Biographies for 2013 Broadband Summit
Biographies
2013 Broadband Summit
on Advanced Services with NTIA
February 7, 2013
partners, including grassroots organizations, community schools, city agencies, postgraduate institutions, and
federal government, both in the US and in Latin America and the Caribbean. He is the Project Manager for the
Latino Tech Net, a project of the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA), and a prime recipient of a BTOP
grant. He has managed all aspects of program design and implementation, including curriculum development,
budgeting and monitoring, student affairs, marketing and recruitment, teacher management, program evaluation
and reporting, and facilitation. Richard earned an AB from the University of Chicago and an MA from Columbia
University’s Teachers College.
and Adult Services. She has long been a dedicated contributor to the Community Telecommunications and
Networking effort, promoting the use of technology as a unifying social good. Prior to joining San Francisco's Aging
& Adult Services Department, she helped develop the Public Library's first internet access programs, setting up the
Children's Electronic Discovery Center, and has been a leader in numerous initiatives to provide access to
broadband services across the digital divide with help from CWEIS, NTIA-TIIAP and NSF. She has been a specialist in
digital licensing, and as chair of the Telecommunications Policy Committee, she assisted the City & County with
Cable Franchise negotiations and Universal Service issues. BTOP has enabled her to work with over 23 local public
and non-profit partners to expand access and training in broadband services to the often overlooked and
underserved community of seniors and adults with disabilities, only 42% of whom previously engaged online. She
continues to be dedicated to the goal of achieving universal sustainable broadband adoption as an important
support and component of a modern democratic society.
lbreeden@ntia.doc.gov. Laura re-joined NTIA in May 2009 to lead the public computing and sustainable
broadband adoption components of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, a $4.7 billion competitive
grant program that is part of the Recovery Act. BTOP is designed to promote the construction of new
infrastructure for broadband communications in unserved and underserved areas, make public access computer
centers and training available to vulnerable populations, and promote broadband adoption by groups that are
under-represented among broadband subscribers. Under her leadership, BTOP has awarded more than $452
million for projects to make 21st century computer and Internet services more available, affordable, and useful.
Ms. Breeden previously served at NTIA from 1994 to 1996 as the founding director of the Technology
Opportunities Program, a forerunner of BTOP, where she supervised the award of more than $60 million in
matching grants for innovative projects that used the Internet to improve public sector services.
Since 1983, Ms. Breeden has worked in the public, private and non-profit sectors to advance the use of modern
digital communications for the public good. Among her accomplishments are directing one of the first associations
of Internet service providers, heading the project that created the New England Academic and Research Network,
consulting to universities and foundations throughout the U.S. on technology projects, and creating a national
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technical assistance and evaluation program for the 400 community computing centers funded by the U. S.
Department of Education from 2000 to 2005.
Ms. Breeden holds a BA in Urban Studies and Education from Oberlin College, where she graduated Phi Beta
Kappa.
of an integrated fiber based triple play services, cloud based services and live sports production. BEK has
successfully deployed these services over both Fiber and Copper, with territory wide Fiber build-out to be
completed in 2013. Prior to BEK, Bulawa was the Founder of the Hong Kong based Zone Telecom, Founder of the
Hong Kong Based e-Kong Group(SEHK 524), on the start-up team of the world’s largest satellite TV broadcaster
Based in Hong Kong, STAR TV, with engineering positions at GTE SpaceNet, Contel ASC, Equatorial Communications
and additional unspecified international contract positions. Over the past 28 years Bulawa has contributed to the
global deployment of communications and broadcasting, technologies and services. Mr. Bulawa has a Bachelors
Degree in Electronic Engineering Technology from the Devry Institute of Technology, Columbus Ohio.
sworn in August 3, 2009. President Obama nominated Commissioner Clyburn in 2012 for a second term, and her
nomination was confirmed by the Senate on December 31, 2012. Her term runs until June 30, 2017.
Commissioner Clyburn has a long history of public service and dedication to the public interest. Prior to her
swearing in as Commissioner, Ms. Clyburn served for 11 years as the representative of South Carolina's sixth
district on the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSC). She was sworn in for her first term in July 1998,
and was subsequently reelected in 2002 and 2006. She served as chair of the PSC from July 2002 through June
2004.
During her tenure at the PSC, Commissioner Clyburn actively participated in numerous national and regional state-
based utility organizations. Most recently, Ms. Clyburn served as the chair of the National Association of
Regulatory Utility Commissioners' (NARUC) Washington Action Committee and as a member of both the
association's Audit Committee and Utilities Market Access Partnership Board. Commissioner Clyburn is also a
former chair of the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (SEARUC).
Commissioner Clyburn was elected to the South Carolina PSC following 14 years as the publisher and general
manager of The Coastal Times, a Charleston-based weekly newspaper that focused primarily on issues affecting
the African American community. She owned and operated the family-founded newspaper following her
graduation from the University of South Carolina, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Banking,
Finance & Economics.
For well over two decades, Commissioner Clyburn has been actively involved in myriad community organizations.
Prior to her appointment at the FCC, Commissioner Clyburn served on the South Carolina State Energy Advisory
Council, the Trident Technical College Foundation, the South Carolina Cancer Center Board, the Columbia College
Board of Visitors, the Palmetto Project Board (as secretary/treasurer) and has enjoyed previous service as chair of
the YWCA of Greater Charleston and on the boards of Reid House of Christian Service, Edventure Children's
Museum, Trident Urban League and the Trident United Way. In addition, Commissioner Clyburn was previously
appointed to the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee's Common Ground School Improvement
Committee and the Edventure Museum's South Carolina Great Friend to Kids Committee. She also is a Life
Member of the NAACP, a member of The Links, Inc. and the SC Advisory Council of the U.S. Commission on Civil
Rights, and was past president of the Charleston County Democratic Women and Black Women Entrepreneurs.
Commissioner Clyburn has received a number of honors and awards, including being selected as the 2006 James C.
Bonbright Honoree (awarded by the Southeastern Energy Conference, Terry College of Business at the University
of Georgia) and receiving the 2007 Lincoln C. Jenkins Award for business and community contributions presented
by the Columbia (SC) Urban League.
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Keshena, Wisconsin. The CTC was built with funds through BTOP funding; Tamara has been a part of the planning
process and then became the director of the new Center. She has been with the college for almost three years.
Ohio is one of Frontier’s largest operations, with more than 300,000 customers and over 1,000 employees. Dave
joined Frontier in February of 2010 and is based the company’s state headquarters in Marion.
Throughout his career, he held a number of key positions with companies in the telecommunications industry,
including McCaw Communications and AT&T Wireless. While at AT&T Wireless, Dave served as the Vice President
and General Manager of the company’s Ohio and Western New York service areas.
Immediately prior to joining Frontier, Dave worked at Connect Ohio, a public-private partnership with the state of
Ohio. The organization’s focus was to “bridge the digital divide” by driving broadband availability and adoption
among consumers and businesses in the state. Dave earned a B.A. in Marketing and Business Administration from
Kent State University.
Warren, NJ and New York City. As a member of the Government Affairs department, Ms. Divelbliss provides advice
on a broad range of state and federal regulatory matters. Her responsibilities include providing legal counsel and
regulatory advice to the Assurance Wireless brand, through which Sprint affiliate Virgin Mobile USA provides
Lifeline service. Ms. Divelbliss joined Sprint in November 2009, in connection with the merger of Sprint and Virgin
Mobile. Prior to joining Virgin Mobile in September 2008, Ms. Divelbliss practiced in the Litigation department of
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York City. Ms. Divelbliss received both her undergraduate degree and juris
doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.
of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, the state's only academic health center. In this role, as a member of the core
management team, he works on multiple distance health programs, including spearheading CDH LIVE, a video
interpreting program for patients with limited English proficiency, and the Center's broadband connectivity efforts
funded through the Federal Communications Commission and the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program
(BTOP). The BTOP project is designed to increase broadband capacities and interactive video equipment at over
450 health care, higher education, public safety and research entities with locations in all 75 counties in Arkansas.
He has worked for over 15 years in the healthcare industry, including two years at the Wal-Mart corporate office
and five years for Electronic Data Systems, the fiscal agent for the Arkansas Medicaid program, as a financial
analyst examining recipient and expenditure data. Mr. Fletcher holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Business
Administration degrees.
Urbana-Champaign where he serves as the Director of the Center for Digital Inclusion (CDI). Jon is a national leader
in the areas of digital inclusion and broadband adoption.
In the past two years, Jon has published groundbreaking research in the areas of Internet access and use, including
co-authoring the first report to examine broadband adoption among minority communities, which was published
by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. Jon also is Director of Urbana-Champaign Big Broadband
(UC2B), a $30-million dollar project dedicated to building one of the fastest broadband networks in the country.
Under Jon’s direction, CDI is helping to incubate new applications that will run on ultra-high speed broadband
networks. In 2012, Jon received a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to provide
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continuing education to library leaders about the ways in which libraries can participate in building the next
generation of the Internet. Researchers at CDI are also working on other digital literacy projects funded by the
State of Illinois, Partnership for a Connected Illinois, the American Library Association, and IMLS.
In addition to his work on digital inclusion and broadband adoption, Jon is an expert in e-government, geo-spatial
information systems, strategic planning and information systems. His research has been funded by the Institute of
Museum and Library Services, the Organization for Economic Coordination and Development, the International
Telecommunication Union, and the National Science Foundation, among others. Jon received his M.S. and Ph.D.
degrees from the Heinz School at Carnegie Mellon University, where he studied public policy and information
management.
the agency on unleashing the opportunities of wired and wireless broadband. He has successfully pursued policies
to promote investment and job creation, drive innovation, foster competition, and empower consumers.
