Meet the Candidates

Carroll started his lifelong journey in Wireless Communications with the United States Navy as a morse code intercept operator. During Carroll’s career in the Navy as a Cryptologist, he worked in several positions using wireless communications on classified assignments. Carroll served honorably for over 11 years with decorations, commendations, training and certifications in leadership and training instructor.

After his honorable discharge from the Navy, Carroll worked for International Crystal in a technical capacity, and later was the national sales manager. International Crystal was a leader in the design and manufacture of crystals and oscillators for two-way radios and other wireless communications transceivers.

After working for International Crystal for several years, Carroll and a partner established the DH Sales Group, an independent manufacturer’s representative sales company,

Carroll Hollingsworth was elected to the Radio Club of America (RCA) board of Directors and served for more than 20 years. Carroll chaired numerous RCA committees during his time as a member of the board of directors. He served as a director, vice president, executive vice president, and president.

Carroll served as the liaison for RCA Partners APCO, and the U.S. Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association (NCVA), As chair of the RCA Historical Committee Carroll worked with RCA member and committee member Ed O’Connor, and RCA President Dave Bart to negotiate with the Antique Wireless Association (AWA) to provide an RCA display in the AWA museum and archive all RCA historical documents and other historical material.

Carroll is a lifetime member of the Radio Club of America (RCA), and the Antique Wireless Association (AWA), he has been a member of APCO for the past 40 years, a 30-year member of the U.S. Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association, ARRL/K5CTT, U.S. Marshals Posse since 1987, U.S. Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association (NCVA), American Legion, Communications Marketing Association (CMA) (Past President), Manufacturers Representative Educational Research Foundation (MRERF),

Carroll is married to his wife Karen. They have four children, eight grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

Position Statement:

If elected president of the Radio Club of America (RCA), my goal as president will be to continue the excellent work of current president, Dave Bart. With Dave’s leadership, the current board has many successes in energizing the Radio Club of America. RCA can become the primary nonprofit organization in the rapidly growing wireless communications industry. The opportunities for growth in membership are endless. RCA can grow in scholarships, youth programs, education, and endless benefits for its members.

With my experience as a previous RCA director, officer, and president on the RCA board, I have the knowledge, experience and industry wide relationships to continue the current progress of the Radio Club of America. I have the reputation, and experience throughout the wireless communications industry, that will be an asset as the next president of RCA. I am currently the Vice President of Sales for JPS Interoperability Solutions, Inc.

I believe that the number one priority for the next president is to increase the membership of RCA. Increasing the membership of RCA will come from individuals who are members of all groups associated with wireless communications. In my previous position as president of RCA, I was for many years the liaison between RCA and APCO. I have been a member of APCO for 40 years. I negotiated the Tom Sorley Memorial Fund, with assistance from other individuals who were both RCA and APCO members. APCO has always been an excellent source for new members. RCA is now aligning with other states APCO chapters that offers more opportunities for new members.

RCA needs to continue to partner with other organizations. This will improve RCA’s opportunities in all areas including education, membership, networking, and much more. In my previous role on the RCA board, I brought the U.S. Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association (NCVA) to RCA as a partner. I am a long-time member of NCVA, and a Navy Cryptologic Veteran. There are other veteran groups that have mutual interests with RCA that are partner candidates. I am a 44-year member of the American Legion.

In my previous role as RCA president, I worked with Dave Bart and RCA member Ed O’Connor to negotiate a partnership with the Antique Wireless Association (AWA). This relationship created a mutual agreement for AWA to store and display all RCA historical artifacts and other RCA materials in the AWA Museum. I am a lifetime member of AWA. This relationship has had a positive effect on RCA membership.

The RCA committees are vital to the success of RCA. It is critical that the president of RCA provide the committee chairs with the support and resources needed for them to achieve success. During my many years as an RCA member, and as a long-time member of the RCA board of directors, I served on numerous committees. My experience and knowledge of RCA committees, management, and protocols will allow me to better work with the committee chairs and provide the support and resources that they need to succeed.

