The Honorable Christopher A. McLean

Christopher  A. McLean is a principal partner in e-Copernicus, a full service consulting firm located in Washington, D.C.  Chris also serves as the Executive Director of the Consumer Electronics Retailers Coalition (CERC).  Prior joining the e-Copernicus team, he was Counsel to the ComCARE Alliance, a nonprofit coalition of over 80 organizations dedicated to improving emergency communications.

In government, Mr. McLean served as Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and Governor of the Rural Telephone Bank.  Mr. McLean came to RUS in January 1998 as Deputy Administrator.  He was later nominated for the position of Administrator, was confirmed and served through the end of the Clinton Administration.  Mr. McLean is a recognized advocate for rural consumers.  He has testified on their behalf before congressional committees, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and state regulators.

The RUS is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that helps finance rural electric, telecommunications and water projects, and administers distance learning and telemedicine loan and grant programs.  During Chris' tenure, the RUS loan portfolio contained over $42 billion in investments in rural utility infrastructure.  The Rural Telephone Bank, then a public/private lending institution provided loans for rural telecommunications infrastructure in concurrence with RUS.

At RUS, Chris championed broadband deployment, new and renewable energy technologies and universal service.  Congress responded with an historic budget and new responsibilities for the agency in broadband technologies, local television service, merger and acquisition financing for electric utilities, and infrastructure investments in Alaska and other remote areas.  Under his leadership, the agency made its first loans for solar and wind energy systems the first loans under its broadband authority.  Mr. McLean was also appointed by the FCC and the Federal State Joint Board to serve on the Rural Task Force, which recommended reforms of universal service support for rural telecommunications carriers.

Prior to joining RUS, Mr. McLean worked on Capitol Hill for more than 15 years on telecommunications, budget, transportation and international trade issues. He joined Senator Jim Exon’s staff in 1982 and served as Legislative Assistant and Legal Counsel until the Senator’s retirement in January 1997.  In 1997 he was Legislative Counsel to Senator Bob Kerrey.  Mr. McLean was a founding member of the group of Senate staffers known as the FARM TEAM who helped craft the universal service and rural provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Mr. McLean hails from Omaha, Nebraska.  He received an LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from Georgetown University in 1985, a J.D. from Creighton University School of Law in 1982, and a degree in Business Administration from Creighton University in 1980.