Kathleen Quinn Abernathy (born 1956) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

. She is currently a partner at Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP, a Washington, DC communications law firm. Abernathy was previously Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 2001 to 2005. She graduated from Marquette University

Marquette University

Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...

 magna cum laude, and from Catholic University

The Catholic University of America

The Catholic University of America is a private university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops...

's Columbus School of Law

Columbus School of Law

The Columbus School of Law, also known as CUA Law, is the law school of The Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C..Over 900 Juris Doctor students attend CUA Law. Incoming classes are typically composed of two to three hundred students, including day and night programs. Around 3,500...

.

Early career

Prior to her FCC appointment, Abernathy was Vice President of Public Policy at BroadBand Office Communications, Inc.; a partner at the law firm of Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP; Vice President for Regulatory Affairs at U.S. West, Inc.; and Vice President for Federal Regulatory Affairs at AirTouch Communications, Inc. Earlier in her career, she was a Legal Advisor to FCC Chairman James H. Quello, Legal Advisor to Commissioner Sherrie P. Marshall, and Special Assistant to the FCC’s General Counsel.

FCC appointment

Abernathy was nominated to the FCC by President George W. Bush on May 1, 2001. She was sworn on May 31, 2001 and served until December 9, 2005. During her tenure, Abernathy chaired the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service and participated in numerous international bilateral and multilateral negotiations, including the 2002 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference and the 2003 ITU World Radiocommunications Conference. She also was appointed and served as Chair of the 2004 ITU Global Symposium for Regulators.

Late career

From 2006 to 2008, she worked at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a law firm founded in Dallas, Texas, in 1945 by Robert Strauss and Richard Gump. The firm now numbers more than 800 attorneys and advisers in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia...

. In 2010, she joined Frontier Communications as Chief Legal Officer.