I will continue the current success that RCA is experiencing in all areas of the organization. I will work with the board to ensure continuity in seamlessly moving forward to a new level of success in the next chapter of RCA’s accomplished history. My RCA board experience, knowledge, and leadership skills will provide the level of management needed to bring continued growth and success to the Radio Club of America.

Don Root is currently the Project 25 Manager for APCO International, coordinating APCO’s support to the P25 Standards efforts. Don has more than 48 years of experience in Emergency Management and Public Safety communications and warning at the local, state, and national levels. From 1984 to 2006, Mr. Root was with the Telecommunications Branch of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES), holding positions from field coordinator to Chief of the Telecommunications Branch, working at locations throughout California. From 2006 to 2020, Don was the Operations Manager of the Wireless Services Division of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, operators of a two-county 9,000 square mile 51 site 800 MHz trunked radio network.  

Don has a lengthy history of working with people to achieve collaboration in communications and warning matters. In 1992, Don was the first emergency management official appointed to the FCC’s Emergency Broadcast System Advisory Committee and worked with the FCC and the broadcast industry through the development and implementation of the Emergency Alert System in 1997.  Don has served on numerous industry and Federal planning and advisory committees, earning NPSTC’s DeMello Award in 2009.  A ham since 1971, Mr. Root is a Life Member of the ARRL, and is a Senior Life Member of APCO.

After more than two decades as an RCA member, I am running for the office of RCA President. For the last 6 years, I have served on the Board of Directors, the last 2 years as Executive Vice President. I believe that RCA is in good shape overall, but that we still have work to do to strengthen the Club. 

As we see innovations such as Satellite-to-handset communications start to unfold, there is still a requirement for people to support military and commercial Broadcast technologies, wireless data networks, terrestrial broadband, aviation, maritime, Land Mobile Radio, and others.  We need to continue to expand the membership by encouraging those who are on the cutting edge of innovation to join us and share their knowledge of new technologies, while at the same time striving to ensure sustainability of human resources to support the legacy technologies that are still relevant today through encouragement of those interested in the wireless arts.  I intend to continue the efforts your Board has undertaken to expand our membership and programs to foster innovation while not allowing our rich 115-year history to be forgotten.

Alan Spindel (AG4WK) is the Senior Electrical Engineer for Ten-Tec/Alpha RF Systems in Dayton, Ohio.  He develops hardware and firmware for amateur and professional radio systems.  Alan trained at the University of Tennessee and has over twenty years professional experience in the wireless industry.  He has worked as a broadcaster, professional tower climber, design engineer and engineering manager.  As the Chief Engineer of Mobile Marine Radio, Mr. Spindel automated the operation of one of the world's largest commercial HF radio facilities.  He was the Principal Engineer for the deployment of a nationwide HF radio emergency network for Public Safety Access Points (PSAPS).   As a Senior Project Manager for Smartower Systems he developed active cell tower monitoring systems.  Alan has served as the CTO of ITG since 2005, designing interoperable radio system hardware for public safety and military customers.  Alan has presented three papers at the RCA technical symposium.  He is active in volunteer emergency communications and serves as the Rutherford County, TN ARES Net Manager.  Inducted as a Fellow of the Radio Club in 2019, Alan was the recipient of the 2021 RCA president’s award and is a Senior Member of the IEEE. 

If elected I will ensure that RCA remains the premier wireless professional technical organization.  I have worked diligently in the past to help make the club’s youth and scholarship programs, trade show appearances, banquets, and online presence outstanding successes.  As chairperson of the scholarship committee, I have been dedicated to outlining a strategic roadmap which streamlined the committee’s finances and operations and created new scholarships and endowment vehicles.  I feel strongly that it is our duty to help train a new generation of young wireless professionals as we move into the club’s second century.  As a member of the website committee, I have used my technical expertise to help improve RCA’s most important public-facing marketing tool. As Executive Vice President, I will use my position to be part of a successful team which will work with the other officers, directors, and members to make sure that RCA retains its place of prominence at industry trade shows and that RCA continues to maintain the imminent stature of its publications, marketing materials, online presence and live events such as the technical symposium.   

