Tom Wilkins

Founder

Tom founded The Wilkins Group, Inc. in 1986 as Wilkins & Associates from a two-man crew to an established organization with more than 200 employees. For nearly four decades, Tom served as the “think tank” behind Wilkins. He was also an active member of the telecommunications industry led regulation initiatives and participated in technology awareness programs with numerous corporations, chambers of commerce and educational institutions. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry appointed Tom to the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Board (TIFB) where Tom served until The Sunset Commission inactivated the Board in 2024. Tom was also a charter member of Richardson Chamber of Commerce’s Telecom Corridor Council. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Electronic Engineering Technology from the American Technical Institute in Killeen, Texas, and was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, where he was a member of the Presidential Ceremonial Honor Guard. Since 1993, Tom was a Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD) and an accredited member of Building Industry Consulting Services International (BICSI). A longtime auto racing enthusiast, Tom was a proud member of the Viper Club of America. He enjoyed retrofitting Vipers and diesel pickup trucks and was an avid golfer. The weekend before he passed away from multiple myeloma, Tom attended the 83rd KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at PGA Frisco May 2023. Tom’s legacy lives on in his five grandchildren and through the employees, affiliates and associates of The Wilkins Group, Inc. which Tom dreamed would be a multigenerational business. Therefore, the company aims to fulfill our Founder’s mission to continue being the hands in the field that installs services that carriers, service providers and governmental entities promise. Also as thought leaders, designers and developers, Wilkins Group staff stands on the shoulders of our founder being active participants in closing the digital divide!

Tomeka Herod

President

Since 1997, Tomeka has provided executive leadership for The Wilkins Group. She is Wilkins’ 2nd generation company executive who forecasts industry trends, negotiates contracts, advises management, looks at “big-picture” strategies for the organization and also ensures that senior professional team members are contributing positively to the company’s bottom line. Additional Tomeka’s roles include defining Wilkins’ company culture, managing customer relationships, handling human resource activities, and strategic business planning. She has a diverse background in corporation communications, public relations, business and administration. She also leads the company’s training, recruiting, proposal-writing team and ensures realistic schedules and uniform, time-honored deliverables from the operations team to the company’s customers. Tomeka is also responsible for managing the Internet solutions and cell site maintenance departments, including budgets, contracts and personnel. Her training has prepared her to lead, retain and supervise administrative and technical professionals. Tomeka holds a Master of Arts degree from Southern Methodist University (SMU) where she has served as Chair of the African American Alumni Associates; and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Sam Houston State University. Prior to joining Wilkins, Tomeka worked for Electronic Data Systems (EDS) as a Technical Writer and Executive Assistant to former Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams. Tomeka is a member of the Damage Prevention Council of Texas (811) and a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO)’s Global One Chapter, a former Board Member of the Community Council of Greater Dallas, a current Board member of Word Visions Foundation and is the Financial Secretary for the Northeast Dallas Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated. She was appointed to the Texas Medical Board by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in 2020. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, reading and mentoring grade school youth.

Faye Moses Wilkins

Owner

Faye serves as the policies and procedures liaison between The Wilkins Group’s operations and administration departments. She produces realistic delivery schedules, adheres to committed schedules, and applies uniform, time-honored deliverables to the company’s customers. Prior to joining Wilkins, Faye was a Post Graduate Practical Nurse (PGPN) and later became a real estate broker, managing all facets of her real estate company including human resources, marketing, accounting, and operations for 15 years. An advocate for the development of women and minority leadership, Faye served on Plano City Council’s Multicultural Outreach Roundtable (MCOR), and several minority councils. She is also a member of Women in Cable and Telecommunications. Faye is an active member of the community and has worked with non-profit organizations including The Boys and Girls Club of Collin County and Plano Rotary Club and promoted special events such as the Byron Nelson Golf Classic. Faye currently is Chair of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Board. An avid golfer, Faye served as President of the Women’s Golf Association of Bent Tree Country Club 2014-2016.

