NATA Names William Deere as Senior Vice President for Government and External Affairs
Alexandria, VA, February 25, 2014 – The National Air Transportation Association is pleased to announce the selection of William (Bill) Deere as the association’s Senior Vice President for Government and External Affairs.
Deere will lead NATA’s policy, strategy and advocacy efforts. “Bill Deere’s association expertise and Hill insight will be valuable assets to NATA. His broad experience in advocacy will help NATA continue to be a strong influence in the aviation industry,” said NATA President and CEO Thomas L. Hendricks.
Deere, currently Vice President for Government Affairs at the United States Telecom Association (USTelecom), will join NATA at the end of March. USTelecom is an association of voice, video and data providers including AT&T, Verizon, and CenturyLink, as well as mid-size and smaller rural communications providers. In that position, he led a bipartisan staff of government relations professionals and consultants representing the industry on Capitol Hill.
Prior to USTelecom, Deere served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, overseeing the day-to-day interactions between the Department and the Senate, including the confirmation of Department nominees and the ratification of treaties.
He was a staff member at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, rising to the position of Senior Vice President, Legislative Affairs. In that position, he was the association’s principal representative to Capitol Hill and managed its Washington, D.C. office.
Deere also served on the House Appropriations Committee staff for Rep. Jim Lightfoot (R-IA). Representative Lightfoot, a pilot, was a leading member of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee.
“I am honored that Tom and the NATA Board of Directors offered me the chance to be a part of the NATA team. This is an exciting time to join the aviation business community and I look forward to the opportunity to work with Tom, his staff, and the NATA Board in representing this vital segment of the aviation industry,” stated Deere.
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NATA, the voice of aviation business, is the public policy group representing the interests of aviation businesses before Congress and the federal agencies. For more information about NATA, please visit www.nata.aero, www.twitter.com/nataaero or www.facebook.com/nataaero.