During Genachowski's tenure, the FCC developed and is implementing the National Broadband Plan, an ambitious
strategy to harness the opportunities of high-speed Internet, promote U.S. global competitiveness, and bring the
benefits of 21st century communications to all Americans.
The Commission has worked to modernize outdated programs and eliminate barriers to innovation and
investment. The Commission adopted the landmark Connect America Fund, a once-in-a generation overhaul of the
multi-billion dollar Universal Service Fund and related rules, transforming it from supporting telephone service to
broadband. The Connect America Fund replaces legacy programs with new market-driven, incentive-based policies
to achieve universal broadband, both wired and wireless.
The Commission is pursuing other forward-looking strategies to unleash the opportunities of mobile broadband,
including freeing up spectrum and removing barriers to spectrum use and broadband build-out. The Commission
under Genachowski's leadership developed a bold "incentive auctions" initiative to deploy market forces to
reallocate broadcast spectrum from inefficient uses to flexible mobile broadband, which was signed into law in
February 2012. The Commission also ordered the largest release of unlicensed spectrum in 15 years, building on
the approach that gave us Wi-Fi.
Through the Commission's Broadband Acceleration Initiative, Genachowski has advanced policies that reduce the
cost and time required to deploy broadband infrastructure, including by streamlining the process for attaching
communications equipment to utility poles and siting wireless towers.
The agency has taken strong steps to preserve Internet freedom and openness, adopting a framework to protect
free enterprise and free speech online, incentivizing significant private investment in Internet applications and
services as well as broadband networks and infrastructure.
The FCC during Genachowski's tenure has reviewed hundreds of mergers and acquisitions, including a number of
major transactions. The Commission's transaction review has focused on promoting competition, driving
innovation and investment, and benefitting consumers.
Internationally, the Commission has worked to harmonize global spectrum policies, facilitate open market access
for cloud computing, and promote greater Internet freedom, working with international organizations and through
bilateral engagement with both major economies and developing countries.
Genachowski is committed to closing the nationwide broadband adoption gap. He has spearheaded a number of
initiatives focused on broadband adoption and consumer empowerment, including the Connect to Compete
program, which will provide job training and low-cost, high-quality laptops and broadband to low-income
Americans; the Jobs4America initiative, which has been executing on its goal of bringing more than 100,000 new
broadband-enabled contact center jobs to the U.S. over two years; worked with wireless providers to end "bill
shock" and empower consumers with alerts for wireless voice and data overages and announced a new industry
database of stolen cellphones to curb thefts. The Commission worked with internet service providers (ISPs) to
adopt measures to minimize three major cyber threats, including an Anti-Bot Code of Conduct, an IP route
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hijacking industry framework and secure DNS best practices. The Commission also launched the Small Biz Cyber
Planner, which enables small businesses to develop a plan to protect themselves from cyber threats.
The Commission has also worked to significantly improve the accessibility of technology and media, including by
ensuring that people with disabilities can more easily use online communications services and content.
The Commission is also working to harness modern communications technologies for public safety. On an
accelerated schedule, the FCC is implementing PLAN, the new nationwide mobile emergency alerting system; it is
working toward an interoperable nationwide mobile broadband network for first responders; and it is charting the
transition to Next Generation 9-1-1 services, which will harness the latest communications technology - like the
ability to send photos, videos, or texts - to revolutionize emergency response and save lives.
As chief executive of the FCC, Genachowski oversees over 1700 employees, an agency budget of approximately
$400 million per year, and universal-service and other programs disbursing about $10 billion annually.
The FCC under Genachowski's leadership has been a model for excellence in government, including being named
the most improved agency in the federal government by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management based on
government-wide employee surveys.
Prior to his FCC appointment, Genachowski spent more than a decade working in the technology and media
industries as an executive, investor, and board member. He was Chief of Business Operations and before that
General Counsel at IAC/InterActiveCorp; Special Advisor at the private equity firm General Atlantic; and co-founder
of the technology incubator LaunchBox Digital.
Genachowski's confirmation returned him to the agency where, in the 1990s, he served as Chief Counsel to
Chairman Reed Hundt, as well as Special Counsel to General Counsel William Kennard (later FCC Chairman, 1997-
2001). He has served as a U.S. Supreme Court law clerk for two years, for Justice David Souter and Justice William J.
Brennan, Jr., and as a clerk for Chief Judge Abner Mikva of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Genachowski worked
in Congress on the staff of the House select committee investigating the Iran-Contra affair, and for then-U.S.
Representative (now Senator) Charles E. Schumer.
Genachowski received a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1991, and served as co-Notes Editor of
the Harvard Law Review. In 1985, he received a B.A. from Columbia College, magna cum laude, where he was
Editor of Columbia Spectator's Broadway Magazine; re-established Columbia's oldest newspaper Acta Columbiana;
and was a writer and researcher for Fred Friendly, former President of CBS News. He was also a certified
Emergency Medical Technician, served on the Columbia Area Volunteer Ambulance, and taught cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR).
President Obama nominated Chairman Genachowski in March 2009, and he was confirmed by the Senate on June
29, 2009. He serves on the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States. President Obama also
named Genachowski to lead the United States delegation to Poland for the commemoration of the 65th
anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
A son of immigrants, Genachowski is married and has three children.
Bureau at the FCC. Prior to joining the FCC, Garnet was Senior Counsel for T-Mobile USA, Inc. from 2008 to 2011
and focused on representing the company on state regulatory matters within the mid-western part of the United
States. Before working at T-Mobile, Garnet was a Director of State Regulatory for Sprint Nextel Corporation from
2005 to 2008, handling regulatory matters within the Northeastern part of the United States. From 1999 to 2005,
Garnet served as counsel for Nextel Communications in various roles involving real estate matters, spectrum
acquisition and state/federal regulatory matters impacting the company. Prior to Nextel, Garnet served as an
associate in private practice involving mergers/acquisitions. Garnet received her JD from Suffolk University Law
School and received a BA from George Mason University.
Chanelle P. Hardy is the National Urban League’s Senior Vice President for Policy and Executive Director of the
National Urban League Policy Institute, the organization’s policy, research and advocacy arm in Washington, DC.
Ms. Hardy is charged with directing the League’s public policy strategy and advocacy efforts in the areas of
housing, jobs and workforce development, healthcare and education. She also directs the Policy Institute’s
research initiatives, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of The State of Black America, the League’s signature publication.
Prior to joining the Policy Institute, Ms. Hardy served as Chief of Staff and Counsel to former US Representative
Artur Davis (D-AL-11), who served on the House Ways and Means Committee and the Committee on House
Administration. Before her tenure on the Hill, Ms. Hardy was a staff attorney at the Federal Trade Commission, a
Policy Fellow and Legislative Counsel at Consumers Union, and a member of Teach for America, instructing fifth
graders in Washington, DC.
Ms. Hardy received her JD from Howard University School of Law, where she finished fifth in her class, and was a
member of the Huver I. Brown Trial Advocacy Moot Court Team.
Ms. Hardy is a member of the board of Excel Academy Public Charter School, the first all-girls public school in
Washington, DC; the board of the Congressional Black Caucus Institute and a member of Alfred Street Baptist
Church in Alexandria, Va.
technical services, library technology, and is currently the Executive Director at Chattanooga Public Library. Her
professional interests include the management of library operations, fiscal management and responsibility, and
identifying and implementing library trends. In 2012 Chattanooga Public Library became one of the first gig
libraries in the country.
and Economic Studies, whose mission is to study how emerging communications technologies can become
avenues of advancement for the disadvantaged.
Before joining the Joint Center, Horrigan was Vice President for Policy and Research at TechNet, where he
developed research characterizing the job impacts of mobile applications and wrote reports on progress on
broadband adoption since the delivery of the National Broadband Plan (NBP). He has also served as a consultant
for the Partnership for Connected Illinois.
In 2009-10, Horrigan was part of FCC Chairman Genachowski’s leadership team tasked with developing the NBP. In
that capacity, he developed the research agenda for the “Inclusion” portion of the NBP and conducted the FCC’s
first national survey on broadband adoption and usage. Before that, he spent nine years at the Pew Research
Center’s Internet & American Life Project.
Horrigan received his Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Texas at Austin and his B.A. in government and
economics from the University of Virginia.
Tom joined Connected Nation from the Federal Communications Commission where he served as a senior attorney
advisor and was a member of the team that wrote the first U.S. National Broadband Plan. Tom focused on policy
recommendations related to federal, state, and local policies, network infrastructure, the law and economics of
middle mile connectivity, wholesale competition rules, and policy and universal service and access charge reform.
Prior to his involvement with the National Broadband Plan, Koutsky served as chair of the FCC’s North American
Numbering Council. Koutsky also was a resident scholar for the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic
Public Policy Studies, a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) think tank that focused on developing and advancing pro-entry
telecommunications and video policies. During his tenure at the Phoenix Center, Koutsky authored several
published articles on broadband and telecommunications competition issues; made presentations before
Congress, the FCC, and state commissioners; prepared policy bulletins and updates; and organized events,
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including annual U.S. Telecoms Symposia and State Regulator Retreats. Koutsky also previously served in these
roles in Washington DC: vice president, Law and Public Policy, for Z-Tel Communications, Inc.; assistant general
counsel for Covad Communications Company; senior attorney, Competition Division, Office of the General Counsel,
Cable for the FCC; and associate attorney for Steptoe and Johnson. Koutsky earned his J.D. with Honors from The
University of Chicago Law School in 1991 and B.A. with Highest University Honors from the University of Illinois in
1988.