Biography:

Richard P. Biby, F, (N3UW) is the principal of Two-Hops Wireless, LLC in Leesburg, VA. Rich is a registered Professional engineer in VA and previously in many other states. Rich has a BS in Electrical Engineer and a MS in Telecommunications and Computers from George Washington University in Washington DC. He also holds an MBA from William and Marry in Williamsburg, VA. He started his career in communications via the broadcast regulatory industry. Rich specialized in database management, propagation analysis and modeling, developed commercial propagations software (“RF-CAD”), based on field collected and verified measurement data. In the 1990s, he specialized in the non-ionizing radiation safety industry, creating Sitesafe, which was acquired by Crown Castle International (“CCI”) in 2000. He later served as the CTO of CCI. He built many cellular towers with partners in Northern Virginia. He founded Waterford Consultants, and later started Two-Hops Wireless. He is the executive director of the Biby Foundation for Rural Broadband, the former CEO and publisher of AGL (Above Ground Level) magazine, and the CEO and Publisher of AGL Information & Technology. He is an RCA fellow, previous chairman of the scholarship committed and an editor of the proceedings and newsletter. He is also a Senior Member of the IEEE. 

Position Statement:

If elected I will work diligently to keep RCA, the premier wireless professional and technical association. I learned of RCA at a young age (12 if I remember) through my father, an innovative RF engineer in the 1970s and beyond. I am honored to have served the club, it’s membership and legacy.  I have also had the pleasure of working on various IEEE, TIA and other standards organizations, worked with PICA and closely with other trade organizations, including National Association of Tower Erectors. I believe deeply in developing the next generation of industry pioneers. I’ve had the fortune of meeting industry leaders, pioneers, and entreasures (largely through RCA). Learn from the past, drive to the future. This club serves as an instrumental conduit between the generations in our mutual science, community, and history. And yes, futurists.

I am running again for election as Vice President /Counsel for the Radio Club of America (RCA). Even though I have been involved in wireless most of my life and have heard of the Radio Club of America for years I had never joined. When the opportunity arose to get involved, I felt that I could add expertise based on my legal profession and knowledge of wireless. After I was elected in a special election in 2016 as Vice President/Counsel, I have since been re-elected. Since becoming an officer, I have started to learn the extent of the Club's members and activities. I look forward to continuing as an Officer to be able to contribute to the growth of the Club's activities both as counsel and with my experience in charitable organizations, both in the role as counsel and committees and hope to earn your vote in the coming election for Vice President/Counsel.

Biography:
Ed Ryan is a patent attorney and an amateur radio operator. Ed joined the RCA in 2016, with the twin goals of networking and staying current with developments in the wireless industry. Ed’s professional work has dealt with electronics, semiconductors, and wired and wireless network technologies, as well as trademarks and other intellectual property matters. His patent work includes patent applications for phased array antenna systems and mmWave transmission technologies. Other legal work has included prosecuting trademark applications, as well as intellectual property litigation in various forums.

               
Ed has a B.S. in Physics from Carnegie Mellon University (2005) and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law (2008), and has been registered as a patent attorney since 2009. His experience with volunteer-run organizations spans two decades, including social organizations and a local civic organization.  

Position Statement:

This year I have helped safeguard RCA’s intellectual property, by filing a trademark application for our new name and logo and by defeating a trademark application by American Radio Club, causing them to change their name. I hope to continue to strengthen RCA’s intellectual property and legal position and to support the board with counsel as legal matters arise.

