Press Release

PUC Appoints Sandra McNally to Pennsylvania Telecommunications Relay Service Advisory Board

Published on 5/23/2019

Filed under: Telecommunications

HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today appointed Sandra McNally to the Pennsylvania Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Advisory Board.

Ms. McNally, the assistant director of Assistive Technology Programs at the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University in Philadelphia, will serve an unlimited term on the TRS Advisory Board.

Ms. McNally began working at Pennsylvania’s Initiative on Assistive Technology (now known as TechOWL) in 2002 and became Program Director in 2014. She also oversees other statewide assistive technology activities, including Pennsylvania’s telecommunications device distribution program (TDDP), and iCanConnectPA, the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program in Pennsylvania.  In 2018, Ms. McNally became Chair of the Telecommunications Equipment Distribution Program Association, a national organization.  She is also a member of the Advisory Council for the Board of the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging.  The parent of two adults with disabilities, Ms. McNally has first-hand knowledge of the impact assistive and generic technologies can have on people’s lives.

The TRS Advisory Board, established in 1990, works to ensure the continued success of Pennsylvania’s TRS program. This program offers means to assist persons with disabilities in communications, including traditional telephone relay services, along with video relay and internet relay services. 

The advisory board meets quarterly and includes representatives for the PUC, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry’s Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Pennsylvania Telephone Association and other stakeholders, along with individuals selected to represent the broader community of persons with hearing or speech issues.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission balances the needs of consumers and utilities; ensures safe and reliable utility service at reasonable rates; protects the public interest; educates consumers to make independent and informed utility choices; furthers economic development; and fosters new technologies and competitive markets in an environmentally sound manner.

Visit the PUC’s website at www.puc.pa.gov for recent news releases and video of select proceedings. You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Search for the “Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission” or “PA PUC” on your favorite social media channel for updates on utility issues and other helpful consumer information.

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Docket No.: M-00900239

Contact:

• Nils Hagen-Frederiksen
  Press Secretary
  717-418-2701
  nhagen-fre@pa.gov