After 30 years in the private sector, Commissioner Landis was appointed to the Indiana Utility Regulatory
Commission 10 years ago by the late Governor Frank O’Bannon, and to subsequent full terms by former Governor
Joe Kernan and former Governor Mitch Daniels.
Commissioner Landis is active in the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ (NARUC) serving on
its Board of Directors, as well as, its Telecommunications and Washington Action Committees, the latter of which
he is currently serving as Co-Chair.
At the national level, Commissioner Landis was Vice Chair of the NARUC Intercarrier Compensation Task Force.
Landis also served on NARUC’s Legislative Task Force, charged with developing recommendations for a rewrite of
the nation’s telecommunication laws. He served two, three-year terms on the Federal-State Joint Board on
Universal Service and also has served on the Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Telecommunications
Services since 2005, of which he is currently State Chair. Additionally, Commissioner Landis currently serves on the
Federal-State Joint Board on Jurisdictional Separations.
Commissioner Landis also focuses on financial issues. He co-chairs the IURC’s Financial Taskforce, created in the
wake of the market collapse in 2008-09; and is Past Vice Chair (2009-2010) and Chair (2010-2011) and member of
the Advisory Board of the Financial Research Institute at the University of Missouri’s Trulaske School of Business.
He is also a member of the Society of Utility and Regulatory Financial Analysts (SURFA) and the IEEE Computer
Society.
He and his wife Carol recently celebrated their 38th Anniversary. Their son and daughter-in-law, Chris and Heather
are the parents of three daughters, Lauren, Anna and Emily.
As an established and informed Representative, Congresswoman Matsui has emerged in Washington as a forward
thinking, resourceful and influential advocate for the people of the Sacramento region.
Sacramento is the seat of government for the largest state in the country, a diverse and growing region that
Congresswoman Matsui represents with strength and a vision. As a recognized leader in the Sacramento
community and in Congress, Congresswoman Matsui is focused on utilizing federal resources to improve the lives
of her constituents. As state and local budgets have continued to suffer as a result of the economic downturn,
Matsui’s role in delivering federal funding to the region has only become more important, and is critical to
providing good jobs for Sacramento families.
Congresswoman Matsui was appointed to the powerful and exclusive House Committee on Energy and Commerce
in 2008. As a member she helps to craft legislation to address the most critical challenges facing hard-working
Americans today, ranging from health care and clean energy, to expanding access to broadband and creating jobs.
In each of these areas, Congresswoman Matsui is committed to investing in a safe, healthy and sustainable future
for Sacramento and the country and reinvigorating our local economy.
Since taking office, Congresswoman Matsui has made increased flood protection a key focus of her work in
Congress, successfully advancing legislation to upgrade and modernize the region's levee, dam and water
management systems. In conjunction with other flood control initiatives on both the Sacramento and American
Rivers, Congresswoman Matsui is building an impressive record of collaboration and innovation to protect her
district from harmful flooding, and making affordable flood insurance a reality for Sacramento homeowners. In
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Fiscal Year 2010, Congresswoman Matsui secured a record $86.5 million dollars to improve the region’s flood
protection infrastructure.
Congresswoman Matsui has worked to expand access to mass transit, and bring some of Sacramento's most
successful initiatives to the national dialogue. She is engaged in the planning and execution of an intermodal
transportation center in Downtown Sacramento, which will improve air quality, ease roadway congestion, and
strengthen Sacramento's Light Rail system. She has also introduced Complete Streets legislation in Congress that
would provide bike lanes and sidewalks in urban areas to help ensure safe transportation alternatives for our
seniors, our children, and the active bicycle community in Sacramento.
Congresswoman Matsui is also deeply committed to transforming the Sacramento region into a clean-tech capital.
Matsui understands that Sacramento can no-longer rely on the State for employment and economic security, and
that there is a need to diversify our local economy. As the sponsor of a series of legislation in Congress to
promote, expand and support local clean-tech businesses, Congresswoman Matsui continues to work to recruit
new clean energy businesses to the Sacramento region, which will create new jobs for Sacramento residents and
provide a much-needed boost to the local economy. Moreover, by providing support for new and existing
companies that produce renewable energy and clean-tech products, we can reduce our reliance on foreign oil that
threatens both our national security and our environment.
For her work on the issues most important to Sacramento - clean energy, flood protection, health care, education,
and transportation - Congresswoman Doris Matsui was named the 2011 Regional Champion by Valley Vision.
Before coming to Congress, Congresswoman Matsui served on numerous advisory boards, community
organizations, and honorary committees. She was President and Chairwoman of the Board for the KVIE public
television station in Sacramento, and she served in leadership capacities for the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento
Children's Home, Meridian International Center, Arena Stage, and Woodrow Wilson Center Board of Trustees.
Congresswoman Matsui has maintained this commitment to civic involvement while serving in Congress. The
Congresswoman was named a Co-Chair of the National Service Caucus as a direct result of her support of these
service-related initiatives. Additionally, Congresswoman Matsui served on the Smithsonian Institute's Board of
Regents from 2006 to 2011, and was also named as a Board Member of the National Symphony Orchestra in 2010.
After growing up on a farm in California's Central Valley, Congresswoman Matsui met her husband, the late
Congressman Bob Matsui, while earning her Bachelor's Degree from the University of California at Berkeley.
During President Bill Clinton's first term in office, she served as one of eight members of the President's transition
board. She later served for six years as Deputy Assistant to the President in the White House Office of Public
Liaison.
Congresswoman Matsui is the proud mother of one son, Brian. She has two young grandchildren, Anna and
Robby.
St. Paul Telephone Cooperative Association, St. Paul Oregon. Today he serves as the Chief Operating Officer for
ToledoTel in Toledo Washington. ToledoTel provides voice and broadband to homes and small businesses in rural
western Washington. Dale has been a leader in promoting broadband adoption and is constantly seeking ways to
leverage the value of ToledoTel's network. He is the Region 9 Director for The Foundation for Rural Service and
also serves on the board of directors of Providence Centralia Hospital, Washington Independent Telephone
Association, and Washington Exchange Carrier Association. He and his wife Tina live on a small working ranch near
Toledo Washington.
the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research interests include local governance, urban policy, digital
inequality, evaluation of broadband programs and e-government.
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Her December 2012 book on Digital Cities: The Internet and the Geography of Opportunity (Oxford University
Press) is co-authored with Caroline Tolbert and William Franko. The book examines the potential of cities for
generating spillover benefits from broadband use, with national data to compare technology use across urban,
suburban and rural areas, across the 50 largest cities, and across neighborhoods using a unique Chicago study.
Previous books include Digital Citizenship: The Internet, Society and Participation (Mossberger, Tolbert and
McNeal 2008, MIT Press) and Virtual Inequality: Beyond the Digital Divide (Mossberger, Tolbert and Stansbury
2003). “Race, Place, and Information Technology” won the best paper award for the Public Policy Section of the
American Political Science Association in 2005.
Mossberger is currently evaluating the Smart Communities Program, the BTOP SBA program in 5 low-income
Chicago neighborhoods, and conducting citywide studies to track changes in technology use across all of Chicago’s
community areas. She is also co-editing a book on broadband evaluation and policy impacts that is the result of a
national research roundtable held at the MacArthur Foundation in Chicago in October 2012. Her research has
been funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Partnership for a Connected Illinois, Chicago
Community Trust, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Smith Richardson Foundation,
among others. She is co-editor of the Georgetown University Press series on American Governance and Public
Policy, and co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Urban Politics, published in 2012. She was also the 2009-2010
President of the Urban Politics Section of the American Political Science Association.
responsible for the company’s strategic partnerships with national public policy organizations as well as
implementing the company’s regulatory and legislative initiatives at the local level, managing relationships with
state and local intergovernmental associations, and grassroots communications.
Bret served in other capacities at Comcast, including Senior Director of Public Policy, Comcast Corporation and Vice
President of Government Affairs for Comcast Cable Communications. Bret joined Comcast in 2001, and is credited
with effectively managing a very large local government affairs function during a rapidly growing period for the
company. During this time, he managed the transition from an operation responsible for 22 states and 2,500
communities to one with 39 states and 6,000 communities.
Previously he served as Vice President of System Services and Assistant to the President at Mercy Health System, a
regional healthcare system in southeast Pennsylvania and subsidiary of Catholic Health East. He was responsible
for managing the office of the President, board relations and project management at this regional integrated
health care system.
Before Mercy Health System he worked in Legislative Affairs at the multi-state Medicaid managed care company
Keystone Mercy/AmeriHealth Mercy Health Plan for four years where he was responsible for government relations
and the minority and women owned business development department. Previously he was Manager of Labor
Relations for North Philadelphia Health System
Bret has been involved in several capacities at his alma mater, Temple University. He has served as President of the
Temple University Alumni Association, as a member of the University’s Board of Trustees, and as a member of the
Fox School of Business Board of Visitors. He is past President of the Temple Young Alumni Association and past
President of the Fox School of Business Alumni Association.
Bret is Past President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the National Association of Multi-Ethnicity in Communications.
He currently serves on the Board and Executive Committee of The Committee of Seventy, the Philadelphia political
watchdog nonprofit organization, and on the Philadelphia International Airport Advisory Board. He also serves on
the boards of the Family Online Safety Institute as well as the Internet Education Foundation.
In 2008 he was awarded the cable industry’s Vanguard Award for Young Leadership. In 2010 he was named to
CableFAX's 2010 Most Influential Minorities in Cable. In 2008 he was also named one of Leadership Philadelphia’s
Top 101 Emerging Connectors.
Bret received a BBA in Business Administration from Temple University where he was a four year starter on the
varsity soccer team, serving as captain his senior year. He is a graduate of the Leadership Philadelphia Core
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Program, NAMIC’s Executive Leadership Development Program Class VII and Comcast’s Executive Leadership
Program.
