Tilson Leadership

Joshua Broder serves as CEO of Tilson, which under his leadership, has grown from less than 10 employees to 360, earning a top spot on the Inc. 5000 list for the past consecutive nine years. Josh led several large, successful Recovery Act funded technology infrastructure projects for Tilson that included fiber optic broadband smart grid network deployments. Josh cut his teeth in leadership as an Army Signal Officer on missions in Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia, where he was awarded the Bronze Star for service in Afghanistan running the tactical communications network for US forces. Josh holds a Bachelor's degree from Middlebury College. Josh is a graduate of AT&T's Operation Hand Salute at JFK University with a certificate in entrepreneurial studies. Josh serves on the boards for Skowhegan Savings Bank, Kleinschmidt Associates (a Pittsfield Maine based multi-national engineering firm), the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, and software start-up NBT Solutions.

Mike Dow is Founder and Chief Information Officer at Tilson. Prior to that he was the Senior Vice President-Operations at Theodor Wille Intertrade, a global supply chain company serving US interests abroad. After founding Tilson and successfully transitioning ownership to Joshua Broder, its current CEO, Mike joined TWI in 2009 as the Chief Information Officer. He oversaw the strategy and execution of TWI’s business systems; ensuring that world-class technology supports the execution of world-wide logistics operations. Mike has over two decades of experience in various roles including internal audit with American Express, IT Director for Cianbro Construction, a large civil and industrial contractor, as an entrepreneur and business owner, and technology thought leader. Mike has worked in a variety of challenging international assignments over the years, ranging from Asia to South America, Europe and the Middle East – bringing language and cultural skills to his technology leadership role. Mike has a BA from Middlebury College with study at Beijing University.

As Tilson's Chief Financial Officer, Shaun McCarthy leads Tilson’s finance team and stewards the company’s financial health as it continues to expand its network infrastructure design build services during a period of rapid expansion for clients across the country deploying 5G, fiber and other network technologies. Shaun has over 20 years of experience in senior financial positions including his most recent roles as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller at Casa Systems, a broadband infrastructure technology solutions provider. Previously he worked with Dynamics Research Corporation as Vice President of Finance, Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer. He has also held numerous roles at Axcelis Technologies, Inc., including as Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller. Shaun received a B.S. in Finance and an M.B.A. with a concentration in Accounting from Bentley University.

Kelly Brewer serves as Executive VP of Telecom for Tilson, leading a world-class team of more than 450 professionals who are designing, building and maintaining the most advanced network infrastructure for private, public, utility and government clients across the country. Tilson’s Telecom division is highly regarded as an industry standout for innovation and technologically advanced deployment methods. Early on, Brewer established and led Tilson’s self-performing tower construction and engineering divisions serving wireline, wireless and utility customers. Today, she leads all of Tilson’s telecom business units. In 2018, Brewer was recognized by Engineering News Record as a “Top Young Professional” in New England. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business and Construction Management from the University of Southern Maine and an MBA from Mississippi State University.

Jerrad Avery serves as Tilson's Assistant Vice President of Telecom Operations overseeing the operations across all telecom lines of business. Tilson's Telecom division is highly regarded as an industry standout for innovation and technologically advanced deployment methods. Avery implements strategies that support Tilson to scale in a sustainable way by developing leaders, creating business processes with an eye toward the future and driving a culture of operational excellence. He most recently served as Operations Director improving efficiencies through Six Sigma methodologies for a heavy duty truck dealership in the Northwest and Hawaii. Avery has a proven track record of leading large, geographically disperse teams during his ten year career as an Army Officer. 

Alda Licis serves as Vice President of Infrastructure, leading Tilson’s fiber, wireless, network, space and tower asset development and leaseback within SQF, LLC. Prior to joining Tilson, Alda was Principal/Owner of Front Range Infrastructure Consulting, LLC advising clients in the fiber and wireless industry. Previously, she worked for the Zayo Group holding several roles over her five-year tenure including managing the P&L for the data center business unit, developing Zayo’s first Small Cell Implementation team, managing large-scale fiber projects, and managing multiple Product teams responsible for strategic pricing of all dark fiber-based products (metro, long haul and FTT/Small Cell). Prior to Zayo, Alda managed the Chicago and Federal engineering offices for EYP Mission Critical Facilities, a data center design and consulting company which was acquired by Hewlett Packard. Alda began her career as a licensed Electrical Engineer designing power systems for commercial buildings.

