Giulia McHenry, Chief
As Chief of OEA, Giulia leads this Office which is responsible for expanding and deepening the use of economic analysis into Commission policy making, enhancing the development and use of auctions, and implementing consistent and effective agency-wide data practices and policies. Giulia joined OEA in 2018 after serving for three years as Chief Economist of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). She is an expert in the economics of the Internet, telecommunications, and media. She has advised and written reports on a range of issues including broadband policy, adoption and access; the digital economy; and the economics of spectrum and spectrum management.
Prior to joining NTIA, Giulia was a Senior Associate at The Brattle Group, where she focused on telecommunication matters, prepared expert reports and coauthored papers related to spectrum management and valuation, broadband deployment, regulatory proceedings, Universal Service Fund, and competition policy. Giulia received her Ph.D. in economics from the University of Maryland in 2009. She specialized in microeconomics, both applied and empirical methods, focusing on network theory and industrial organization. Her dissertation addressed issues related to social networking and entrepreneurship success. She can be contacted at (202) 418-2030.
Wayne Leighton, Deputy Chief
As Deputy Chief of OEA, Wayne A. Leighton assists the OEA Chief in expanding the use of economic analysis into Commission policy making, enhancing the development and use of auctions, and implementing consistent and effective agency-wide data practices and policies. Previously, Wayne served as Chief of the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis, as a senior economist in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, and as wireless advisor to then-FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate.
Apart from his FCC service, Wayne has worked for an economic consulting firm, was senior economist with the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and was a professor of economics at Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala. Wayne holds a PhD in economics from George Mason University and undergraduate degrees in business and economics from Texas A&M University. He can be contacted at (202) 418-2030.