Obama and on May 7, 2012 was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate. She was sworn into office on
May 11, 2012.
Commissioner Rosenworcel brings a decade and a half of public sector and private sector communications law
experience to her position at the FCC. This experience has shaped her belief that in the 21st century strong
communications markets can foster economic growth and security, enhance digital age opportunity, and enrich
our civic life.
Prior to joining the agency, Commissioner Rosenworcel served as Senior Communications Counsel for the United
States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, under the leadership of Senator John D.
Rockefeller IV. She previously served in the same role on the Committee under the leadership of Senator Daniel K.
Inouye. In this position, she was responsible for legislation, hearings, and policy development involving a wide
range of communications issues, including spectrum auctions, public safety, broadband deployment and adoption,
universal service, video programming, satellite television, local radio, and digital television transition.
Before joining the staff of the Committee, she served as Legal Advisor to former FCC Commissioner Michael J.
Copps. She also served at the agency as Legal Counsel to the Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau and as an
Attorney-Advisor in the Wireline Competition Bureau.
Prior to entering public service, Commissioner Rosenworcel practiced communications law at Drinker Biddle and
Reath.
Commissioner Rosenworcel is a native of Hartford, Connecticut. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University and New
York University School of Law. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband Mark, and children Caroline and
Emmett.
and equity of Internet access for all citizens. Tech Goes Home provides training, hardware, and low cost Internet
access to all eligible participants. The program was selected as a ComputerWorld 2011 Laureate, was awarded the
Public Technology Institute’s 2011 Solutions Award and the 2009 Verizon Tech Savvy Award. Tech Goes Home has
supported 8,500 participants in the last two years.
Prior to her current position, Deb spent 32 years as an educator. She was the founding principal of the Lilla G.
Frederick Middle School, a Boston Public School in the Grove Hall Neighborhood. She led the one-to-one laptop
initiative at the Frederick and the school won several awards for its efforts at technology integration, including
designation as an Apple Distinguished School in 2009 and 2010. In addition, Deb received the 2010 “Leadership
and Vision” award from CRSTE (Capitol Region Society for Technology in Education), the Quincy/Geneva
Community Advocate award in 2009, and the Lilla G. Frederick Citizenship Award in 2008. The Frederick was
named a “trauma sensitive school” by the state, was highlighted in case studies by Intel, Apple, and the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation, and was designated as a “safe haven” by the community agency Project RIGHT.
Considered an expert in the areas of ed-tech, school-community partnerships, trauma sensitive schools, and
supporting students with special needs, Deb is often a speaker at local and national conferences and is a frequent
guest lecturer at universities and colleges as well as presenting Webinars on a variety of technology. She has
written several pieces on technology in education, including a piece on digital citizenship for the Publius Project,
several articles in MASCD Perspectives, AALF’s on-line publication, and several guest blog posts for iKeepSafe. Deb
is currently on the board of the non-profit AIP, Inc. (the Alliance for Inclusion and Prevention, Inc.) Prior to her
current role and in addition to her principalship, Deb worked as a district level curriculum coordinator, as the
Program Director for the Coalition of Essential Schools, and as a middle school mathematics and science teacher.
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And Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
U.S. Department of Commerce [1]
Lawrence E. Strickling was sworn in as Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the Department
of Commerce in June 2009. In this role, Strickling serves as Administrator of the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA), the Executive Branch agency that is principally responsible for advising the
President on telecommunications and information policy. A technology policy expert with more than two decades
of experience in the public and private sectors, Strickling’s focus at NTIA includes leading initiatives to expand
broadband Internet access and adoption in America and to ensure that the Internet remains an engine for
continued innovation and economic growth.
After joining NTIA, Strickling oversaw the development of an approximately $4 billion Recovery Act broadband
grants program and now manages the rigorous oversight of these nationwide broadband projects to ensure they
deliver timely and lasting benefits to the American public. Additionally, under Strickling's leadership, NTIA
launched America's first public, searchable nationwide map of consumer broadband Internet availability and
crafted a ten-year plan that the agency is now implementing to nearly double the amount of commercial spectrum
available for wireless broadband, as directed by President Obama. Strickling also oversees NTIA’s efforts on a host
of domestic and global Internet policy and administrative issues, including playing a key role in the Commerce
Department's Internet Policy Task Force; advocating the U.S. Government’s policy positions abroad; and promoting
the stability and security of the Internet’s domain name system through its participation on behalf of the U.S.
government in Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) activities.
Previously in government, Strickling served at the Federal Communications Commission as Chief of the Common
Carrier Bureau from 1998 to 2000, working to promote competition and protect consumers in the
telecommunications sector and implement many of the key provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Prior to that, Strickling was Associate General Counsel and Chief of the FCC’s Competition Division.
In the private sector, Strickling was Chief Regulatory and Chief Compliance Officer at telecommunications service
provider Broadwing Communications, LLC, from 2004 to 2007. His private sector experience from 2000 to 2004
included serving in senior roles at competitive communications service providers Allegiance Telecom, Inc. and
CoreExpress, Inc. and as a member of the Board of Directors of Network Plus. From 1993 to 1997, Strickling was
Vice President, Public Policy at Regional Bell Operating Company Ameritech Corp., where he was responsible for
developing and implementing Ameritech’s state and federal regulatory and legislative agenda. Strickling was also a
litigation partner at the Chicago law firm of Kirkland & Ellis.
Strickling earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Maryland
with a degree in economics.
[1] http://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/editor_uploads/strickling_750x900.jpg
content and outreach for MassVetsAdvisor.org, a one stop shop for Massachusetts Veteran benefits and services.
Kyle is a graduate of Northeastern University and is currently pursuing a Masters of Public Administration at
Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School. Prior to working for MBI, Kyle was a Legislative Aide for Massachusetts
State Senator Stephen M. Brewer for nearly five years where he worked primarily on constituent services. Kyle is a
lifelong Massachusetts resident who serves proudly in the United States Army Reserves for a Civil Affairs Unit
based in New England. Kyle has been deployed to Africa and most recently to Kandahar, Afghanistan where he was
attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) as well as the 3rd Brigade Combat
Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry). While in Afghanistan, Kyle was a member of a five man Civil Affairs
Team charged with the rebuilding of the local government, economy, and infrastructure in one of the most volatile
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and kinetic districts in the province. Kyle has been awarded the Combat Action Badge, Purple Heart Medal, Army
Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Good Conduct Medal, Army
Reserve Components Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two
campaign stars, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” Device, Non-
Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Components
Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO Medal and Expert Marksmanship Badge. Kyle is excited to continue to serve his
fellow Veterans by managing this site and assisting Veterans and their Families gain access to benefits that they
have earned and deserve.
serving the Hmong American community in Saint Paul, MN. Ms. Vang has more than a decade of leadership and
management experience in business, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. Previous to her work at
HAP, she held management and leadership positions with Ramsey County managing their Financial Assistance
Services Division. Bao’s financial management and leadership skills has also been put to use in her businesses in
tax/accounting, assisted living, and family trust funds.
She has served on the board of various national and local task forces, including: the MN Welfare Reform Non-
Citizenship Committee; the Board of Directors of Century College Foundation, Tubman Family Alliance and the
Centre for Social Change. Her business interests reflect the entrepreneurial spirit of the greater Hmong
community. Ms. Vang holds a M.A. in Public Administration and Management and a B.A. in Business
Administration/Accounting. She is a 1999 Bush Fellow, and was listed as in the 100 Most Influential People to
Watch in Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine and the 75 Most Influential People in the Twin Cities by Minnesota
Monthly Magazine.
Department of Telecommunications and Cable (DTC). He is also the co-chair of the North American Numbering
Council, a Federal Advisory Committee that was created to advise the Federal Communications Commission on
numbering issues. From October 2007 until his appointment, Mr. Why was the General Counsel for the DTC.
Previously, Mr. Why worked as a civil and criminal litigator. From 2001 to 2007, Mr. Why was an assistant attorney
general in the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection and Antitrust Division, where
he specialized in telecommunication and cable cases. In addition, he was a co-chair of the Attorney General’s
Diversity Committee from 2003-2007. In 2006, Mr. Why was presented the Edward J. McCormack Jr. Award for
Excellence by the Attorney General for his work on behalf of Massachusetts consumers. From 1998 to 2001, Mr.
Why was an assistant district attorney at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Appellate Division. From
2002 to 2005, he was a first-year legal writing instructor at Boston University School of Law. In addition, Mr. Why
speaks frequently on communications issues before national organizations.
Mr. Why has been active in a number of community groups. He has been a member of the board of directors of
the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts since 2003 and the board of the Massachusetts Lawyers’
Committee for Civil Rights from 2006 to 2008. He is currently a Commissioner of the Massachusetts Asian-
American Commission. Mr. Why graduated from Boston College in 1988 and Boston College Law School in 1998.
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2013 Broadband Summit
Broadband Adoption and Usage - What Have We Learned?
Sponsored by the Federal - State Joint Conferenceon Advanced Services with NTIA
February 7, 2013
Richard Abisla
partners, including grassroots organizations, community schools, city agencies, postgraduate institutions, and
federal government, both in the US and in Latin America and the Caribbean. He is the Project Manager for the
Latino Tech Net, a project of the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA), and a prime recipient of a BTOP
grant. He has managed all aspects of program design and implementation, including curriculum development,
budgeting and monitoring, student affairs, marketing and recruitment, teacher management, program evaluation
and reporting, and facilitation. Richard earned an AB from the University of Chicago and an MA from Columbia
University’s Teachers College.
