Henry M Rivera

Henry M. Rivera is a partner with Wiley Rein LLP where he specializes in representing telecommunications and media companies before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Congress, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the White House.

President Ronald Reagan appointed him Commissioner of the FCC.  He was the first Hispanic FCC Commissioner.  Mr. Rivera has served as a chair and member of FCC and State Department Advisory Committees as well as a member of U.S. delegations to international telecommunications conferences.

Mr. Rivera is a past president of the Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) and recipient of its Distinguished Service Award.  He has been honored by the FCBA for his distinguished 38 year legal career and substantial contribution to the communications bar.

Mr. Rivera has been named as one of the top 12 telecom experts in the United States by Legal Media Group’s Best of the Best, in Super Lawyers of Washington, D.C., in The Best Lawyers in America, and in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.  He has been recognized as a “Leading Individual” in the field of Communications & IT law by the Practical Law Company’s Which Lawyer directory and has been named to The International Who’s Who of Regulatory Communications Lawyers.

Mr. Rivera serves on the boards of many charitable organizations including Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, The National Archives Foundation, The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, The Emma Bowen Foundation for Minority Interests in Media and the FCBA Foundation.

Mr. Rivera is a frequent speaker, author and conference leader on telecommunications matters and was a founding board member of Valor Telecommunications, the first Hispanic-owned telephone company in the
continental United States.  He is a Vietnam veteran and recipient of the Bronze Star.

Mr. Rivera received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of New Mexico in 1968.  He received his Juris Doctor in 1973 from the University of New Mexico School of Law, where he was Editor of “The Natural Resources Journal,” a law review published by the School of Law.  He received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Albuquerque in 1981.  A native of New Mexico, he currently resides in Arlington, Virginia, with his spouse, Bernadette McGuire-Rivera, PhD, a member of the Senior Executive Service at the U.S. Department of Commerce.