Mary Westerhold graduated Summa Cum Laude from Stephens College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and obtained a master’s in business administration from St. Louis University. Prior to entering the telecommunications industry, she held a management position and was promoted to assistant vice president of a regional financial lending institution.
For the past twenty years, Westerhold has managed all aspects of subscriber billing, carrier access billing, wholesale contract negotiation and customer care implementation for voice, data, video and satellite telecommunication products. In addition, she has extensive leadership experience in all aspects of rate design policy, inter-company compensation, financial reporting requirements, including regulatory and tax preparation requirements as well as merger and acquisition activity. In addition to her financial and managerial responsibilities, she has held several positions of significance in the telecommunications industry and community, including secretary/board member of the Illinois Rural Broadband Association, appointment to the Illinois Telecommunications & Broadband Association’s Accounting and Standards Committee in 1995, and well as the Board of Directors of Zefcom, LLC (Sprint PCS affiliate). Westerhold has remained an active member of the nine-county region of the Leadership Council of Southwestern Illinois’ Broadband Steering Committee. Most recently, she was named one of the “100 St. Louisans You Should Know to Succeed in Business” by St. Louis Small Business Monthly. Westerhold was elected to NTCA’s Government Affairs Committee in 2022. Her active participation in NTCA’s Government Affairs Committee provides a history of significant involvement with rural broadband and telecommunication issues, but also a working knowledge of existing state and federal regulation as the committee develops forward looking public policy that is advocated through NTCA lobbying efforts.
In addition to participating in broadband industry-related functions, she is a board member and Audit Committee chair of First Mid-Illinois Bancshares (NASDAQ: FMBH) and its affiliates, treasurer of the Edwardsville Community Unit School District Foundation Board, and past chairman of the Edwardsville Community Foundation.