Sybil Boutilier
and Adult Services. She has long been a dedicated contributor to the Community Telecommunications and
Networking effort, promoting the use of technology as a unifying social good. Prior to joining San Francisco's Aging
& Adult Services Department, she helped develop the Public Library's first internet access programs, setting up the
Children's Electronic Discovery Center, and has been a leader in numerous initiatives to provide access to
broadband services across the digital divide with help from CWEIS, NTIA-TIIAP and NSF. She has been a specialist in
digital licensing, and as chair of the Telecommunications Policy Committee, she assisted the City & County with
Cable Franchise negotiations and Universal Service issues. BTOP has enabled her to work with over 23 local public
and non-profit partners to expand access and training in broadband services to the often overlooked and
underserved community of seniors and adults with disabilities, only 42% of whom previously engaged online. She
continues to be dedicated to the goal of achieving universal sustainable broadband adoption as an important
support and component of a modern democratic society.
Laura Breeden
Laura Breeden is the Program Director for Public Computing and Broadband Adoption, BTOP, NTIAlbreeden@ntia.doc.gov. Laura re-joined NTIA in May 2009 to lead the public computing and sustainable
broadband adoption components of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, a $4.7 billion competitive
grant program that is part of the Recovery Act. BTOP is designed to promote the construction of new
infrastructure for broadband communications in unserved and underserved areas, make public access computer
centers and training available to vulnerable populations, and promote broadband adoption by groups that are
under-represented among broadband subscribers. Under her leadership, BTOP has awarded more than $452
million for projects to make 21st century computer and Internet services more available, affordable, and useful.
Ms. Breeden previously served at NTIA from 1994 to 1996 as the founding director of the Technology
Opportunities Program, a forerunner of BTOP, where she supervised the award of more than $60 million in
matching grants for innovative projects that used the Internet to improve public sector services.
Since 1983, Ms. Breeden has worked in the public, private and non-profit sectors to advance the use of modern
digital communications for the public good. Among her accomplishments are directing one of the first associations
of Internet service providers, heading the project that created the New England Academic and Research Network,
consulting to universities and foundations throughout the U.S. on technology projects, and creating a national
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technical assistance and evaluation program for the 400 community computing centers funded by the U. S.
Department of Education from 2000 to 2005.
Ms. Breeden holds a BA in Urban Studies and Education from Oberlin College, where she graduated Phi Beta
Kappa.
Derrick Bulawa
of an integrated fiber based triple play services, cloud based services and live sports production. BEK has
successfully deployed these services over both Fiber and Copper, with territory wide Fiber build-out to be
completed in 2013. Prior to BEK, Bulawa was the Founder of the Hong Kong based Zone Telecom, Founder of the
Hong Kong Based e-Kong Group(SEHK 524), on the start-up team of the world’s largest satellite TV broadcaster
Based in Hong Kong, STAR TV, with engineering positions at GTE SpaceNet, Contel ASC, Equatorial Communications
and additional unspecified international contract positions. Over the past 28 years Bulawa has contributed to the
global deployment of communications and broadcasting, technologies and services. Mr. Bulawa has a Bachelors
Degree in Electronic Engineering Technology from the Devry Institute of Technology, Columbus Ohio.
Mignon L. Clyburn
sworn in August 3, 2009. President Obama nominated Commissioner Clyburn in 2012 for a second term, and her
nomination was confirmed by the Senate on December 31, 2012. Her term runs until June 30, 2017.
Commissioner Clyburn has a long history of public service and dedication to the public interest. Prior to her
swearing in as Commissioner, Ms. Clyburn served for 11 years as the representative of South Carolina's sixth
district on the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSC). She was sworn in for her first term in July 1998,
and was subsequently reelected in 2002 and 2006. She served as chair of the PSC from July 2002 through June
2004.
During her tenure at the PSC, Commissioner Clyburn actively participated in numerous national and regional state-
based utility organizations. Most recently, Ms. Clyburn served as the chair of the National Association of
Regulatory Utility Commissioners' (NARUC) Washington Action Committee and as a member of both the
association's Audit Committee and Utilities Market Access Partnership Board. Commissioner Clyburn is also a
former chair of the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (SEARUC).
Commissioner Clyburn was elected to the South Carolina PSC following 14 years as the publisher and general
manager of The Coastal Times, a Charleston-based weekly newspaper that focused primarily on issues affecting
the African American community. She owned and operated the family-founded newspaper following her
graduation from the University of South Carolina, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Banking,
Finance & Economics.
For well over two decades, Commissioner Clyburn has been actively involved in myriad community organizations.
Prior to her appointment at the FCC, Commissioner Clyburn served on the South Carolina State Energy Advisory
Council, the Trident Technical College Foundation, the South Carolina Cancer Center Board, the Columbia College
Board of Visitors, the Palmetto Project Board (as secretary/treasurer) and has enjoyed previous service as chair of
the YWCA of Greater Charleston and on the boards of Reid House of Christian Service, Edventure Children's
Museum, Trident Urban League and the Trident United Way. In addition, Commissioner Clyburn was previously
appointed to the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee's Common Ground School Improvement
Committee and the Edventure Museum's South Carolina Great Friend to Kids Committee. She also is a Life
Member of the NAACP, a member of The Links, Inc. and the SC Advisory Council of the U.S. Commission on Civil
Rights, and was past president of the Charleston County Democratic Women and Black Women Entrepreneurs.
Commissioner Clyburn has received a number of honors and awards, including being selected as the 2006 James C.
Bonbright Honoree (awarded by the Southeastern Energy Conference, Terry College of Business at the University
of Georgia) and receiving the 2007 Lincoln C. Jenkins Award for business and community contributions presented
by the Columbia (SC) Urban League.
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Tamara Cox-Burnett
Tamara Cox-Burnett is the Community Technology Center Director at the College of Menominee Nation inKeshena, Wisconsin. The CTC was built with funds through BTOP funding; Tamara has been a part of the planning
process and then became the director of the new Center. She has been with the college for almost three years.
Dave Davidson
Ohio is one of Frontier’s largest operations, with more than 300,000 customers and over 1,000 employees. Dave
joined Frontier in February of 2010 and is based the company’s state headquarters in Marion.
Throughout his career, he held a number of key positions with companies in the telecommunications industry,
including McCaw Communications and AT&T Wireless. While at AT&T Wireless, Dave served as the Vice President
and General Manager of the company’s Ohio and Western New York service areas.
Immediately prior to joining Frontier, Dave worked at Connect Ohio, a public-private partnership with the state of
Ohio. The organization’s focus was to “bridge the digital divide” by driving broadband availability and adoption
among consumers and businesses in the state. Dave earned a B.A. in Marketing and Business Administration from
Kent State University.
Elaine Divelbliss
Warren, NJ and New York City. As a member of the Government Affairs department, Ms. Divelbliss provides advice
on a broad range of state and federal regulatory matters. Her responsibilities include providing legal counsel and
regulatory advice to the Assurance Wireless brand, through which Sprint affiliate Virgin Mobile USA provides
Lifeline service. Ms. Divelbliss joined Sprint in November 2009, in connection with the merger of Sprint and Virgin
Mobile. Prior to joining Virgin Mobile in September 2008, Ms. Divelbliss practiced in the Litigation department of
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York City. Ms. Divelbliss received both her undergraduate degree and juris
doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.
David Fletcher
David Fletcher is the Administrative Services Director within the Center for Distance Health (CDH) at the Universityof Arkansas for Medical Sciences, the state's only academic health center. In this role, as a member of the core
management team, he works on multiple distance health programs, including spearheading CDH LIVE, a video
interpreting program for patients with limited English proficiency, and the Center's broadband connectivity efforts
funded through the Federal Communications Commission and the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program
(BTOP). The BTOP project is designed to increase broadband capacities and interactive video equipment at over
450 health care, higher education, public safety and research entities with locations in all 75 counties in Arkansas.
He has worked for over 15 years in the healthcare industry, including two years at the Wal-Mart corporate office
and five years for Electronic Data Systems, the fiscal agent for the Arkansas Medicaid program, as a financial
analyst examining recipient and expenditure data. Mr. Fletcher holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Business
Administration degrees.
Jon Gant
Urbana-Champaign where he serves as the Director of the Center for Digital Inclusion (CDI). Jon is a national leader
in the areas of digital inclusion and broadband adoption.
In the past two years, Jon has published groundbreaking research in the areas of Internet access and use, including
co-authoring the first report to examine broadband adoption among minority communities, which was published
by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. Jon also is Director of Urbana-Champaign Big Broadband
(UC2B), a $30-million dollar project dedicated to building one of the fastest broadband networks in the country.
Under Jon’s direction, CDI is helping to incubate new applications that will run on ultra-high speed broadband
networks. In 2012, Jon received a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to provide
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continuing education to library leaders about the ways in which libraries can participate in building the next
generation of the Internet. Researchers at CDI are also working on other digital literacy projects funded by the
State of Illinois, Partnership for a Connected Illinois, the American Library Association, and IMLS.
In addition to his work on digital inclusion and broadband adoption, Jon is an expert in e-government, geo-spatial
information systems, strategic planning and information systems. His research has been funded by the Institute of
Museum and Library Services, the Organization for Economic Coordination and Development, the International
Telecommunication Union, and the National Science Foundation, among others. Jon received his M.S. and Ph.D.
degrees from the Heinz School at Carnegie Mellon University, where he studied public policy and information
management.
Julius Genachowski
the agency on unleashing the opportunities of wired and wireless broadband. He has successfully pursued policies
to promote investment and job creation, drive innovation, foster competition, and empower consumers.
During Genachowski's tenure, the FCC developed and is implementing the National Broadband Plan, an ambitious
strategy to harness the opportunities of high-speed Internet, promote U.S. global competitiveness, and bring the
benefits of 21st century communications to all Americans.
