Fabian Núñez

Fabian Núñez, former California Assembly Speaker and one of the country’s most dynamic Democratic leaders. Recognized for his unique ability to lead and find bi-partisan solutions to complex public policy challenges, Mr. Núñez was named “Legislator of the Year” in 2007 by Governing Magazine. Núñez wrote AB 2987, “The Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006” which dramatically overhauled how Californians get their television and home entertainment services and increased competition among providers and choice for consumers. Núñez, recently joined Mercury Public Affairs as a Partner in the firm’s growing California operations.

Marcia Thomas-Brown

Ms. Thomas-Brown holds a Masters in Health Services Administration from George Washington University and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics Executive Leadership Training Program, Licensed Nursing Home Administrator and a certified Medical Technologist. Marcia is an experienced and accomplished healthcare executive whose experience spans major segments of the healthcare continuum including Long Term Care, Acute Care; Outpatient and Rehabilitation Services and Managed Care with a focus on Medicare Advantage Plans, Chronic Disease Management, Disease Prevention, community base Education and Outreach, and Health Information Technology for underserved populations with an emphasis on communities of color and those who serve them. Ms. Thomas-Brown has always been attracted to assignments that the community and competitors have labeled “mission impossible” but when accomplished, have served to improve the quality of care and life for both patients and the community. For example, Marcia successfully converted a nursing home in Michigan to a licensed Rehabilitation Hospital and completely turned around the largest nursing home in the State of Georgia, resulting in the nursing home winning the Step One Award for Quality Improvement from the American Healthcare Association. These accomplishments, among others, supported her appointment to the Georgia Department of Medical Assistance Nursing Home Board and to the Governor’s Commission on Long Term Care, Board member, Georgia Nursing Association and Chair, Georgia Hospital Association Long Term Care Council. Currently, Marcia serves as the CEO of Mariel Group, LLC a Healthcare Communication, Education and Management consulting company and Program Manager, Summit Health Institute for Research and Education and National Health IT Collaborative for the Underserved Collaborative. Prior to this assignment Marcia was the Executive Director, Evercare Mid-Atlantic, a United Health Group company providing primary care, and insurance coverage to patients in Long Term Care facilities. Marcia is a member of American College of Healthcare Executives, National Association of Health Services Executive, and the Healthcare Businesswomen Association. Ms Thomas-Brown is a Board member of Repertoire, Inc. a community based organization focus on supporting youth summer programs, health awareness and educational programs in Lithonia, GA. Appointed, Legislative Liaison to the Uniformed Services University, and Center for Health Disparities. Ms Thomas-Brown serves as the Vice-Chair of Friends Care Inc. / Friends Care Community Services a Quaker Long Term Care organization and a member of Maryland Health Disparities Council.

Valerie Fast Horse

Valerie Fast Horse is an enrolled member of the Coeur d'Alene tribe of Idaho and is a descendent of the Okanagan band of Indians of Vernon, British Columbia. Her desire to pursue a technical career began as a result of her assignment to the Information Management Division in the U.S. Army during Desert Storm. As the IT Director for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe she is responsible for leading and managing the tribe’s IT Department, which includes four programs: Government Services, Geographic Information Systems, RezKast Multimedia, and Red-Spectrum Communications. She successfully planned, managed and implemented a $2.8 million USDA-RUS broadband grant to develop a state-of-the-art Tribal Community Technology Center and deploy a wireless broadband ISP to deliver broadband services to residents of the Coeur d’Alene Reservation for the first time. Together with her team they use their collective knowledge to move the tribe forward in technology to improve the way tribal people conduct business. Valerie also served two terms as an elected member of the tribe’s council, she served as Co-Chair of the Telecommunications & Utility Sub-Committee for the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) from 2001 to 2008, and has been an active member of the National Congress of American Indians Telecommunications Committee for over 10 years. She has testified before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on the Status of Telecommunications in Indian Country, and has advocated in numerous forums to improve access to advanced communications in Indian Country.

Karen Finney

Karen Finney is an independent consultant working with political and corporate clients in the United States and globally in the areas of political and communication strategy, message development, media training, crisis communications, branding, leadership development and public affairs. Karen brings more than 16 years of experience in national politics and campaigns ranging from the Clinton Administration to New York State, to the Democratic National Committee; as well as the public and private sectors where she worked to improve public education and lead corporate branding and business development projects for one of America’s leading children’s media companies. Karen also works with clients on leadership and media training Karen most recently served for four years as the Spokeswoman and Director of Communications at the Democratic National Committee where she helped guide the DNC’s communications and media strategy for Howard Dean’s “50 State Strategy”, re-branding the Democratic Party, the successful 2006 Congressional elections and DNC strategy for the 2008 presidential campaign. Karen served in the Clinton White House as Deputy Press Secretary to then First Lady Hillary Clinton and as Deputy Director of Presidential Scheduling for President Clinton. Karen has also worked in a number of high-profile campaigns, including Hillary Clinton’s successful bid for the U.S. Senate as Press Secretary in 2000, and Director of Communications for Elizabeth Edwards during the Kerry/Edwards Presidential Campaign in 2004. Her corporate and public sector work included working for Scholastic Inc. and the New York City Board of Education. As Chief of Staff to the Chairman, CEO and President of Scholastic Inc. Karen led a number of corporate projects including branding campaigns, internet strategy and partnership development. As Director of Business Development and Strategy, she developed and oversaw the growth of Scholastic, Inc. into new market areas and cultivated strategic relationships with key organizations in the public and private sectors. As the chief spokesperson and Communications Director for the New York City Board of Education, Karen also managed crisis communications in the aftermath of 9/11. Karen has served on the boards of the Women's Leadership Forum Network, NY; Teach for America, NY and the Women's Vote Center. Karen is a member of the French American Foundation’s prestigious “Young Leaders” program. She is a contributor to Politico’s “The Arena” and Huffington Post and appears regularly on MSNBC, Fox News and CNN.

