BOARD OF DIRECTORS BIOGRAPHIES
Listed in alphabetical order

Rick Brown
Network Systems Engineer
North Carolina State University

Rick Brown is a Network Systems Engineer at North Carolina State University. He is responsible for network design including 802.11 wireless, along with the operation and maintenance of the CATV headend and distribution system. He is currently involved in evaluating IPTV and next generation CATV systems in order to develop criteria for replacing or upgrading the current system.

Rick has been at NC State for 23 years and has been involved with every aspect of data communications and video networking from installation of the Layer 1 and 2 infrastructure to network manager. He also spent 10 years in the US Naval submarine force where he was responsible for systems such as radar, sonar, electronic surveillance and countermeasures, LORAN, and the predecessor to the current global positioning system. He also taught naval courses in electrical and electronic fundamentals.

Robert Drewes
Technical Manager of Media Services
Stanford University

Media Services includes both CATV and steaming media technologies. By combining the administration of CATV and streaming media in one department, client requests are handled in a logical and efficient manner.

Robert has an extensive background in CATV, including overhead and underground construction, system and headend design as well as installation, maintenance and project management. Since 1986, he has been involved with the installation of cable in the residence halls, academic buildings and the Stanford Hospital. Robert oversees the Stanford University Cable System and streaming media. The Stanford cable system is a stand alone 200+ channel system distributing a combination of campus-originated channels, vhf/uhf channels and satellite channels.

The Streaming Media department provides encoding, achieving, authoring and webcasting of university events focusing on academic needs.

Robert has been a member of AHECTA since 2000.

Mayumi Hirtzel
IT Project Leader, Penn Video Network
University of Pennsylvania

Mayumi oversees the technical and programmatic facets of the University of Pennsylvania's closed-circuit SMATV system. Over 60 channels, including a Video Bulletin Board and two Movie Channels, serve the entertainment and educational needs of Penn's 8000 students in residence. She has been in her current position since 2001, producing program themes, marketing materials, and anything else to make use of her BA in Victorian Literature and Classics from Fordham University.

Mayumi has been an enthusiastic attendant and presenter at several AHECTA conferences since she joined in 2001. She was the Content Committee Chair for CCC2007 in Portland, OR, is the current President Elect, and will serve as Conference Chair for CCC2008 in Providence, RI.

Adam Koscielski
mtvU

Bio coming soon.

Bill Naivar
Video Manager, Academic and Research Technology
Office of Information Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology

Bill is the Video Manager for the Academic and Research Technology division of the Office of Information Technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.

Bill began his cable television career in 1980 as an Auditor for Calcasieu Cablevision in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He progressed to Installer, Bench Technician, Trunk Technician, and System Designer. Bill moved to Port Arthur, Texas in 1983 and became Chief Technician. He then moved to Mineral Wells, Texas as Chief Technician, and then to Douglasville, Georgia in 1988 as Plant Manager. Bill came to Georgia Tech in 1996 just prior to the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. Bill operates a 750 MHZ hybrid fiber/coax SMATV system on the Georgia Tech campus. In addition, Bill designs and oversees construction of extensions to the system.

Bill has been a member of AHECTA since 1999 and has presented technical sessions at the last six Campus Cable Conferences.

Trisha Patterson
Fox News Channel

Trisha Patterson is currently the Director of Local Ad Sales for Fox News Channel. She has been with Fox News Channel in a sales capacity since 2000, and prior to that was in sales at the Food Network.

Originally from New York, Trisha spent 14 years in Chicago where in her non-existent "free time" coached crew at Northwestern University (go Big Ten!). Trisha has served on various industry boards and committees over the past few years and has been attending AHECTA conferences since 2001. She is looking forward to working with other Board members as well as university members and exhibitors.

Tim Polk
Video Services Manager
University of Michigan

Tim Polk has worked in some aspect of the communications industry for the past 36 years. He began his career in the industry in 1972 at a CATV company as a Contract Installer. From 1978 through 1984, Tim held numerous positions with different cable companies: installer, construction lineman, installation manager, service technician, service manager, system engineer and plant manager.

Tim worked at Clover Communications from 1984 through 1994 developing, designing, installing and maintaining two-way broadband communication systems for Ford, GM and Chrysler as well as for area hospitals and public schools.

In 1994, Tim accepted a position with the University of Michigan to build a two-way broadband institutional Cable TV system. In 1998, he assumed the position of Service Manager for all of the voice, video, data maintenance and repair services for the University of Michigan campus systems. In 2007, Tim was involved in replacing the Comcast CATV system in 5,500 dorm rooms with the university's own 110-channel UMTV cable system. He is currently the Video Services Manager which includes all of the CATV engineering and design, system management and documentation and, of course, the maintenance and repair of the system. They also offer campus digital services of encoding, streaming, storage and playback service for classes and athletic events.

Tim's hobbies are golfing, walking, home improvement, observing nature and car rides with his wife.

Brenda Rockswold
Team Leader, Video Services
Academic and Administrative Information Technology
Emory University

Brenda serves as team lead for Video Services within the Academic and Administrative Information Technology division at Emory University. She is enjoying her 12th year at Emory and continues her role in IT focusing on video broadcasting technologies for Emory's campus and its affiliates. She works closely with the Network Communications division providing these services. Brenda's Video Services team provides consulting and operational management of central services for current and future technologies in campus TV programming and delivery, streaming, live event broadcasting, videoconferencing and any new video initiatives for the campus. She is also the student media (electronic) Technical Advisor and helped initiate EV53 - Emory Vision, the student video channel in 1998.

Brenda has a B.A. in Communications from West Georgia College (now the University of West Georgia). She worked in the Engineering department at Convergent Media Systems, a satellite business television company, for eight years prior to coming to Emory.

Brenda became a part of AHECTA in 1997 when the conference was held at Emory University and has enjoyed all but two of the yearly conferences. She hopes to bring fresh ideas and continued great leadership to the organization.

Brian Thompson
Associate Director, Residence and Auxiliary Services
Ohio University

Brian has been an active AHECTA member over the years. As part of the AHECTA Board of Directors since 2003, he has served as Chair of the Content Committee, in addition to assisting with the Student Production Awards program for the annual conference. In past years, he has overseen the annual Board Elections for the organization.

In September 2007, Brian returned to his alma mater, Ohio University, where he now serves as the Associate Director of Residence and Auxiliary Services. Prior to that, he was the Manager of Boiler Television, BTV, at Purdue University. There his responsibilities included all administrative functions and system management involving the closed circuit cable system, including operation of locally originated channels and programming. He additionally worked as a coordinator of video production initiatives begun within Purdue's University Residences.

Before joining Purdue University, Brian was accountable for the management of numerous living amenities offered to campus residents at Ohio University. His responsibilities included management of programming and infrastructure for the university's cable network, CATVision, as well as overseeing parts of the university's student computing environment within the halls.

Brian has a communications background holding a BS with a focus on Telecommunications Management. He additionally holds a M.Ed., with a Higher Education specialization. In past AHECTA Campus Cable Conferences, Brian has presented at numerous sessions involving audience research, student participation, electronic bulletin boards, ad insertion, cable websites and closed-circuit movie programming.

In past AHECTA Campus Cable Conferences, Brian has presented at numerous sessions involving audience research, student participation, electronic bulletin boards, ad insertion, cable websites and closed-circuit movie programming.