Peter F. Varney received his undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College in Maine. After completing his Master’s Degree in Public Administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Varney came to the City of Rocky Mount as an Administrative Assistant to the City Manager. Shortly thereafter, he was named Assistant City Manager. During his 41-year tenure with Rocky Mount, Varney was instrumental in leading many development projects throughout the City, including the renovation of the Helen P. Gay Historic Train Station, adaptive reuse of the Imperial Centre for the Arts and Sciences, construction of the Rocky Mount Sports Complex, development of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, and most recently, renovation and adaptive reuse of the historic Douglas Block mixed use project in Downtown Rocky Mount. Varney retired as Assistant City Manager from the City of Rocky Mount on January 1, 2013.

Jonathan Boone has served as the Public Works Director for the City of Rocky Mount since March 2007. As the Public Works Director, he is responsible for overseeing the work of the Streets/Stormwater Division, Stormwater Utility, Fleet Maintenance Division, Environmental Services Division, and Community Code Division. In 2008, Boone was given the task of Project Manager for the City’s proposed Downtown Streetscape Project. He worked with design consultants to complete the project plans, coordinated with the various permitting agencies and project stakeholders, administered the competitive bidding process, and managed all aspects of the construction. Substantially completed in mid-December 2012, the construction costs for the streetscape improvements totaled approximately $6.7 million. Prior to coming to work with the City in 1998, Boone worked in the private sector with two nationally recognized civil engineering design firms in Raleigh, NC. Boone is a registered Professional Engineer (PE) in the State of North Carolina who received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from N.C. State University in 1992 and his Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering in 1994.

Tom Johnson is a real estate law specialist at the Nexsen Pruet law firm. Johnson has more than two decades of experience in a broad range of real estate matters throughout North Carolina. He assists clients with closing loan transactions, preparing commercial leases for retail and office space, commercial development and financing, and other related real estate issues. Johnson's background in the telecommunications industry is broad-based and includes all matters related to placing wireless networks in North and South Carolina. He has represented major wireless carriers and tower companies throughout North and South Carolina for more than 20 years. Johnson has appeared successfully before county planning commissions, zoning boards and elected bodies in North and South Carolina. Johnson earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree and Juris Doctor Degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a practicing member of the American Bar Association and serves as a member of the Planning and Land Use Section of the North Carolina Bar Association. Among other qualifications, Johnson is a Board Certified Specialist in Real Property Law and a LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Liz Hill is American Tower Corporation’s Director of State & Local Government Affairs. During her 14 years with American Tower, Hill has worked in zoning and land use, including zoning efforts for new tower development, tower redevelopment, operations, compliance, litigation, and entitlement renewal. Throughout her tenure, Hill has worked with the telecommunication industry, local governments, and planning groups on issues relating to zoning and siting policy issues. Hill is a member of the Women’s Wireless Leadership Forum. She is a founding member of the Carolinas Wireless Association and chair of its Regulatory Committee. Hill is on the Personal Communications Industry Association’s (PCIA) State & Local Government Committee and Regulatory Affairs Committee, the Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) Forum’s Advocacy Committee, and a member of the Celluar Telecommunications Industry Association’s (CTIA) Tower Siting Working Group. In addition, she is active with the regulatory committees of most of the State wireless associations. Hill was named one of RCR Wireless’s Women to Watch in Wireless for 2012.

Jerry Jones is the manager of radio frequency (RF) design engineering for the Carolinas for AT&T. His division engineers all new cell sites needed for coverage and capacity to bring high speed wireless data service to AT&T's customers. Jones has a wide background in the communications industry, having worked in both the wireless and wireline aspects of the business. A graduate of University of Washington, Jones came to North Carolina in 1996 to help design and launch the first global system for mobile communication (GSM) network for AT&T's predecessor, BellSouth. In addition to RF engineering, he also has experience in the areas of real estate acquisition, construction management, and equipment implementation. Jones has served on the North Carolina 911 Board and is a member of the Carolinas Wireless Association.

Andrew Foukal joined HelioSage Energy in 2009. As Director of Operations, he is responsible for utility interconnection, zoning and permitting, project management, supply chain solutions, technology selection, and construction oversight. Foukal has been responsible for the development of solar energy projects totaling approximately 100 megawatts up and down the East Coast. Prior to joining HelioSage, Foukal worked with Lux Research, an independent research and advisory firm providing strategic advice and ongoing intelligence for emerging technologies, including solar photovoltaics. Foukal holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physics from Bates College and is pursuing a Masters Degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Virginia. HelioSage Energy is a solar energy services provider and project development firm. The Company was founded in 2008 by several of the principals of Greenlight Energy, a national developer of utility-scale wind projects. The HelioSage management team has been responsible for the financing and construction of over 400 megawatts of renewable energy projects nationally. With commercial and utility-scale solar clients across ten states (CT, DE, NC, NJ, NY, MA, MD, PA, VA, & VT), HelioSage develops projects that benefit investors, ratepayers, and property owners.