ConTrenia McKinzie

VP of Operations

Trenia brings nearly 20 years of experience in IT networking and telecommunications to her role as Vice President of Operations at The Wilkins Group. She currently manages the company’s underground construction and broadband departments and oversees customer escalations. She applies proven project management principles to maintain tight project schedules for efficiency and productivity. Trenia is also responsible for safety training and OSHA compliance. A member of The Wilkins Group team for more than a decade, Trenia has a deep understanding of the business and customer expectations. Her passion for customer relations has generated numerous letters of gratitude from satisfied clients recognizing her leadership abilities to get the job done right the first time. Prior to her current role, Trenia was responsible for maintaining and monitoring Level II and Level III LAN/WAN networks for a seven-state region. Since 2012, Trenia has served on the North Texas Damage Prevention Council and is currently the Scribe for the local chapter of Texas 811. She is an also active with drug outreach programs in her local community. In 2015, Trenia celebrated her 20th anniversary as a Wilkins employee!

Emma Williams

VP of Human Resources

Emma is responsible for recruiting and retaining talented team members to support The Wilkins Group’s diverse telecommunications projects. She also manages the daily administrative requirements of the business. She brings keen business instincts to her role, as well as years of experience supervising, managing and being a top producer with the world’s largest retail chain. Emma has been a valued member of The Wilkins Group team for more than 17 years. Prior to joining Wilkins, Emma was an entrepreneur and business owner who mentored her top associates to become business owners themselves. She is a member of Greater New Mt. Zion Baptist Church, SHRM, Dallas HR, NAACP and Alpha Chi Pi Omega Sorority & Fraternity, Inc. An expert motivator, Emma’s motto is “Change what needs changing…not what’s easy!”

Rick McIntosh

Director – Utility Construction

Rick is an OSHA-Competent Person with 40+ years of a wealth of experience in the underground and aerial construction industry passionately working as a successful entrepreneur as co-owner of Integrity Communications and also in the corporate world for Mastec as a Project Manager before joining The Wilkins Group twice in 2000 and again in 2015. His duties include, but are not limited to, business development, trainer, splicer (fiber, coax & copper) and program management. Under Rick’s direction, Wilkins has blossomed in to new business territories for TV, phone and Internet providers throughout the southwest United States. Rick has been the project lead for outside plant construction for urban, rural, commercial and residential telecommunications deployments of coax, fiber and twisted pair.

Rick graduated with an Associate Degrees in Computer Science and Business from South Florida State and earned a 3.9 GPA and he has a Bachelor of Science in Business from National Louis University.

His leisure activities include golf, hunting, rebuilding classic vehicles, playing the guitar and spending time with his grand and great grandchildren who lovingly call him Poppy.

Convarsea’ (Vos) Williams

Dispatch Supervisor

Vos began his career with Wilkins in 2013 as a contractor and less than a year later he transitioned to a full-time employee in 2014. Prior to Dispatch Supervisor, through his tenure with Wilkins, Vos has held the following roles: quality assurance technician, cable drops supervisor, department trainer and technical field support. Vos stays cool, calm and collected under pressure which is an important attribute in the telecom arena. He’s Wilkins’ customers’ go-to-guy for many requests because he gets things done. Vos is able to multitask successfully while keeping his hand on the pulse of technicians’ timeliness, communicating access requests, resolving damages while also handling purchase order processing, correcting billing discrepancies and routing day-to-day.

Vos attended Cisco Jr. College and Richland Community College where he majored in basic studies.

Vos is the proud dad of two beautiful girls and in his spare time he enjoys coaching little league football, producing music and playing on his PS5. One of Vos’s proudest accomplishments is his impeccable school attendance. He had perfect attendance for 13 years, which has crossed over to his nearly perfect attendance at Wilkins. A fun fact about Vos is that he has an 8-year older brother that shares the same birthday.

