By Ariana Wilson | awilson@alextimes.com

The United States Secretary of Commerce has announced the appointment of Renee Gordon, director of the city’s Department of Emergency and Customer Communications, to serve on the Board of the First Responder Network Authority.

Gordon will serve as one of 12 non-permanent members selected by the Department of Commerce, according to a news release. FirstNet Authority is an independent entity within the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Gordon has been Director of DECC since 2015. DECC serves as a full-service communications center, handling all the city’s 911, 311 and non-emergency calls for police, sheriff, fire and other local public safety departments. During her tenure, she established the nation’s first remote 911 call-taking program using FirstNet technology.

The board, which is permanently comprised of the attorney general of the United States, the secretary of Homeland Security and the director of the Office of Management and Budget, oversees activities to ensure that the FirstNet Authority and its commercial partner AT&T run a nationwide public safety network that will best equip first responders to protect communities.