Management Team

Dan Luis
Chief Executive Officer

Since becoming GoAmerica’s CEO in 2003, Dan lead the team that put GoAmerica on the map as the nation’s second largest provider of communications services for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Dan’s service to the company dates to 1994 where he was the vice president of business development and one of the founding members of Wynd Communications, becoming its CEO in 1998. Wynd was acquired by GoAmerica in 2000 and in 2003 Dan became CEO of GoAmerica and led a strategic refocusing of the Company’s primary business around serving the deaf and hard of hearing market. Recently, GoAmerica was successful in raising more than $125 million in capital which enabled it to execute a series of strategic transactions, including a Verizon asset purchase which closed simultaneously with a merger with Hands On Video Relay Services, broadening GoAmerica’s leadership in its market. Dan holds Bachelors and Masters degrees from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

Edmond Routhier
President and Vice Chairman of the Board

Edmond Routhier became President and Vice Chairman of the Board in January 2008. Mr. Routhier joined Hands On Video Relay Services, Inc. as its President on September 2006. Prior to joining Hands On, Mr. Routhier was Managing Member of Caymus Investment Group, LLC, which makes private equity and debt investments. Mr. Routhier served as the chief executive officer of Sportsuniverse, Inc., an application service provider for a patented channel management software solution, from 1997 to 1999. In 1999, Sportsuniverse, Inc. was acquired by Fogdog.com, which went public in December 1999. Prior to joining Sportsuniverse, Inc. and Fogdog.com, from 1992 to 1997, Mr. Routhier was founder and chief executive officer of Rock’N Tacos, Inc., the parent company of Rock’N Tacos, JuiceGym and Rojoz Restaurants. Rock’N Tacos, Inc. was sold in 1997.

John R. Ferron
Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer

Prior to joining GoAmerica in April, 2008, Mr. Ferron served as Chief Financial Officer of Celerity, Inc., a company engaged in the design, engineering and manufacturing of precision instruments and advanced gas and liquid delivery solutions for the global semiconductor capital equipment market, from December 23, 2004 through January 31, 2008 as well as interim COO from late 2006 until his departure. Prior to Celerity, John was a Chief Financial Officer of Kinetics Group, Inc. from February 2000 through December 2004 and a was a Vice President of Finance for Commercial PC Division of Compaq Computer from February 1998 through January 2000. Mr. Ferron brings twenty years of financial experience, primarily in high technology manufacturing companies, and has a B.S. degree in Finance from Northern Arizona University and a Master of Science in Tax and Financial Planning from San Diego State University.

Michael J. Pendergast
General Counsel

Mr. Pendergast joined GoAmerica as General Counsel in April, 2008, and was appointed Secretary on May 2, 2008. From April 2007 until joining GoAmerica, Mr. Pendergast served as General Counsel to PureDepth, Inc., a publicly traded technology and licensing company. From February 1999 to April 2006, he served as General Counsel, Vice President, Business Affairs, and Assistant-Secretary, and from May 2006 to December 2006, as a part time consultant, to GlobalEnglish Corporation, an e-learning company. Prior to that time, Mr. Pendergast served as General Counsel (from June 1998 to October 1998) and Associate General Counsel (from May 1996 to June 1998) to Broderbund Software, a NASDAQ listed software company, and before that as General Counsel of The Learning Company, another NASDAQ listed software company.

Ric Buskirk
Vice President and General Manager, Text Relay

Prior to joining GoAmerica in April, 2008, Mr. Buskirk was VP Sales and Marketing for Cosemi, a technology start-up, and COO of Vanguard Integrity Professionals, a security software company. Mr. Buskirk has over 19 years with AT&T and its various divisions, most recently as Area Vice President responsible for $200M in sales and service to corporate accounts. Prior to that, he served as General Manager for Global Business Services. In AT&T’s Corporate Development group, Mr. Buskirk helped develop and execute AT&T’s domestic wireless services strategy driving the $21B McCaw Cellular acquisition and was founding member of a new wireless services division (PCS). During this time, he helped guide venture discussions with 4 international companies performing business plan and operations reviews for wireless technologies in 20+ countries. After AT&T, Buskirk was second in command for a venture-backed Internet security software company and later was CEO and Founder of a project management software company. Mr. Buskirk has served as Board Director for the Sundance Film Institute Advisory Board and was a member of AT&T’s elite Leadership Succession Program. Ric brings over 20 years of operations, P&L and business development experience in telecom and software companies to GoAmerica.

George Sutcliffe
Vice President and General Manager, Video Relay Services

Mr. Sutcliffe joined GoAmerica in May, 2007, as Director of Product Development and was promoted to his current role in 2008. George brought with him over 15 years of experience in Product Management, Marketing, and Business Development in the communications industry. Prior to joining GoAmerica, George spent six years with Pac-West Telecomm. There, he worked as the Director of Product Marketing, Senior Director of Marketing, and finally the Senior Director of Business Development. George has made a positive impact on such companies as DCI, DIGI-CELL, Inc., Logix Communications, Inc., and NetStream, Inc. George graduated with an Executive Masters of Business Administration from Golden Gate University, San Francisco and received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Brandon Arthur
Vice President and General Manager, Community Interpreting

Mr. Arthur, a nationally certified interpreter, joined GoAmerica in June 2008, through the acquisition of Visual Language Interpreting (VLI), and brings with him over 10 years of communication access services management experience. As the founder of VLI, he was responsible for the establishment of the core values, spirit of innovation, and Participation Elevated approach that resulted in VLI becoming an industry and marketplace leader. Before founding VLI, Brandon worked as the Director of Marketing and Business Development for Signing Hands, where he was responsible for brand management, revenue generation, and outreach activities. Previous to that, he worked as an interpreter in the Washington, DC and Seattle metropolitan areas. Brandon has been a certified member of RID since 1997 and is a past President of the Board of Directors for Deaf REACH.

Janet L. Bailey
Senior Vice President, Interpreter Relations

Janet joined GoAmerica in June, 2008, after GoAmerica’s acquisition of Sign Language Associates, the company Janet founded and where she held the position of President & CEO. Prior to founding SLA, the nation’s oldest and largest private interpreting firm. Prior to joining GoAmerica, Janet’s work history included positions at the National Association of the Deaf and Gallaudet University. Janet was in private practice when she joined forces with other DC area interpreters to help establish SLA. Janet is a pioneer in the field of performing arts interpreting where she earned her SC:PA in 1979. A certified member of RID since 1977, Janet served on the RID Board of Directors from 1990 – 95 (as Secretary, Treasurer and President) where she served two terms as President of RID. Janet continues to serve on the NAD/RID National Council on Interpreting, which has responded to the national interpreter shortage, supported the revision of the new joint Code of Professional Conduct, and has developed and launched the new joint national interpreter certification (NIC). Janet also serves on the RID Professional Standards Committee, and was an active member of RID’s ad hoc Video Interpreting Committee tasked with the first standard practice paper on VRS. She is a past member of the Board of Directors of Deaf REACH and sits on the advisory committees of several Interpreting Programs.