In lieu of majoring in physics and becoming an astronaut, Liz Maxfield received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Southern Methodist University, and a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
She spent summers during college interning on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and after receiving her law degree in 1979, Liz returned to D.C. to begin her career at the FCC. In 1982, she joined Becker, Gurman, Lukas, Meyers, O’Brien and McGowan, a communications law firm specializing in paging and radio common carrier issues, where she participated in the application and licensing process for the first cellular systems in the top 90 markets.
Liz joined the fledgling CTIA in 1984 and served through 1998 as Senior Vice President for Industry Affairs, with a year-long stint as Acting President for parts of 1991 and 1992. At CTIA, Liz was involved in every aspect of association activities, including roaming standards, technology specifications, regulatory issues, crisis management and member recruitment. In 1988 she formed CIBERNET Corp., CTIA’s subsidiary providing financial settlement services, and served as its President through 1998. She supervised CIBERNET’s expansion through the formation of CIBERNET PLC, an international subsidiary based in London. With the “cellular brain cancer” scare of 1993, Liz assumed responsibility for CTIA’s health and safety program, which included bioeffects research, questions about hearing aids and cardiac pacemakers, and safe driving concerns. She also spearheaded the formation of the Wireless Data Forum under the CTIA umbrella.
Liz returned to Texas with her family in 1998 where she served as a consultant to a variety of wireless entities. She joined Arlene Harris and Judy Purcell in establishing the Wireless History Foundation in 2008, and served as its Executive Director until 2016. She remains an active Director and volunteer.
In recognition of her industry contributions, Liz has received the Radio Club of America Lee de Forest Award, the CTIA President’s Award, the Austin Wireless Alliance Leadership Award, and the GTE/TSI “Celli” Award. She has also served on the Advisory Board of the University of Texas – Austin Technology Incubator, the Board of Directors of the University of Oklahoma Center for Electromagnetic Compatibility, and as Chair of the Austin Wireless Alliance.