The Commission has worked to modernize outdated programs and eliminate barriers to innovation and
investment. The Commission adopted the landmark Connect America Fund, a once-in-a generation overhaul of the
multi-billion dollar Universal Service Fund and related rules, transforming it from supporting telephone service to
broadband. The Connect America Fund replaces legacy programs with new market-driven, incentive-based policies
to achieve universal broadband, both wired and wireless.
The Commission is pursuing other forward-looking strategies to unleash the opportunities of mobile broadband,
including freeing up spectrum and removing barriers to spectrum use and broadband build-out. The Commission
under Genachowski's leadership developed a bold "incentive auctions" initiative to deploy market forces to
reallocate broadcast spectrum from inefficient uses to flexible mobile broadband, which was signed into law in
February 2012. The Commission also ordered the largest release of unlicensed spectrum in 15 years, building on
the approach that gave us Wi-Fi.
Through the Commission's Broadband Acceleration Initiative, Genachowski has advanced policies that reduce the
cost and time required to deploy broadband infrastructure, including by streamlining the process for attaching
communications equipment to utility poles and siting wireless towers.
The agency has taken strong steps to preserve Internet freedom and openness, adopting a framework to protect
free enterprise and free speech online, incentivizing significant private investment in Internet applications and
services as well as broadband networks and infrastructure.
The FCC during Genachowski's tenure has reviewed hundreds of mergers and acquisitions, including a number of
major transactions. The Commission's transaction review has focused on promoting competition, driving
innovation and investment, and benefitting consumers.
Internationally, the Commission has worked to harmonize global spectrum policies, facilitate open market access
for cloud computing, and promote greater Internet freedom, working with international organizations and through
bilateral engagement with both major economies and developing countries.
Genachowski is committed to closing the nationwide broadband adoption gap. He has spearheaded a number of
initiatives focused on broadband adoption and consumer empowerment, including the Connect to Compete
program, which will provide job training and low-cost, high-quality laptops and broadband to low-income
Americans; the Jobs4America initiative, which has been executing on its goal of bringing more than 100,000 new
broadband-enabled contact center jobs to the U.S. over two years; worked with wireless providers to end "bill
shock" and empower consumers with alerts for wireless voice and data overages and announced a new industry
database of stolen cellphones to curb thefts. The Commission worked with internet service providers (ISPs) to
adopt measures to minimize three major cyber threats, including an Anti-Bot Code of Conduct, an IP route
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hijacking industry framework and secure DNS best practices. The Commission also launched the Small Biz Cyber
Planner, which enables small businesses to develop a plan to protect themselves from cyber threats.
The Commission has also worked to significantly improve the accessibility of technology and media, including by
ensuring that people with disabilities can more easily use online communications services and content.
The Commission is also working to harness modern communications technologies for public safety. On an
accelerated schedule, the FCC is implementing PLAN, the new nationwide mobile emergency alerting system; it is
working toward an interoperable nationwide mobile broadband network for first responders; and it is charting the
transition to Next Generation 9-1-1 services, which will harness the latest communications technology - like the
ability to send photos, videos, or texts - to revolutionize emergency response and save lives.
As chief executive of the FCC, Genachowski oversees over 1700 employees, an agency budget of approximately
$400 million per year, and universal-service and other programs disbursing about $10 billion annually.
The FCC under Genachowski's leadership has been a model for excellence in government, including being named
the most improved agency in the federal government by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management based on
government-wide employee surveys.
Prior to his FCC appointment, Genachowski spent more than a decade working in the technology and media
industries as an executive, investor, and board member. He was Chief of Business Operations and before that
General Counsel at IAC/InterActiveCorp; Special Advisor at the private equity firm General Atlantic; and co-founder
of the technology incubator LaunchBox Digital.
Genachowski's confirmation returned him to the agency where, in the 1990s, he served as Chief Counsel to
Chairman Reed Hundt, as well as Special Counsel to General Counsel William Kennard (later FCC Chairman, 1997-
2001). He has served as a U.S. Supreme Court law clerk for two years, for Justice David Souter and Justice William J.
Brennan, Jr., and as a clerk for Chief Judge Abner Mikva of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Genachowski worked
in Congress on the staff of the House select committee investigating the Iran-Contra affair, and for then-U.S.
Representative (now Senator) Charles E. Schumer.
Genachowski received a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1991, and served as co-Notes Editor of
the Harvard Law Review. In 1985, he received a B.A. from Columbia College, magna cum laude, where he was
Editor of Columbia Spectator's Broadway Magazine; re-established Columbia's oldest newspaper Acta Columbiana;
and was a writer and researcher for Fred Friendly, former President of CBS News. He was also a certified
Emergency Medical Technician, served on the Columbia Area Volunteer Ambulance, and taught cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR).
President Obama nominated Chairman Genachowski in March 2009, and he was confirmed by the Senate on June
29, 2009. He serves on the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States. President Obama also
named Genachowski to lead the United States delegation to Poland for the commemoration of the 65th
anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
A son of immigrants, Genachowski is married and has three children.
Garnet Hanly
Bureau at the FCC. Prior to joining the FCC, Garnet was Senior Counsel for T-Mobile USA, Inc. from 2008 to 2011
and focused on representing the company on state regulatory matters within the mid-western part of the United
States. Before working at T-Mobile, Garnet was a Director of State Regulatory for Sprint Nextel Corporation from
2005 to 2008, handling regulatory matters within the Northeastern part of the United States. From 1999 to 2005,
Garnet served as counsel for Nextel Communications in various roles involving real estate matters, spectrum
acquisition and state/federal regulatory matters impacting the company. Prior to Nextel, Garnet served as an
associate in private practice involving mergers/acquisitions. Garnet received her JD from Suffolk University Law
School and received a BA from George Mason University.
Chanelle P. Hardy
5Chanelle P. Hardy is the National Urban League’s Senior Vice President for Policy and Executive Director of the
National Urban League Policy Institute, the organization’s policy, research and advocacy arm in Washington, DC.
Ms. Hardy is charged with directing the League’s public policy strategy and advocacy efforts in the areas of
housing, jobs and workforce development, healthcare and education. She also directs the Policy Institute’s
research initiatives, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of The State of Black America, the League’s signature publication.
Prior to joining the Policy Institute, Ms. Hardy served as Chief of Staff and Counsel to former US Representative
Artur Davis (D-AL-11), who served on the House Ways and Means Committee and the Committee on House
Administration. Before her tenure on the Hill, Ms. Hardy was a staff attorney at the Federal Trade Commission, a
Policy Fellow and Legislative Counsel at Consumers Union, and a member of Teach for America, instructing fifth
graders in Washington, DC.
Ms. Hardy received her JD from Howard University School of Law, where she finished fifth in her class, and was a
member of the Huver I. Brown Trial Advocacy Moot Court Team.
Ms. Hardy is a member of the board of Excel Academy Public Charter School, the first all-girls public school in
Washington, DC; the board of the Congressional Black Caucus Institute and a member of Alfred Street Baptist
Church in Alexandria, Va.
Corrine Hill
Corinne Hill has been in the library business for 17 years. During this time she has managed public service,technical services, library technology, and is currently the Executive Director at Chattanooga Public Library. Her
professional interests include the management of library operations, fiscal management and responsibility, and
identifying and implementing library trends. In 2012 Chattanooga Public Library became one of the first gig
libraries in the country.
John Horrigan
John Horrigan is Vice President and Director of the Media and Technology Institute at the Joint Center for Politicaland Economic Studies, whose mission is to study how emerging communications technologies can become
avenues of advancement for the disadvantaged.
Before joining the Joint Center, Horrigan was Vice President for Policy and Research at TechNet, where he
developed research characterizing the job impacts of mobile applications and wrote reports on progress on
broadband adoption since the delivery of the National Broadband Plan (NBP). He has also served as a consultant
for the Partnership for Connected Illinois.
In 2009-10, Horrigan was part of FCC Chairman Genachowski’s leadership team tasked with developing the NBP. In
that capacity, he developed the research agenda for the “Inclusion” portion of the NBP and conducted the FCC’s
first national survey on broadband adoption and usage. Before that, he spent nine years at the Pew Research
Center’s Internet & American Life Project.
Horrigan received his Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Texas at Austin and his B.A. in government and
economics from the University of Virginia.
Tom Koutsky
As Chief Policy Counsel, Tom provides vision and leadership for Connected Nation’s research and policy initiatives.Tom joined Connected Nation from the Federal Communications Commission where he served as a senior attorney
advisor and was a member of the team that wrote the first U.S. National Broadband Plan. Tom focused on policy
recommendations related to federal, state, and local policies, network infrastructure, the law and economics of
middle mile connectivity, wholesale competition rules, and policy and universal service and access charge reform.
Prior to his involvement with the National Broadband Plan, Koutsky served as chair of the FCC’s North American
Numbering Council. Koutsky also was a resident scholar for the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic
Public Policy Studies, a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) think tank that focused on developing and advancing pro-entry
telecommunications and video policies. During his tenure at the Phoenix Center, Koutsky authored several
published articles on broadband and telecommunications competition issues; made presentations before
Congress, the FCC, and state commissioners; prepared policy bulletins and updates; and organized events,
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including annual U.S. Telecoms Symposia and State Regulator Retreats. Koutsky also previously served in these
roles in Washington DC: vice president, Law and Public Policy, for Z-Tel Communications, Inc.; assistant general
counsel for Covad Communications Company; senior attorney, Competition Division, Office of the General Counsel,
Cable for the FCC; and associate attorney for Steptoe and Johnson. Koutsky earned his J.D. with Honors from The
University of Chicago Law School in 1991 and B.A. with Highest University Honors from the University of Illinois in
1988.