Alda serves as the Chair of University of Colorado’s BOLD Advisory Council in the College of Engineering. She holds an Engineering degree from the University of Colorado and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.

As Tilson’s Vice President of Workforce, Horn leads Tilson’s global workforce strategy by deepening Tilson’s internal training and career pathing, and partnering with educational institutions, industry, and the military in building Tilson’s world class team of technical professionals. Prior to joining Tilson, Horn served as Director of Maine’s Bureau of Veterans Services for three years, where she led local and national veteran outreach and legislative initiatives. A graduate of West Point, she received her MBA from Northeastern University. After 11 years on Active Duty and multiple deployments, she worked on behalf of United States Senator Susan Collins in her Portland Field Office. Horn is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army Reserve with United States Pacific Command.

Tim Schneider is General Counsel and Principal Consultant for Tilson. As General Counsel, Tim oversees and provides guidance to the management team on all legal matters related to Tilson’s activities including contracting, licensing, and regulation. As a Principal Consultant, Tim supports Tilson customers with expert consulting and advisory services in the areas of telecommunications and energy policy. Prior to joining Tilson, Tim led the Maine Office of the Public Advocate, the independent state agency that represents Maine utility customers. As Public Advocate, Tim served on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Utility Consumer Advocates, and played a central role in setting Maine’s energy and telecommunications policy, with particular focus on ensuring that electricity bills were affordable for low income electricity customers, expanding access to broadband, and developing forward-looking distributed generation policy. He is a graduate of Harvard University and New York University School of Law.

Elin Swanson Katz serves as Tilson's Managing Director, Energy Consulting and Associate General Counsel. As a senior member of Tilson's Consulting division, Katz brings new prospective and capacity to Tilson’s energy and utility consulting practice for both government and industry clients. Additionally, Katz provides regulatory support for Tilson’s legal team to help speed fiber and 5G deployments, as well as support merger and acquisition due diligence. Prior to joining Tilson, Katz previously served as Connecticut Consumer Counsel and head of the Connecticut State Broadband Office, where she represented the interests of utility consumers before the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and other venues, including the Connecticut General Assembly. Prior to becoming Consumer Counsel, Katz practiced law in Hartford, Boston and Washington, D.C. and previously served as Assistant Counsel at the former state Department of Environmental Protection (now the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection). She was formerly Vice-Chair of the West Hartford Board of Education. Katz holds a law degree from Boston University, a B.S. from Cornell University and a master’s from Trinity College.

Richard Evans serves as Director of Construction for the Northeast Region, leading the Tilson construction and maintenance staff offices in New England and Upstate New York. With a passion for building, Richard directs his team as they work with utilities, municipalities, and cellular communications companies to grow and maintain the wireless networks that keep the country moving.   Prior to his arrival at Tilson, Richard had 25 years of leadership experience in the Construction and Building Services industries, driving customer satisfaction and operational excellence for ES Boulos Electrical Contractors, Simplex Grinnell, and Otis Elevator Company. Richard received his Bachelors of Science Degree from Texas A&M University and Masters of Science in Business from the Krannert School of Business at Purdue University.

As Tilson's Small Cell Director, Drew Colbow is responsible for the daily operations of the Small Cell division. He brings more than 20 years of multifaceted experience in the wireless infrastructure industry. His experience and leadership has focused on national wireless network deployment, program management, business operations, enterprise system management, and operational process implementation. Prior to joining Tilson, Drew spent 20 years at American Tower Corporation in various roles of increasing responsibility where he helped centralize and scale their national turnkey services unit. Drew holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Wittenberg University, a Master of City Planning Degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

As part of Tilson’s growing Telecom Division, Drew Ludwick serves as Director of Network Services. Drew leads a team of highly-experienced engineers and technicians delivering engineering and Implementation services of networks supporting Smart Cities, Broadband deployments, Utility and Grid Distribution Networks, DAS and WIFI, as well as efforts to modernize and upgrade public and commercial networks. Prior to joining Tilson in February 2017, Drew served more than 20 years in the U.S. Army, in telecommunications positions of increasing rank and responsibility. Over his military career, he worked with a variety of network systems and technologies in providing secure and robust communications facilities in places as diverse as Afghanistan to the Pacific Rim, from the White House to NATO, and culminating in a position developing next-generation communications networks for the Joint Communications Support Element providing telecommunications needs for U.S. forces worldwide.

