Lisa M. Fowlkes, Chief for Public Safety Homeland Security Bureau at FCC

Lisa Fowlkes serves as the chief for the public safety and homeland security bureau at the Federal Communications Commission. 

Since her appointment in January 2017, she has been leading the bureau in designing and executing policies, in accordance with the FCC’s authority, to provide first responders and the American population access to communications, the commission said. 

In her role, she coordinates with the government agencies in charge of securing the nation’s communications network. She also offers advice on public safety and homeland security communications issues, including national security and emergency preparedness, network resiliency and emergency alerting. 

During her tenure, Fowlkes oversaw the updating of the commission’s emergency plan on the COVID-19 pandemic and mapping out rules encouraging direct access to 911 in office buildings and hotels. 

She also headed the execution of federal statute calling for the promotion and implementation of Wireless Emergency Alerts, which are public notices and updates that are sent through mobile devices. To date, more than 50 missing children have been rescued as a result of the alerts. 

In addition, Fowlkes helped develop a vision for the bureau’s latest professional development program that advances career training for employees and leadership courses for managerial aspirants. 

Previously, she served as the organization’s deputy chief where she was responsible for the FCC’s regulations on emergency alerting, cybersecurity and communications reliability. She also directed a group that penalized and forced a service provider to settle a $100M fine for failure to provide wireless services to customers. 

In her over 25-year career at the regulator, Fowlkes became deputy chief of the erstwhile public safety and private wireless division, acting deputy chief, assistant chief and senior legal advisor in the bureau. She also served as acting director for the office of communications business opportunities supervisory attorney in the former cable services bureau and attorney-advisor in the office of general counsel. 

A former private lawyer, she graduated from the Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania with a degree in public administration. She holds a juris doctor from the University of Pittsburgh school of law.