Larry S. Landis
After 30 years in the private sector, Commissioner Landis was appointed to the Indiana Utility Regulatory
Commission 10 years ago by the late Governor Frank O’Bannon, and to subsequent full terms by former Governor
Joe Kernan and former Governor Mitch Daniels.
Commissioner Landis is active in the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ (NARUC) serving on
its Board of Directors, as well as, its Telecommunications and Washington Action Committees, the latter of which
he is currently serving as Co-Chair.
At the national level, Commissioner Landis was Vice Chair of the NARUC Intercarrier Compensation Task Force.
Landis also served on NARUC’s Legislative Task Force, charged with developing recommendations for a rewrite of
the nation’s telecommunication laws. He served two, three-year terms on the Federal-State Joint Board on
Universal Service and also has served on the Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Telecommunications
Services since 2005, of which he is currently State Chair. Additionally, Commissioner Landis currently serves on the
Federal-State Joint Board on Jurisdictional Separations.
Commissioner Landis also focuses on financial issues. He co-chairs the IURC’s Financial Taskforce, created in the
wake of the market collapse in 2008-09; and is Past Vice Chair (2009-2010) and Chair (2010-2011) and member of
the Advisory Board of the Financial Research Institute at the University of Missouri’s Trulaske School of Business.
He is also a member of the Society of Utility and Regulatory Financial Analysts (SURFA) and the IEEE Computer
Society.
He and his wife Carol recently celebrated their 38th Anniversary. Their son and daughter-in-law, Chris and Heather
are the parents of three daughters, Lauren, Anna and Emily.
Doris O. Matsui
As an established and informed Representative, Congresswoman Matsui has emerged in Washington as a forward
thinking, resourceful and influential advocate for the people of the Sacramento region.
Sacramento is the seat of government for the largest state in the country, a diverse and growing region that
Congresswoman Matsui represents with strength and a vision. As a recognized leader in the Sacramento
community and in Congress, Congresswoman Matsui is focused on utilizing federal resources to improve the lives
of her constituents. As state and local budgets have continued to suffer as a result of the economic downturn,
Matsui’s role in delivering federal funding to the region has only become more important, and is critical to
providing good jobs for Sacramento families.
Congresswoman Matsui was appointed to the powerful and exclusive House Committee on Energy and Commerce
in 2008. As a member she helps to craft legislation to address the most critical challenges facing hard-working
Americans today, ranging from health care and clean energy, to expanding access to broadband and creating jobs.
In each of these areas, Congresswoman Matsui is committed to investing in a safe, healthy and sustainable future
for Sacramento and the country and reinvigorating our local economy.
Since taking office, Congresswoman Matsui has made increased flood protection a key focus of her work in
Congress, successfully advancing legislation to upgrade and modernize the region's levee, dam and water
management systems. In conjunction with other flood control initiatives on both the Sacramento and American
Rivers, Congresswoman Matsui is building an impressive record of collaboration and innovation to protect her
district from harmful flooding, and making affordable flood insurance a reality for Sacramento homeowners. In
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Fiscal Year 2010, Congresswoman Matsui secured a record $86.5 million dollars to improve the region’s flood
protection infrastructure.
Congresswoman Matsui has worked to expand access to mass transit, and bring some of Sacramento's most
successful initiatives to the national dialogue. She is engaged in the planning and execution of an intermodal
transportation center in Downtown Sacramento, which will improve air quality, ease roadway congestion, and
strengthen Sacramento's Light Rail system. She has also introduced Complete Streets legislation in Congress that
would provide bike lanes and sidewalks in urban areas to help ensure safe transportation alternatives for our
seniors, our children, and the active bicycle community in Sacramento.
Congresswoman Matsui is also deeply committed to transforming the Sacramento region into a clean-tech capital.
Matsui understands that Sacramento can no-longer rely on the State for employment and economic security, and
that there is a need to diversify our local economy. As the sponsor of a series of legislation in Congress to
promote, expand and support local clean-tech businesses, Congresswoman Matsui continues to work to recruit
new clean energy businesses to the Sacramento region, which will create new jobs for Sacramento residents and
provide a much-needed boost to the local economy. Moreover, by providing support for new and existing
companies that produce renewable energy and clean-tech products, we can reduce our reliance on foreign oil that
threatens both our national security and our environment.
For her work on the issues most important to Sacramento - clean energy, flood protection, health care, education,
and transportation - Congresswoman Doris Matsui was named the 2011 Regional Champion by Valley Vision.
Before coming to Congress, Congresswoman Matsui served on numerous advisory boards, community
organizations, and honorary committees. She was President and Chairwoman of the Board for the KVIE public
television station in Sacramento, and she served in leadership capacities for the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento
Children's Home, Meridian International Center, Arena Stage, and Woodrow Wilson Center Board of Trustees.
Congresswoman Matsui has maintained this commitment to civic involvement while serving in Congress. The
Congresswoman was named a Co-Chair of the National Service Caucus as a direct result of her support of these
service-related initiatives. Additionally, Congresswoman Matsui served on the Smithsonian Institute's Board of
Regents from 2006 to 2011, and was also named as a Board Member of the National Symphony Orchestra in 2010.
After growing up on a farm in California's Central Valley, Congresswoman Matsui met her husband, the late
Congressman Bob Matsui, while earning her Bachelor's Degree from the University of California at Berkeley.
During President Bill Clinton's first term in office, she served as one of eight members of the President's transition
board. She later served for six years as Deputy Assistant to the President in the White House Office of Public
Liaison.
Congresswoman Matsui is the proud mother of one son, Brian. She has two young grandchildren, Anna and
Robby.
Dale Merten
St. Paul Telephone Cooperative Association, St. Paul Oregon. Today he serves as the Chief Operating Officer for
ToledoTel in Toledo Washington. ToledoTel provides voice and broadband to homes and small businesses in rural
western Washington. Dale has been a leader in promoting broadband adoption and is constantly seeking ways to
leverage the value of ToledoTel's network. He is the Region 9 Director for The Foundation for Rural Service and
also serves on the board of directors of Providence Centralia Hospital, Washington Independent Telephone
Association, and Washington Exchange Carrier Association. He and his wife Tina live on a small working ranch near
Toledo Washington.
Karen Mossberger
Dr. Karen Mossberger is Professor of Public Administration and Head of the Public Administration Department atthe University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research interests include local governance, urban policy, digital
inequality, evaluation of broadband programs and e-government.
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Her December 2012 book on Digital Cities: The Internet and the Geography of Opportunity (Oxford University
Press) is co-authored with Caroline Tolbert and William Franko. The book examines the potential of cities for
generating spillover benefits from broadband use, with national data to compare technology use across urban,
suburban and rural areas, across the 50 largest cities, and across neighborhoods using a unique Chicago study.
Previous books include Digital Citizenship: The Internet, Society and Participation (Mossberger, Tolbert and
McNeal 2008, MIT Press) and Virtual Inequality: Beyond the Digital Divide (Mossberger, Tolbert and Stansbury
2003). “Race, Place, and Information Technology” won the best paper award for the Public Policy Section of the
American Political Science Association in 2005.
Mossberger is currently evaluating the Smart Communities Program, the BTOP SBA program in 5 low-income
Chicago neighborhoods, and conducting citywide studies to track changes in technology use across all of Chicago’s
community areas. She is also co-editing a book on broadband evaluation and policy impacts that is the result of a
national research roundtable held at the MacArthur Foundation in Chicago in October 2012. Her research has
been funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Partnership for a Connected Illinois, Chicago
Community Trust, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Smith Richardson Foundation,
among others. She is co-editor of the Georgetown University Press series on American Governance and Public
Policy, and co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Urban Politics, published in 2012. She was also the 2009-2010
President of the Urban Politics Section of the American Political Science Association.
Bret S. Perkins
Bret Perkins is Vice President of External and Government Affairs for Comcast Corporation. In this role, he isresponsible for the company’s strategic partnerships with national public policy organizations as well as
implementing the company’s regulatory and legislative initiatives at the local level, managing relationships with
state and local intergovernmental associations, and grassroots communications.
Bret served in other capacities at Comcast, including Senior Director of Public Policy, Comcast Corporation and Vice
President of Government Affairs for Comcast Cable Communications. Bret joined Comcast in 2001, and is credited
with effectively managing a very large local government affairs function during a rapidly growing period for the
company. During this time, he managed the transition from an operation responsible for 22 states and 2,500
communities to one with 39 states and 6,000 communities.
Previously he served as Vice President of System Services and Assistant to the President at Mercy Health System, a
regional healthcare system in southeast Pennsylvania and subsidiary of Catholic Health East. He was responsible
for managing the office of the President, board relations and project management at this regional integrated
health care system.
Before Mercy Health System he worked in Legislative Affairs at the multi-state Medicaid managed care company
Keystone Mercy/AmeriHealth Mercy Health Plan for four years where he was responsible for government relations
and the minority and women owned business development department. Previously he was Manager of Labor
Relations for North Philadelphia Health System
Bret has been involved in several capacities at his alma mater, Temple University. He has served as President of the
Temple University Alumni Association, as a member of the University’s Board of Trustees, and as a member of the
Fox School of Business Board of Visitors. He is past President of the Temple Young Alumni Association and past
President of the Fox School of Business Alumni Association.
Bret is Past President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the National Association of Multi-Ethnicity in Communications.
He currently serves on the Board and Executive Committee of The Committee of Seventy, the Philadelphia political
watchdog nonprofit organization, and on the Philadelphia International Airport Advisory Board. He also serves on
the boards of the Family Online Safety Institute as well as the Internet Education Foundation.