Margaret has served as the Radio Club Treasurer since 2009. She serves on the Membership Committee and is the Chair of the Keeping RCA Vibrant Committee. Margaret is a Senior RF/Communications Engineering with Jacobs. A Professional Engineer with over 30 years’ experience in wireless communications, including: two-way radio, paging, and microwave radio systems engineering and consulting, she is a confident and articulate Engineer of Record for programs and projects in excess of $100M. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer and Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette Indiana and is a licensed Professional Engineer in NJ, NY, CT, PA, DE and VA. Ms. Lyons has been awarded Fellow of the Radio Club of America and of the Society of Women Engineers. She is a Senior Member of the IEEE and has received IEEE Region 1 award for Support of the IEEE Mission, and NJ Coast Section Outstanding WIE/EdSoc Volunteer and Chairman Award for Unstinting and Valuable Service Promoting Robotics and other Pre-University Activities In the NJ Coast Section. In 2019, she was selected to be an ABET university engineering Program Evaluator for the IEEE.

I am honored to accept the nomination to serve another term as Secretary for the Radio Club of America. My primary motivation for executive level involvement is that the Radio Club best captures, honors and encourages what I have most enjoyed working as an RF engineer: the variety of opportunities and aspects of working in radio as well as the overall one-family atmosphere of the radio community. I would like to direct my enthusiasm for this community toward an outlet where I can make a difference.

My vocation is a business consultant.  I have over 35 years of experience and have served as a national and regional leader dealing with a wide range of matters, including strategic planning, investigations and general consulting, business restructuring, and commercial litigation. My assignments include business and strategic analysis, forensic investigation, operational assessments, restructuring, bankruptcy, workouts, and commercial litigation. My clients include public, private, and nonprofit/not-for-profit entities. I have provided financial and litigation consulting services and testimony involving business viability/feasibility, valuation, commercial damages, solvency analysis, fraudulent transfers, forensic accounting, and financial investigations. Engagements include numerous significant matters in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, U.S. District Court, State Court, arbitration, and mediation proceedings. I am the former president and chair of the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors, where I am editor of its journal and chair of the fellows committee and the standards committee. I have also served as a committee task force leader at the American Bankruptcy Institute.

My avocation is exploring the history of electronic and electrical communications. I have more than 30 years of experience leading historical organizations at the board level, publishing, presenting at conferences, authoring short and long peer-reviewed research articles, developing marketing, and managing board level work. I have held director and officer positions, including as president of the Antique Radio Club of Illinois, vice president of the Antique Wireless Association, treasurer of the IEEE History Committee, and as president of the Radio Club of America. My roles include editorial leadership in these organizations’ magazines and journals. I have been active at the IEEE History Committee for many years in its Milestone recognition program.

I am a team player and truly enjoy sharing my time and resources with others for their benefit. RCA has given me the honor of working with many exceptional people, and I am grateful to have shared wonderful times together, provided services that have benefited the public and our own members, and to have learned from each other about the meaning of dedication and generosity.

I hope you will consider me qualified and that you will vote for me to serve another term as an RCA director.

Working with the Radio Club of America has been one of the great privileges and responsibilities of my life. I am honored to accept the nomination to serve another term on the board of directors. RCA provides wonderful opportunities involving many aspects of wireless and radio. I am proud to have contributed to the organization’s professionalism, motivation, and collegial atmosphere, which makes RCA unique among all the organizations in the radio community.

RCA has undergone significant change since the pandemic, rising and rebounding from a very difficult period for all organizations. I want to continue working on many of RCA’s initiatives, some of which started prior to my presidency, and some of which I initiated.  We have returned to a place of prominence at industry trade shows, developed significant online programs, expanded our marketing, improved our publications, regenerated and expanded our live programs, and grown our scholarship and youth activities. These efforts require a team, and I am proud to have played my role in it. If elected, I plan to continue working on these projects as a partner for all: the officers, directors, and most of all the members.