Steve VanVleet serves as Tilson's National Director of Outside Plant. VanVleet leads Tilson’s OSP division as they deploy the most innovative techniques and advanced tools to design, build, and maintain complex infrastructure networks. He joins Tilson with over 20 years of experience in operations execution. Prior to joining Tilson, VanVleet served as the National Execution Director at Black & Veatch where he led multiple national outside plant design-build programs. VanVleet served as a Combat Engineer for the United States Army. He is a graduate of the Utah State’s Electrical Trades Program and went on to earn his Master Electrician and Electrical Contractors Licenses.

John Patridge is an innovative executive with decades of experience in the engineering, construction and software industries. He is a high-performing, driven professional with expertise in implementation, consulting, product management and construction IT. John has written articles on software implementation topics for industry newsletters and has been a contributing author of construction technology articles for trade publications. John's favorite part of his job is sharing knowledge and experience with clients and helping them connect the dots on complex processes in their technology or data projects. John holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alabama and is a member of the Construction Financial Management Association.

As Director of Construction Technology Consulting, Tracy manages the Construction Technology Consulting division at Tilson and leads a team of over 30 construction technology and business process experts. Prior to joining Tilson, Tracy served as the top technology leader in a billion-dollar construction company, where she managed multimillion-dollar budgets, organized complex projects, and rebuilt the department and processes to scale with the company’s growth.  Although her passion is technology strategy, during Tracy’s 15 years of construction industry experience she has also served in a variety of functions from real estate to fleet management to risk management.  A CFMA member, Co-Chair of the AGC Missouri Design and Construction Technology Conference Committee, and active St. Louis Viewpoint User Group Member, Tracy holds a B.A. and M.A. from Northland International University.

As Director of Enterprise Applications, Doreen is responsible for the planning, development, and deployment of enterprise applications to maximize effectiveness and efficiency at Tilson and for clients. With more than 25 years of information technology and consulting experience, Doreen works closely with business leaders to drive transformational change through the use of information technology in order to achieve organizational objectives. She provides leadership and oversight of enterprise applications including the design, development, implementation, integration, and support of complex end-user applications at Tilson. Vice President for CFMA Maine, Doreen holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Southern Maine.

Jay Ford is the Director of Government and Institutional Consulting at Tilson. He is responsible for providing software development, consulting, and IT project leadership services to Government and select private industry clients. Jay started his career with Tilson 10 years ago as a member of the software development team and has held various consultant and management positions before taking on his current leadership role. Jay proudly serves as a member of the Advisory Committee for Organ and Tissue Donation in his home state of Maine and frequently volunteers with New England Donor Services.

Kevin has over 25 years of experience in the Information Technology industry. At Tilson, Kevin leads the information systems division by setting and executing technology strategy in response to a dynamic and diverse business environment. Kevin acts as a Principal Consultant, advising clients on IT leadership and strategy, system selection and at times serving as an outsourced Chief Information Officer. His background also includes knowledge and experience in organizational leadership, organizational behavior, change management, strategic direction, project management, operations, human resources, accounting, finance, payments, and business/systems analysis. Kevin is a Certified Information Systems Auditor and is a regular instructor and speaker at information technology events. He holds a BS Degree in Accounting from Thomas College, an MA in English/Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University and is a graduate of Maine Development Foundation’s Leadership Maine Program (Tau Class).

Chuck is a proven, high energy safety professional who has achieved results in both industry and construction.  He has over 24 years of experience in developing Health & Safety programs, conducting H&S training and providing overall commonsense direction to maximize H&S efforts. Implementation of behavior-based safety programs and establishing best practice, post-incident intervention programs are areas of significant achievement.   Chuck was formerly the Director of Safety and Health at Abscope Environmental, Corporate Safety manager at BBL and ArcadisBBL.  His ability to mesh safety into operations with always an eye on improving efficiency is a significant asset in our business.  Chuck served multiple tours in the Army as an artilleryman, ROTC instructor and Civil Affairs officer, departing the U.S. Army Reserve in 2011.  Chuck received his Bachelors of Arts Degree from the University of Colorado and his Masters of Science in Safety from the University of Southern California.