Deb Socia is President and CEO of The Enterprise Center, a nonprofit that nurtures innovation in Chattanooga with the goal of connecting people to resources and building an inclusive community. Growing the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the Innovation District, building digital equity, and supporting research and implementation of smart city applications are all a part of…
Brandy joined the Colorado Broadband Office in 2022 and is responsible for providing oversight and management of the office's programs and statewide strategy for broadband deployment. Her work includes education, outreach, supporting regional collaborations, fostering relations with partners, and mobilizing resources to improve the access and affordability of high speed internet. She works to assist…
Bianca Reisdorf is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina. Her work focuses on the intersection of inequalities and digital media and the internet, with a focus on digital inequalities among marginalized populations. In her recent research, Dr. Reisdorf has been focusing on internet access in correctional…
Holly Rachel is the co-founder of Rachel + Winfree Consulting, a consulting firm based in Nashville, Tennessee that provides data solutions and technical project management to small and mid-sized businesses. Rachel + Winfree Consulting also administers a program called LocalTek, a workforce development program that builds accelerated training curriculum for businesses that want to build…
Pamela is a native Texan with a passion for helping underserved communities and populations achieve everything they were created to be. For more than 20 years, she has worked with government agencies to develop and implement multi-faceted programs to meet the societal and cultural needs of underserved communities. As an exemplary leader with an innovative…
Christine Parker is the GIS and Data Visualization Specialist at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Christine’s work includes spatial analyses of broadband availability, federal funding for broadband, and municipally and cooperatively owned broadband networks. Her work also includes creating tools and resources that provide easy to digest information about more complex topics. Most recently, Christine…
Sara Nichols is a local change maker in Weaverville, North Carolina. Nichols joined Land-of-Sky Regional Council in 2018 as a Regional Planner on the Economic and Community Development team. In her role as a Regional Planner, Nichols focuses on regional economic development, clean air, infrastructure, digital inclusion, and broadband. Prior to joining LOSRC, Nichols served…
Kim Nguyen has always been cause-motivated, highly empathetic, and others-centered. She recognizes the many privileges she has been afforded and therefore feels compelled to carry forward the voices and perspectives of those who may not have a microphone. She's advocated for women when she was a fundraiser for the Women's Center of San Joaquin County,…
Yen Jeong is the Broadband Access and Digital Equity Fellow at OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates. She manages the AAPI Digital Access Survey that is being conducted to understand where and how AAPIs have internet access to identify the diverse needs and challenges they face. She also works with community leaders to raise awareness…
Crystal Grant is a Senior Technology Advisor at Federal Trade Commission. Dr. Grant is a graduate of Emory University’s Laney Graduate School where she was a Technology Fellow at ACLU, a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, the president of Laney’s Graduate Student Council, and a teaching assistant for an introductory computer programming course. After obtaining…
