Executive Team

Radha Sekar, CEO

Radha Sekar is the Chief Executive Officer. Most recently, Ms. Sekar served as the CFO for both the Farm Service Administration and the Commodity Credit Corporation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), where she oversaw a $30 billion budget in borrowing authority and another credit portfolio of $40 billion.

Ms. Sekar served as the Executive Associate Director for Management and Administration and previously the Chief Financial Officer for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from 2010 to 2015. She also served as a Senior Advisor and Assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) at the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) from 2007 to 2010.

Previously, Ms. Sekar worked at both IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she actively worked with government agencies, such as the DoD, to reconfigure and improve processes across departments. Ms. Sekar began her career in 1989, at Electronic Data Systems (now a part of HP) on the IT side of finance.

Catriona Ayer, VP of Shared Services

Catriona Ayer is the Vice President of Shared Services. Catriona has been with USAC for over 19 years and has served in several leadership roles in the Schools and Libraries Program, including Vice President, Director of Program Integrity Assurance and Director of Post-Commitment processes. Prior to joining USAC, Catriona held a variety of education technology positions in a state education agency, a technology vendor, and a large school district.

Catriona is a national leader in the E-rate Program, and an expert in all aspects of the program’s management and operations. She has led USAC’s efforts to implement FCC orders and served as the business lead on system modernization efforts. Additionally, Catriona has trained and guided USAC employees, contractors, and thousands of program participants, through her ongoing work on USAC’s outreach efforts. Catriona holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Rice University.

Ernesto Beckford, VP and General Counsel

Ernesto Beckford is Vice President and General Counsel. Ernesto has over 30 years of experience working as legal counsel for corporations, non-profits, and government agencies. He joined USAC in 2017 as Deputy General Counsel, and was made General Counsel in 2018.

Previously, Ernesto worked for 12 years with law firms in Washington, DC, New York, and Raleigh, NC, specializing in corporate matters, contract law, public offerings and mergers, and acquisitions. He was the Deputy General Counsel for an aerospace, publicly held company for 11 years. He also served as a Senior Business Attorney for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, an Attorney Advisor for the Federal Communications Commission, and Director of the Department of the Navy, Acquisition Integrity Office.

Ernesto holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Columbia College, Columbia University, and a Juris Doctor Degree from Columbia Law School, Columbia University.

Chris Beyerhelm, Chief Administrative Officer

Chris Beyerhelm is the Chief Administrative Officer. The Office of the Chief Administrator Officer includes Procurement, Strategy and Risk, Data Strategy, Business Transformation Office, Human Resources, Administrative Support, and Facilities.

Previously, Mr. Beyerhelm was selected to serve as the Associate Administrator for Operations and Management in March 2015. In this position, Beyerhelm was responsible for overseeing the Farm Service Agency's budget, finance, administrative, management and internal control functions. Beyerhelm previously served as Deputy Administrator for Farm Loans Programs where he oversaw a $20 billion loan portfolio and managed the direct and guaranteed lending programs at FSA. Prior to that, Beyerhelm worked as the Assistant Deputy Administrator for Farm Loan Programs. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in business administration from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, Beyerhelm began working with FSA where he served in various capacities for 35 years.

Before coming to Washington, DC, he served as Farm Loan Chief for the Iowa Farm Service Agency from 1991 to 2006.

Beyerhelm grew up in Iowa and now resides in Virginia with his wife Barb. They have two adult children and nine grandchildren.

Craig Davis, VP of Schools and Libraries

Craig Davis is the Vice President of Schools and Libraries. He joined USAC in 2002 and has served in the roles of Senior Director in the High Cost Program, Vice President of the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program, and, most recently, the Vice President of the Procurement and Strategic Sourcing.

During his time with USAC, Craig has negotiated and managed multi-million dollar vendor contracts supporting business process outsourcing (BPO) and IT systems modernization for the Schools and Libraries Program. He also led RHC to dramatic increases in productivity and stakeholder engagement and satisfaction, and reduced the number of appeals to single digits.

Before joining USAC, Craig worked for a variety of telecommunications companies, including a dark fiber provider, a wireless competitive local exchange carrier, and an operator services provider. Craig holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from George Washington University and a Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law.

