WASHINGTON D.C. - The Progress & Freedom Foundation announced today that President George W. Bush’s former principal advisor on telecommunications matters, Michael Gallagher, has been named an Adjunct Fellow with PFF. As an Adjunct Fellow, Gallagher - a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Perkins Coie - will advise PFF on the development and direction of its programs, particularly in the areas of telecommunications and Internet governance; speak at PFF events; review PFF publications; and write papers for PFF publication.

Gallagher served for four years with U.S. Department of Commerce, most recently as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communication and Information and as the Director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Gallagher set the policy course on a wide range of technology and telecommunications issues at Commerce, including world-leading spectrum policy breakthroughs, from authorizing ultrawideband to bringing 90 MHz of prime spectrum to auction for new wireless broadband services; developing and implementing the Bush Administration's broadband policy; and constructing the Administration's Internet Governance policy framework, which gained international acceptance at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) late last year.

"All of us at PFF are excited to have Michael Gallagher join us as an adjunct fellow," said incoming PFF President Dan Caprio, who worked with Gallagher at the U.S. Department of Commerce. "He has a clear understanding and insight regarding communications, spectrum and Internet governance, all areas that feature prominently in PFF scholarship."

"I have long respected, throughout my career on Capitol Hill, in private industry and at the Department of Commerce, the leadership and scholarship demonstrated by The Progress & Freedom Foundation in digital economy policy," said Gallagher. "I have great respect for the leadership and senior fellows at PFF and am honored to be able to work with them in offering guidance and wisdom to policymakers and industry."

Gallagher will be one of several PFF adjunct fellows, which will include outgoing PFF President Ray Gifford when he transitions to Senior Adjunct Fellow status at the conclusion of this year’s Aspen Summit. In his first action as a PFF fellow, Gallagher will moderate an Aspen Summit panel titled "Net Neutrality, Investment and Innovation."

The Progress & Freedom Foundation is a market-oriented think tank that studies the digital revolution and its implications for public policy. It is a 501(c)(3) research & educational organization.