Signal Smarts is led by operators with real field experience — people who have designed, installed, and supported critical communications infrastructure across industries and environments.
Ken Nedbal is a technology entrepreneur, telecommunications expert, and educator with more than 25 years of experience in wireless communications, network security, systems integration, and communications infrastructure.
As Founder and President of Signal Smarts LLC, Ken leads the design, engineering, and deployment of advanced video, internet, wireless, and communications systems for commercial and residential clients. His experience spans hospitality, healthcare, multi-dwelling communities, and other environments where dependable connectivity is essential to safety, service, and daily operations.
Ken began his career as a Satellite Systems Operator and Maintainer in the U.S. Army, where the mission was clear: get the message through. In that environment, communications carried real consequences, and every system had to perform when it mattered most. That early responsibility shaped his belief that reliability is not simply a technical requirement—it is a duty to the people who depend on the system.
Throughout his career, that philosophy has evolved into a disciplined approach to engineering. Ken believes functionality is the minimum standard. A well-designed system should also be precise, intentional, and thoughtfully integrated, with every component serving a clear purpose. Like a work of architecture or art, the finished system should feel complete, with everything in its proper place.
His areas of expertise include wireless communications, network security, video distribution, satellite systems, and large-scale infrastructure design. He has also served as a Department Head in Electronic Wireless Communications, helping train future engineers and technicians while reinforcing his belief that communications engineering is a craft worthy of continuous study and practice.
Ken brings formal training in electronics, communications, network security, satellite systems, and entrepreneurship. Known for his hands-on leadership and problem-solving approach, he works closely with clients, engineers, technicians, and project partners to create systems that are reliable, secure, and built for long-term performance.
For Ken, the invisible orchestration of signals moving around us each day is more than technology. It is the performance of a carefully engineered craft—and an opportunity to build something dependable, enduring, and worthy of the people it serves.
Vina Headrick serves as Chief Operating Officer of Signal Smarts, bringing a strong combination of operational leadership, technical expertise, and hands-on problem solving. With a background in electronics and communications, along with advanced training in network security and satellite systems, she helps translate complex technical requirements into practical, scalable solutions for the company's projects and customers.
Vina's technical experience spans network infrastructure, server administration, virtualized environments, identity and access management, cybersecurity testing, and enterprise communications systems. She has built and managed lab environments to evaluate system vulnerabilities, security configurations, incident-response procedures, disaster-recovery planning, and business-continuity strategies. This practical foundation gives her a detailed understanding of how technology, security, and field operations must work together to support reliable communications infrastructure.
As COO, Vina oversees operational planning, internal coordination, documentation, process development, and project execution across Signal Smarts. She is known for learning quickly, remaining composed in high-pressure environments, and bringing teams together around clear priorities. Her disciplined approach to risk management, technical operations, and continuous improvement helps ensure that Signal Smarts delivers secure, dependable systems while maintaining high standards for responsiveness, safety, and client service.
Anthony “Tony” Forstner is a Program Manager at Signal Smarts with more than 30 years of experience in project management, operations, workforce development, and health, safety, and environmental leadership. He has managed complex public infrastructure, commercial construction, transportation, renewable energy, and facilities-maintenance projects, with responsibility for budgets, scheduling, procurement, contract negotiations, safety, quality control, and stakeholder coordination.
Before joining Signal Smarts, Anthony managed more than 30 municipal and commercial projects across South Texas and oversaw 24 public bond projects valued at more than $500 million for Harris County. His experience also includes managing a $50 million roadway and facilities-maintenance program, supporting construction of a 121-turbine wind energy project, and directing large-scale railroad operations for Union Pacific.
Anthony served in the United States Army, retiring as a Captain. His military and civilian leadership experience brings a disciplined, safety-focused approach to project execution, team development, risk management, and client service.
Michelle Quick is a construction and operations professional with extensive experience leading large-scale infrastructure, telecommunications, and workforce-housing projects. She has built a reputation for solving complex problems, building efficient systems, and leading teams through demanding, high-pressure environments.
Michelle manages the operational backbone of a project — logistics, procurement, inventory accountability, project documentation, chain-of-custody, and field operations — coordinating closely with contractors, executives, and clients. Known for a determined, direct leadership style, she is focused on raising standards, strengthening accountability, and delivering work safely, efficiently, and with integrity.
She leads by example, believing respect is earned through action rather than title and that the strongest leadership comes from serving the team — keeping complex deployments organized, on schedule, and accountable from mobilization through closeout.
Outside of work, Michelle enjoys cooking wholesome meals, writing music, exploring creative projects, and expressing herself through art and storytelling. Her creativity complements her analytical mindset, allowing her to approach challenges with both imagination and practicality.
Jesse Willett leads the Health, Safety & Environmental department at Signal Smarts, bringing more than 20 years of leadership across EHS, operations, workforce development, and contract staffing. His career spans highly regulated industries — mining, energy, construction, utilities, environmental remediation, and government-supported projects — where safety, compliance, and execution have to perform at a consistently high level.
He builds safety culture through training, inspection, program development, incident prevention, and hands-on field leadership — grounded in integrity, accountability, hazard recognition, and proactive risk mitigation. He pairs that with the business-facing strengths that keep projects moving: client support, contractor coordination, workforce alignment, and the staffing readiness that lets crews scale up safely and efficiently.
Before Signal Smarts, Jesse provided safety oversight on some of the nation's most complex environmental cleanups. He served as EHS and organizational-change consultant to North Wind Portage on the DOE's Moab UMTRA project — a multi-decade, $613.9M effort relocating 16 million tons of radioactive tailings near the Colorado River — and delivered HSE leadership for uranium mill tailings reclamation and water-treatment construction at Newmont's Midnite Mine and Dawn Mill Superfund sites in Washington, part of a remediation framework of roughly $207M. He also served as trade-partner onboarding liaison for workforce housing on the ~$1.35B Google/CTS “Lonestar — Maverick” hub in Haskell County, Texas — a 300-acre development built to house up to 4,000 construction workers for hyperscale data-center construction.
Jesse built his foundation in the United States Navy, leading mission-critical, high-hazard operations that demanded precision, accountability, and disciplined execution — including the safe handling, stowage, and assembly of 1,583 tons of conventional ordnance valued at $660 million with zero safety incidents. At Signal Smarts he applies that discipline to strong safety systems, workforce readiness, and sustainable growth — a practical, people-centered leadership style that supports both operational excellence and long-term client success.
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