Teleshia Delmar, VP of Audit and Assurance

Teleshia Delmar is the Vice President of the Audit and Assurance Division. Mrs. Delmar is responsible for the Beneficiary and Contributor Audit Program (BCAP), which is designed to assess program participants’ compliance with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules; the Payment Quality Assurance Program (PQA), which is designed to assess the rates of improper payments of Universal Service Fund disbursements; and the Corporate Assurance function, which is designed to assess USAC’s internal operations. As the chief audit executive, Mrs. Delmar leverages internal and external resources to deliver cost effective program integrity solutions.

Mrs. Delmar has over 20 years of progressive experience in regulatory compliance, risk management, and operational effectiveness. Most recently, Mrs. Delmar served as the Senior Director responsible for overseeing beneficiary audits of the federal universal service programs. Prior to working at USAC, Mrs. Delmar was a legislative auditor for the Maryland state government, and an audit professional in the financial services and travel industries.

Mrs. Delmar received her Bachelor Science degree in Accounting from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA).

Victor Gaither, VP of the High Cost Program

Victor Gaither is the Vice President of the High Cost Program. He previously served as a senior leader at Charter Communications (Legacy Time Warner Cable), Neustar Inc, IDT/Winstar Communications, Advance Technology Corporation, and BellSouth (AT&T Southeast). Vic brings to USAC over 35 years of Communications Service Provider (i.e., Cable, CLEC, ILEC, IT, and Data Services) experience in the areas of Network Planning & Engineering, Capital Budgeting, Procurement Services, Supplier Relations, Interconnection Services, OSS Planning & Wholesale Billing, and Commercial/Enterprise & Network Provisioning.

He is also active in the Northern Virginia Community and is a strong advocate for community investment with a focus on the education sector in support of the development of STEAM skills and to introduce IT and CSP opportunities to K-12 students.

Vic earned his bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Biology from Mercer University and a Master of Business Administration from Georgia State University's Executive MBA Program. He also holds a number of technical certifications.

Michelle Garber, VP of the Enterprise Resources Program

Michelle Garber is the Vice President of the Enterprise Resources Program. She most recently was the Vice President of the Lifeline Program and previously she was the Senior Director of Financial Operations at USAC, which included managing all aspects of USF contributor activities. Prior to USAC, Michelle was a consultant in IBM's federal practice, formerly PwC Consulting.

Michelle earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from James Madison University.

Kyle Hutchinson, VP and Chief Information Officer

Kyle Hutchinson is the Vice President and Chief Information Officer. He joined USAC in 2014 and has served in the roles of Senior Director of Infrastructure Operations, Deputy Chief Information Officer, and, most recently, the Acting Chief Information Officer. Kyle has over 30 years of experience creating world-class IT infrastructure and data center operations.

Prior to joining USAC, Kyle was the Vice President of Infrastructure Technology at MultiPlan Inc., where he provided leadership to a national technology group across 23 locations and 2 data centers during an acquisition growth period that included the migration of four acquired companies to the MultiPlan data centers. He also served as Director of Operations and Network Services at BCE Emergis, Corp., and Director of Operations at United Payors & United Providers.

Kyle holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Oklahoma State University. He is also an active member of the Network & Systems Professional Association and the Association of Information Technology Professionals.

James Lee, Acting VP of the Lifeline Program

James Lee is the Vice President (acting) of the Lifeline Program. He most recently was the Senior Director of the Lifeline Program, which included managing all aspects of Lifeline administration, but in particular the creation of the Lifeline National Verifier. Prior to USAC, James was a senior consultant in Grant Thornton's federal practice.

James earned his Bachelor of Science in Information Systems from the University of Maryland.

Charlie Salvator, VP of Finance and CFO

Charlie Salvator is the Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer. He previously served as the Senior Director of Internal Audit and has a track record of innovation and effective leadership at USAC. Charlie has a distinguished background of accomplishment in CFO and other senior financial roles at leading consumer and telecommunication companies, such as MCI, Crystal Brands, and General Mills. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Hofstra University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Mark Sweeney, VP of the Rural Health Care Program

Mark Sweeney is the the Vice President of the Rural Health Care Program. Mark has a 30 year track record of successful operational leadership and business transformation in the telecom industry. He joined USAC in February 2016 as Vice President of the High Cost Program.

Previously, Mark worked for Windstream Communications where he served as Senior Vice President for Service Delivery leading a 1,200 person team focused on improving both operational efficiency and customer satisfaction results. Prior to that, he was the Chief Process Officer at XO Communications bringing standardization and efficiency to business processes across the enterprise. Prior to moving to the USA Mark held various positions with British Telecom and its global joint ventures in operational, IT and transformational roles.

Mark is a graduate of the University of Sussex in the UK.