I have previously served as a director, vice president, executive vice president, and president of RCA, and I continue to be the Editorial Director of the Proceedings. I would like to continue my commitment to RCA.  I look forward to expanding my work to support RCA’s growth, and I hope to earn your vote in the coming election for a board of director position.

Biography:
Dr. James K. Breakall received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Penn State University and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, and has over 50 years of experience in numerical electromagnetics and antennas.  He was a Project Engineer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA, and an Associate Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPGS), Monterey, CA.  Presently he is Full Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering at Penn State.  Dr. Breakall began his career as a graduate student at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico working on antenna analysis and radar probing of the ionosphere.  At LLNL, he and his group worked on the development of the Numerical Electromagnetics Code (NEC), the first sophisticated antenna modeling program.  Other significant projects that he has worked on were the designs of the HAARP facility in Alaska, both HF facilities at Arecibo, and the Kinstar low profile AM broadcast antenna.  He (electrical) and Tim Duffy (mechanical) designed the very popular Ham Radio Skyhawk Yagi antenna, and he is the inventor of the Optimized Wideband Antenna (OWA).  He presently is working in a consulting role as a Senior Engineer at Sabre Systems, Inc. to the Army, Navy, and Air Force on Next Generation HF projects.  He also is working on a large 5 year National Science Foundation grant as Co-PI on the SuperDARN radar at the South Pole, Antarctica.  He is has worked on restoring the collapsed 1000 ft Arecibo Observatory HF and other systems to continue scientific research there.  Dr. Breakall is also a life fellow of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society, IEEE Broadcast Technology Society, Eta Kappa Nu, International Union of Radio Science Commission B, IEEE Wave Propagation and Standards Committee, has been an Associate Editor for the Radio Science journal, and served as an Arecibo Observatory Users and Scientific Advising Committee Member. He has been a frequent speaker at the Dayton Hamvention Antenna Forum and has built two major contest superstations, K3CR and KC3R, near Penn State, and WP3R, on his farm in Puerto Rico near the big Arecibo dish.  He has graduated numerous graduate students and received many awards over the years.  In 2017, Dr. Breakall was awarded the prestigious Sarnoff Citation from the RCA.  He was elected as a Director to the Board in 2018, 2020, and 2022 and was the Co-Chairman of the 2020 Technical Symposium and Chairman of the 2021 and 2022 Symposiums.  He will receive the Dr. Ulrich L. Rohde Award for Innovation in Applied Radio Science and Engineering at the 2024 RCA Banquet.  He also serves on the RCA Scholarship, Educations, and Membership Committees.

Position statement:
I became a member of the RCA in 2017 at the invitation of both Tim Duffy and Dr. Chip Cohen.  I am so happy that I joined seeing how great of an organization it is.  When I was asked if I would be interested to run for the Board, I said an enthusiastic yes, and it has been a pleasure to serve with the fine Officers and the other Directors in my terms thus far (2018-2020, 2020-2022, 2022-2024).  I know many friends who are also members now who I invited to join, and I have been enthusiastically involved in the past and present years as a continuing Director, Technical Symposium Chairman, Fellow, Member of the Education, Scholarship, and Membership Committees.  I want to continue working with the Board and Officers and Committees to keep recruiting new members and making the RCA an even better organization.  I have much experience in such positions being a two-term Board of Director member and treasurer of the Applied Computation Electromagnetics Society (ACES).  I have also been on the Board of Directors of several startup companies over my years.  If elected again, I want to learn more and participate in such executive activities including: membership; elections, the Technical Symposium, the Proceedings, fund raising, mentoring, and wherever I can assist.  I also joined the Scholarship and Education Committees and hope to make impact in those with my academic professorial experience.  I want to keep learning more how the RCA operates and hopefully can provide new ideas and support to promote the growth and success for the RCA to continue with its rich history.  I have met many experienced and talented people thus far in my extensive interaction with the RCA, and I want to promote it to others who maybe have not heard of it to become active members.  I have been involved with radio and wireless all of my life, and I could not think of a better group of individuals to be involved with and help to become an even better organization for the future. If I continue as a Director, I will do my best to always think of all of the members and continue the greatness of the RCA.