D’et Van Leer

Project Coordinator

Fondly referred to as “D’et” or “D” or Ms. D is a consummate Project Coordinator with supreme aptitude and decades of experience in the telecommunications industry. Prior to transitioning to cable construction infrastructure and Wilkins, she worked in communications and cable where she grew from fulfillment dispatch to retail sale office manager overseeing up to 5 offices within the North Texas region. She has also worked as call center agent and supervisor handling Fortune 500 accounts such as Disney, Prudential and JP Morgan Chase, among others. Ms. D’s knowledge, personality, giving nature, and drive to get things done correctly and on time helps Wilkins stay on top of its clients’ needs. She attributes her client-centric attitude to her training in the customer service industry, where she spent majority of her career life. She holds steadfast to the golden rule of service, i.e., “treat others as you wish to be treated.” According to her, adherence to the principles of the golden rule enables her to build and maintain great and meaningful personal and professional relationships. Causes that D cares most about are homelessness and domestic violence. She enjoys being around people who love and wants to be loved and those who have fun and giggles.

Jocelyn Collong

HR Manager

Jocelyn’s years of experience in Human Resources administration coupled by her ability to adjust and wear different hats at a short notice, makes her a valuable addition to The Wilkins Group, Inc. She is responsible for recruiting, retaining and training talented team members who manage and lead various telecommunications projects. Analytical and strategic in managing company resources to improve efficiency and promote productivity, Jocelyn has a keen understanding of emotional intelligence. Prior to joining The Wilkins Group, worked in the field of public policy, undertaking advisory and consultancy positions in public and private sectors including working in high profile support roles to international consultants and government officials internationally. A firm believer that education is the greatest equalizer, Jocelyn completed her Masters in Public Administration from Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and she has a Master’s in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics under competitive scholarship from the University of the City of Manila.

Sandro Gutierrez

OSP Field Supervisor

Sandro is a key team member of Wilkins’ outside plant construction department. He supervises field technicians and is a go-to lead on field personnel compliance. He has over 20 years of experience in telecommunication construction business. He is a hard-working frontrunner with a wealth of experience in Project Management, sales, operations, staffing, budgeting, and delivering top-quality service to clients. Prior to joining Wilkins, Sandro hailed from the west coast, proving once again that California’s loss is Texas’ gain. Sandro is a graduate of Business Administration with minor in Marketing from Ashford University. He likes to travel and on his spare time, he enjoys watching sports with his friends.

Shawn Milam

Area Manager (Missouri & Kansas)

Shawn is one of the company’s true pride and joy because he is a “true blue” Wilkins home-grown talent. He started with the company in 2017 as a laborer and was trained by some of the best in the industry. He was on a team known as “Larry Henderson’s A-Team,” who dug 90% of all pits by hand in rock. They did what was needed to be done to ensure compliance with the contract requirement and leave a fulfilled and happy customer. He is a professional excavator operator and has obtained certifications in trench excavation safety, confined space training, CPR, professional heavy equipment operator and various OSHA-led trainings.

Shawn is in charge of managing Wilkins’ outside plant construction crews who dig splice pits, replace pedestals, perform manhole maintenance and place cable through trenching and boring/horizontal directional drilling. Through his tenure, Shawn has apprenticed coal miner and as a heavy equipment/diesel mechanic and is now skilled in working on a variety of machinery from International big trucks to excavators to Hydrovac systems. Prior to joining Wilkins, Shawn installed CCTV data wire for asset protection and fire suppression and alarm systems for various corporations in the grocery, food and beverage industry and financial institutions This go-getter man dreamt of becoming a rockstar at the age of 10.

In his young adult life, Shawn was a member of a band touring as rock guitarist and had a hit on the billboard charts. He has been featured in many magazines and his music has been played across the world up to this day. He has been in music videos and featured on MTV and NBC. He uses his talent to raise money for children with autism, animals, cancer treatments and funeral costs. Still, one can define him as a simple man, who admires his wife’s work ethics and he is happiest not only at work but also spending time with his family, riding dirt bikes and drinking sweet tea with lemon. He aspires to open up a Wilkins satellite branch in his hometown in Kentucky where he was a football phenom and attended community and technical college where he learned to weld, fabricate and operate CNC machinery.