In 2008 he was awarded the cable industry’s Vanguard Award for Young Leadership. In 2010 he was named to
CableFAX's 2010 Most Influential Minorities in Cable. In 2008 he was also named one of Leadership Philadelphia’s
Top 101 Emerging Connectors.
Bret received a BBA in Business Administration from Temple University where he was a four year starter on the
varsity soccer team, serving as captain his senior year. He is a graduate of the Leadership Philadelphia Core
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Program, NAMIC’s Executive Leadership Development Program Class VII and Comcast’s Executive Leadership
Program.
Jessica Rosenworcel
Obama and on May 7, 2012 was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate. She was sworn into office on
May 11, 2012.
Commissioner Rosenworcel brings a decade and a half of public sector and private sector communications law
experience to her position at the FCC. This experience has shaped her belief that in the 21st century strong
communications markets can foster economic growth and security, enhance digital age opportunity, and enrich
our civic life.
Prior to joining the agency, Commissioner Rosenworcel served as Senior Communications Counsel for the United
States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, under the leadership of Senator John D.
Rockefeller IV. She previously served in the same role on the Committee under the leadership of Senator Daniel K.
Inouye. In this position, she was responsible for legislation, hearings, and policy development involving a wide
range of communications issues, including spectrum auctions, public safety, broadband deployment and adoption,
universal service, video programming, satellite television, local radio, and digital television transition.
Before joining the staff of the Committee, she served as Legal Advisor to former FCC Commissioner Michael J.
Copps. She also served at the agency as Legal Counsel to the Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau and as an
Attorney-Advisor in the Wireline Competition Bureau.
Prior to entering public service, Commissioner Rosenworcel practiced communications law at Drinker Biddle and
Reath.
Commissioner Rosenworcel is a native of Hartford, Connecticut. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University and New
York University School of Law. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband Mark, and children Caroline and
Emmett.
Deb Socia
and equity of Internet access for all citizens. Tech Goes Home provides training, hardware, and low cost Internet
access to all eligible participants. The program was selected as a ComputerWorld 2011 Laureate, was awarded the
Public Technology Institute’s 2011 Solutions Award and the 2009 Verizon Tech Savvy Award. Tech Goes Home has
supported 8,500 participants in the last two years.
Prior to her current position, Deb spent 32 years as an educator. She was the founding principal of the Lilla G.
Frederick Middle School, a Boston Public School in the Grove Hall Neighborhood. She led the one-to-one laptop
initiative at the Frederick and the school won several awards for its efforts at technology integration, including
designation as an Apple Distinguished School in 2009 and 2010. In addition, Deb received the 2010 “Leadership
and Vision” award from CRSTE (Capitol Region Society for Technology in Education), the Quincy/Geneva
Community Advocate award in 2009, and the Lilla G. Frederick Citizenship Award in 2008. The Frederick was
named a “trauma sensitive school” by the state, was highlighted in case studies by Intel, Apple, and the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation, and was designated as a “safe haven” by the community agency Project RIGHT.
Considered an expert in the areas of ed-tech, school-community partnerships, trauma sensitive schools, and
supporting students with special needs, Deb is often a speaker at local and national conferences and is a frequent
guest lecturer at universities and colleges as well as presenting Webinars on a variety of technology. She has
written several pieces on technology in education, including a piece on digital citizenship for the Publius Project,
several articles in MASCD Perspectives, AALF’s on-line publication, and several guest blog posts for iKeepSafe. Deb
is currently on the board of the non-profit AIP, Inc. (the Alliance for Inclusion and Prevention, Inc.) Prior to her
current role and in addition to her principalship, Deb worked as a district level curriculum coordinator, as the
Program Director for the Coalition of Essential Schools, and as a middle school mathematics and science teacher.
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Lawrence E. Strickling
And Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
U.S. Department of Commerce [1]
Lawrence E. Strickling was sworn in as Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the Department
of Commerce in June 2009. In this role, Strickling serves as Administrator of the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA), the Executive Branch agency that is principally responsible for advising the
President on telecommunications and information policy. A technology policy expert with more than two decades
of experience in the public and private sectors, Strickling’s focus at NTIA includes leading initiatives to expand
broadband Internet access and adoption in America and to ensure that the Internet remains an engine for
continued innovation and economic growth.
After joining NTIA, Strickling oversaw the development of an approximately $4 billion Recovery Act broadband
grants program and now manages the rigorous oversight of these nationwide broadband projects to ensure they
deliver timely and lasting benefits to the American public. Additionally, under Strickling's leadership, NTIA
launched America's first public, searchable nationwide map of consumer broadband Internet availability and
crafted a ten-year plan that the agency is now implementing to nearly double the amount of commercial spectrum
available for wireless broadband, as directed by President Obama. Strickling also oversees NTIA’s efforts on a host
of domestic and global Internet policy and administrative issues, including playing a key role in the Commerce
Department's Internet Policy Task Force; advocating the U.S. Government’s policy positions abroad; and promoting
the stability and security of the Internet’s domain name system through its participation on behalf of the U.S.
government in Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) activities.
Previously in government, Strickling served at the Federal Communications Commission as Chief of the Common
Carrier Bureau from 1998 to 2000, working to promote competition and protect consumers in the
telecommunications sector and implement many of the key provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Prior to that, Strickling was Associate General Counsel and Chief of the FCC’s Competition Division.
In the private sector, Strickling was Chief Regulatory and Chief Compliance Officer at telecommunications service
provider Broadwing Communications, LLC, from 2004 to 2007. His private sector experience from 2000 to 2004
included serving in senior roles at competitive communications service providers Allegiance Telecom, Inc. and
CoreExpress, Inc. and as a member of the Board of Directors of Network Plus. From 1993 to 1997, Strickling was
Vice President, Public Policy at Regional Bell Operating Company Ameritech Corp., where he was responsible for
developing and implementing Ameritech’s state and federal regulatory and legislative agenda. Strickling was also a
litigation partner at the Chicago law firm of Kirkland & Ellis.
Strickling earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Maryland
with a degree in economics.
[1] http://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/editor_uploads/strickling_750x900.jpg
Kyle Toto
Kyle Toto is the community manager for the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) where he oversees thecontent and outreach for MassVetsAdvisor.org, a one stop shop for Massachusetts Veteran benefits and services.
Kyle is a graduate of Northeastern University and is currently pursuing a Masters of Public Administration at
Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School. Prior to working for MBI, Kyle was a Legislative Aide for Massachusetts
State Senator Stephen M. Brewer for nearly five years where he worked primarily on constituent services. Kyle is a
lifelong Massachusetts resident who serves proudly in the United States Army Reserves for a Civil Affairs Unit
based in New England. Kyle has been deployed to Africa and most recently to Kandahar, Afghanistan where he was
attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) as well as the 3rd Brigade Combat
Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry). While in Afghanistan, Kyle was a member of a five man Civil Affairs
Team charged with the rebuilding of the local government, economy, and infrastructure in one of the most volatile
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and kinetic districts in the province. Kyle has been awarded the Combat Action Badge, Purple Heart Medal, Army
Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Good Conduct Medal, Army
Reserve Components Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two
campaign stars, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” Device, Non-
Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Components
Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO Medal and Expert Marksmanship Badge. Kyle is excited to continue to serve his
fellow Veterans by managing this site and assisting Veterans and their Families gain access to benefits that they
have earned and deserve.
Bao Vang
Bao Vang is currently the President/CEO of Hmong American Partnership, a multi-million dollar nonprofit agencyserving the Hmong American community in Saint Paul, MN. Ms. Vang has more than a decade of leadership and
management experience in business, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. Previous to her work at
HAP, she held management and leadership positions with Ramsey County managing their Financial Assistance
Services Division. Bao’s financial management and leadership skills has also been put to use in her businesses in
tax/accounting, assisted living, and family trust funds.
She has served on the board of various national and local task forces, including: the MN Welfare Reform Non-
Citizenship Committee; the Board of Directors of Century College Foundation, Tubman Family Alliance and the
Centre for Social Change. Her business interests reflect the entrepreneurial spirit of the greater Hmong
community. Ms. Vang holds a M.A. in Public Administration and Management and a B.A. in Business
Administration/Accounting. She is a 1999 Bush Fellow, and was listed as in the 100 Most Influential People to
Watch in Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine and the 75 Most Influential People in the Twin Cities by Minnesota
Monthly Magazine.
Geoffrey G. Why
Department of Telecommunications and Cable (DTC). He is also the co-chair of the North American Numbering
Council, a Federal Advisory Committee that was created to advise the Federal Communications Commission on
numbering issues. From October 2007 until his appointment, Mr. Why was the General Counsel for the DTC.
Previously, Mr. Why worked as a civil and criminal litigator. From 2001 to 2007, Mr. Why was an assistant attorney
general in the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection and Antitrust Division, where
he specialized in telecommunication and cable cases. In addition, he was a co-chair of the Attorney General’s
Diversity Committee from 2003-2007. In 2006, Mr. Why was presented the Edward J. McCormack Jr. Award for
Excellence by the Attorney General for his work on behalf of Massachusetts consumers. From 1998 to 2001, Mr.
Why was an assistant district attorney at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Appellate Division. From
2002 to 2005, he was a first-year legal writing instructor at Boston University School of Law. In addition, Mr. Why
speaks frequently on communications issues before national organizations.
Mr. Why has been active in a number of community groups. He has been a member of the board of directors of
the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts since 2003 and the board of the Massachusetts Lawyers’
Committee for Civil Rights from 2006 to 2008. He is currently a Commissioner of the Massachusetts Asian-
American Commission. Mr. Why graduated from Boston College in 1988 and Boston College Law School in 1998.
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