioner on common carrier issues. Prior to that position, he also served as Legal Advisor to the Common Carrier Bureau Chief, senior attorney in the Common Carrier Bureau’s Accounting and Audits Division, and attorney in the Policy and Program Planning Division of the Common Carrier Bureau. Dan is a graduate of Hofstra University School of Law and earned his B.A. from New Paltz, State University of New York.