TCAST Management

Lee J Howard, President

As President of TCAST Communications, Inc., Lee Howard brings 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry worldwide.  He began in the industry in 1990 as an installation supervisor for Nortel Telecom.  He spent eleven years as President and CEO of Digital Technologies, Inc., four years as President of Install Solutions, Inc., and four years as Executive Vice President for Sales and Operations at Midwest Communications, Inc.  Prior to his telecommunications career, he served in the military intelligence branch of the United States Army for six years, rising to the rank of Captain.  He earned a degree in Business Administration and Information Technology, with a minor in finance, from Eastern Kentucky University.  Lee has been serving as Chief Executive Officer of TCAST since July of 2009.  He oversees all of TCAST's daily operations, including financial planning and analysis and the negotiation of contracts.  Under his vision, TCAST is shifting its focus from wholesale to retail sales in a plan to expand the company and maximize its potential.

Ed Smart, Vice President, Operations

Ed Smart joined TCAST Communications in 1996 and has been instrumental in the development of the company. Through his leadership, TCAST has built a solid network that gives our customers top quality service at an affordable price. Ed is a telecom veteran with over 20 years in the industry. Ed leads the enthusiastic operations team, with over 60 years of combined experience and expertise in network operations.

Ron Kramer, Vice President, Sales and Marketing

As a telecom veteran with over 18 years in the industry, Ron leads the dedicated and enthusiastic TCAST sales team with over 41 years of combined experience in sales. Before he joined TCAST 9 years ago, Ron gained knowledge and expertise as co-founder of International Talk.com and Vonova. Ron has also served as Director for STAR Telecommunications and Project Manager for WCT Communications. In the last 2 years, Ron has been instrumental in changing the sales and marketing focus of TCAST from wholesale markets toward enterprise opportunities. His extensive experience of sales, marketing, business development and network engineering continually provides the background to identify the network strengths of TCAST for enterprise sales to small-to-medium sized businesses (SMB) in Southern California. Ron attributes TCAST's success to its marketing and technical flexibility, as well as service creativity.

David Kent, Director, Revenue Protection

David Kent joined TCAST in 1999 as the Director of the Revenue Protection group. In this role, he is responsible for the credit analysis and approval of new Wholesale and Retail customers, along with the recovery of outstanding debt owed to TCAST.

Julie McFadden, Director, Provisioning

Julie McFadden joined TCAST in 2001 as the Director, Provisioning. In this role, she is responsible for provisioning all dedicated Wholesale and Retail customer orders and Network orders for delivery of services.  This includes managing the Toll Free and Local port activities as well. 

TCAST Provisioning takes responsibility for each Customer or Vendor from the pre-installation through to completion for a successful installation experience of a TCAST quality product or service addition.

Julie came to TCAST with many years of Network Cost Optimization, Planning and Project Implementation experience. Prior to joining TCAST, she has held senior positions with TMC, Com Systems, WCT, Frontier Communications and STAR Telecommunications.

Rico Jenkins, Director, Operations

Rico Jenkins is our Director of Operations and is responsible for managing our Network Operations Center, TDM and IP Network Systems, Service Order Completion and Technical Support for our internal and external customer base. Rico is also responsible for assisting in the development and implementation of new voice and data products and ensuring viable solutions for existing and emerging markets. Rico has over 19 years experience in the telecommunications industry and prior to joining TCAST, Rico held positions as Data Center Manager for Broadwing Communications, Operations Manager for IXC Communications, and Senior Regional Technician for WCT Telecommunications. Rico began his telecom career in the US Army and, once honorably discharged, embarked on his tenure in the civilian telecommunications sector. He remains highly motivated and super dedicated to the business and our customer’s here at TCAST.

  Andrew L. Rasura, Director, Regulatory, Government & Administration

Andrew (Drew) Rasura has been with TCAST Communications since 2005 and brings over 20 years of government and telecommunications management experience to the company. Drew is responsible for the regulatory and government affairs of the company on the local, state, and federal levels, including representation at the California Public Utilities Commission, drafting and negotiating interconnection agreements, preparing customer contracts, and other corporate documents. He also oversees the company's administrative operations, including outside telecommunications counsel, real property management and negotiations, website creation and administration, human resources and benefits supervision, payroll and personnel policies.

In addition to his management roles with TCAST, Drew serves as the Paid Media Chairperson for the California Public Utilities Commission's Public Education Program (PEP) for new Area Code Overlays. As Chairperson, Drew successfully leads a consortium of telecom executives in the creation and deployment of radio, television, print, and internet media campaigns, with the goal of educating and raising public awareness.

  Gary Diaz, Director, Channel and Retail Sales

Gary brings considerable telecom experience and a great deal of enthusiasm to TCAST Communications. His 30+ years of industry experience include sales management channel and direct, product development, provisioning, customer Service, technical support and repair, complex sales engineering and provisioning. He has worked for such industry notables as MCi, Worldcom, TelePacific, Time Warner Telecom, Winstar, Mpower, Broadwing and BTI. Recruited by TCAST in 2009 to take its existing channel program to the next level Gary’s impact at TCAST has already resulted in significant double digit growth of the channel program. A long time veteran of the telecommunications industry in Southern California he is also credited with starting a successful channel program at Mpower communications in 1998. His extensive technical background combined with years of successful sales management experience give him a unique insight into opportunities in the rapidly emerging new age of telecom. Married with two teenagers, Gary and his wife make their home in the East San Gabriel valley.

Karen Douglas, Director, Accounting and Finance

Since becoming part of the TCAST team in 2004, Karen has utilized her skills and experience in several positions. Karen joined the accounting department in 2006 and is now responsible for the oversight of all accounting operations. These duties include the daily management of all financial transactions, cash flow projections, accounts payable, cash disbursements, revenue tracking, and the production and analysis of financial reports. Karen supervises the account department and the maintenance of a documented system of accounting policies and procedures to ensure efficiency and honesty.

Jennifer Thacker, Manager, Customer Care

Jennifer Thacker has been with TCAST Communications since 2000. In this role, she is responsible for managing Customer Administration and Care. Jennifer is committed to providing exceptional value and quality in services to our Wholesale and Retail customers.

TCAST customers appreciate working with Jennifer because of her passion for customer care and her dedication to stick with them until their issues are resolved. Customer Care takes pride in being prompt, efficient, and knowledgeable about all of the TCAST product line, and being friendly and available when needed.