Biography:

Member since 1999, Fellow since 2004, RCA Executive Secretary 2007-2013 and RCA Director 2003-2007, and 2013-2019. Served on Website Committee, Banquet Committee, Publications Committee, Regional Committee, Good & Welfare as well as Sponsorships. I have been in the industry for over 23 years, including working with Biby Publishing on AGL Magazine and Primedia Business Media on Mobile Radio technology, Cellular Business, RF Design and more. Currently Project Manager with Telogistix and Vice President of Colorado Wireless Association and Sponsorship Chair. Received the RCA Special Services Award in 2002, RCA Special Recognition Award in 2013; Premedia "Above & Beyond" Award July 2001, and Outstanding Support Award Aug 1998.

Position Statement:

Given my history with The Radio Club of America, I am committed to the continuing efforts to improve RCA. I believe that i can add a needed level of knowledge, both past and present, and I look forward to helping RCA move in the right direction.

Candidate Biography:

Michael works with many types of organizations as a business coach in assisting them to run efficiently. He successfully brings profitability and direction to many organizations. He has led many strategic planning sessions and has taught board efficiency training seminars. He has been a speaker in many parts of the world on a wide range of topics. He serves on several boards both for profit and not for profit.

He served two four-year terms as a Township Trustee in Greene County Ohio (Caesarscreek Township) and is a past president of the Miami Valley Emergency Management Authority; served seven years on the executive committee of The Greene County Regional Planning Commission.  He helped author both The Twenty-Year Land Use Plan for Greene County and The Farmland Preservation Plan for Greene County.  He is a past Chairman of the DRMA (Dayton Region Manufacturing Association).

Michael has been the Past General Chairman (volunteer position) of The Dayton Hamvention and was instrumental in bringing the event to Greene County. He was awarded the RCA Barry Goldwater award in 2017. He is Past President of The Dayton Amateur Radio Association and is currently the Treasurer.

Position Statement:

The RCA is an astonishing world class organization. I am a life member. It is my opinion there remains opportunity to improve and grow the organization with more like-minded individuals and meaningful activities in the wireless realm. I would like to continue to be a part of the exciting future of the RCA. My professional and extensive leadership experience gives me the qualifications to meet this challenge.

Dr. Julio Urbina received his BSEE degree from Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria, Lima, Peru, in 1990, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1996 and 2002, respectively. He has worked at Jicamarca Radio Observatory, Arecibo Observatory, and University of Arkansas. He is currently a Professor at Penn State in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Dr. Urbina’s research has used radio and radar technologies to study the Earth’s middle and upper atmosphere. He conducts research in RF and Microwaves, digital systems and space instrumentation, cognitive radars, software-defined radio and radars, sensors, acquisition, drones, UAVs, harmonic radars, reconfigurable instrumentation, meteor radio science, radio wave propagation, space engineering, remote sensing, and radar studies of the ionosphere. In 2011, Dr. Urbina received the National Science Foundation CAREER award for his research on Cognitive Radar systems to study plasma instabilities. Dr. Urbina has received numerous grants and more than $8.5 million in external funding for studies related to mentoring low-income undergraduate and graduate students, radar remote sensing of the Earth, satellite systems, wirelessly networks, ground and space instrumentation and observations, and tracking pollinators, both nationally and internationally. Dr. Urbina is the Chair of IEEE Central Pennsylvania Section. He is also a Director in Radio Club of America. He is member of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society, IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society, International Union of Radio Science Commission G, and CEDAR Science Steering Committee. He has been an Associate Editor for the Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics and served as an Arecibo Observatory Users and Scientific Advising Committee Member. He has graduated numerous graduate students and received many awards over the years.