Policy Division

• Thomas J. Beers, Chief

  Thomas J. Beers is Chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau's Policy Division. A Minnesota native, he earned a B.A. in Humanities from the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) where he was admitted to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., in 1981. Tom began his professional career later that year at a small communications law firm, eventually joining the national telecommunications practice group at the Washington offices of Jones, Day, Reavis and Pogue. He left private practice to join the Federal Communications Commission in 1988, serving as staff attorney in the Enforcement and Accounting and Audits Divisions of the (former) Common Carrier Bureau, and also as Legal Advisor to that Bureau's Chief. Tom joined PSHSB at its inception, after serving for ten years as a Deputy Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau's Industry Analysis and Technology Division (1996-2006).

• Carol Simpson, Deputy Chief
• Zenji Nakazawa, Associate Chief

The Policy Division drafts, develops, and administers rules, regulations, and policies, including those pertaining to the 911/Enhanced 911 (E911), Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), operability and interoperability for public safety communications, communications infrastructure protection, network security and reliability. In addition, the Policy Division oversees the licensing of spectrum for public safety entities (e.g., police and fire departments).