Brian P. Foley

A native of New York City, Mr. Foley graduated from Providence College, Rhode Island, in 1971 and received a Master of Education from Georgia State University in 1977. He was awarded a Master of Health Administration in 1984 from the U.S. Army Baylor University Graduate Program in Health Care Administration. Prior to becoming the Interim Provost of the Medical Education Campus he served as Special Assistant to President and Dean of Allied Health of NVCC. Mr. Foley spent 30 years as an Army Medical Service Corps Officer. He retired from the Army in 2001 with the rank of Colonel. His numerous military assignments culminated in his appointment as the Deputy Commander for Administration, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington D.C.

Joseph Fuhr

Dr. Fuhr is a Professor of Economics at Widener University. Dr. Fuhr received his M.A. and Ph.D. from Temple University and his B.A. from LaSalle University. His primary research areas are antitrust, health economics, pharmacoeconomics, telecommunications, and sports economics. He has published over forty journal articles. In the field of telecommunications, he has written on investment and innovation, rural telephony, terminal equipment and universal service. In health care, he has written on hospital mergers, exclusive arrangements, health insurance, bundling and doctor’s fees. In pharmacoeconomics, he has written on cost benefit analysis and predictive modeling. In sports economics, Dr. Fuhr has written on the economics of baseball and football. Professor Fuhr has been an expert witness on antitrust matters related to health economics and has worked on various consulting projects. He is an economic consultant for the Department of Health Policy and Outcomes Research at Thomas Jefferson University and affiliated with Darby Associates and Econsult.

Jeff Johnson

Jeff Johnson is a Washington, DC based award-winning journalist, social activist and political commentator. From his celebrated conversations with marquee world figures in the political, business and entertainment arenas to his grass-roots trench work to inspire the next generation of leaders; investigative journalist, political correspondent, and activist, Jeff continues to be a trailblazing social entrepreneur and authentic voice for change. Currently, Jeff is a commentator on the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show tackling issues on politics, entertainment and social policy issues, sharing the microphone with Harvard Law lecturer, Stephanie Robinson. Johnson has spent the last decade merging the worlds of politics and popular culture including his work as Senior Advisor for Media and Youth Outreach for People for the American Way, National Director of the Youth & College division of the NAACP, and an appointment by Russell Simmons as the Vice President of the Hip Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN). The only American reporter to receive an exclusive post-inauguration interview with Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female head of state and Liberia’s first elected female president. Johnson is also one of only two news correspondents to receive an exclusive interview with Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir, who has not granted interviews with American media outlets for thirteen years. Recently, he won a 2008 NABJ Salute to Excellence Award for BET’s “Life & Death in Darfur, Jeff Johnson Reports” series. A source of information quoted in Newsweek, Upscale, LA Times, National Journal and Boston Globe. He regularly contributes commentary and analysis about issues related to race, politics, popular culture and socio-economics for news broadcasts and publications such as MSNBC’s Dayside and Hardball with Chris Matthews, CNN Headline News, CNN International, Larry King Live, Fox News Channel, Huffington Post, CNN.com, The Root.com, EbonyJet.com, Upscale, J’Adore, N’Digo, Monarch magazine and more. Johnson is one of 30 young leaders, joining together from Europe and America and selected by the British Council to be apart of its Transatlantic 2020 team to begin a new cross-border dialogue to reinvigorate traditional alliances and mend transatlantic rifts. Since August 2008, Johnson has served as managing editor and chief correspondent for The Truth with Jeff Johnson, a hard-hitting, talk show that delivers a varied and vibrant view of the news, while examining issues to engage BET viewers in front of a live studio audience. Recognized for his socio-political influence and media adeptness, Jeff has earned a reputation as the “conscience voice” of BET Networks for his positive force among youth and young adults. Johnson’s commitment to fostering broad-based communication about issues related to race, politics, popular culture and socioeconomics on a national and international level have led to hundreds of speaking requests, as he travels the nation addressing large crowds speaking truth to power Johnson consistently challenges audiences to weigh innovative solutions to resolve historic and systemic social imbalances and inequalities. September 2009, Jeff will release his first book Everything I’m Not Made Me Everything I Am (Smiley Books/Hay House). He is also CEO of Jeff’s Nation, LLC.

Elaine Kamarck

Elaine C. Kamarck is a Lecturer in Public Policy who came to the Kennedy School in 1997 after a career in politics and government. In the 1980s, she was one of the founders of the New Democrat movement that helped elect Bill Clinton president. She served in the White House from 1993 to 1997, where she created and managed the Clinton Administration's National Performance Review, also known as reinventing government. At the Kennedy School she served as Director of Visions of Governance for the Twenty-First Century and as Faculty Advisor to the Innovations in American Government Awards Program. In 2000, she took a leave of absence to work as Senior Policy Advisor to the Gore campaign. She conducts research on 21st century government, the role of the Internet in political campaigns, homeland defense, intelligence reorganization, and governmental reform and innovation. Kamarck received her PhD in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. Kamarck is the author of "The End of Government As We Know It: Policy Implementation in the 21st Century" published by Lynne Rienner Publishing, Fall, 2006. She is also the author of "Primary Politics: How Presidential Candidates Have Shaped the Modern Nominating System." Brookings, May 2009.

Maria Teresa Kumar

Named by Hispanic Magazine as one of the top Latinas in Government and Politics, Maria Teresa Kumar is the founding Executive Director of Voto Latino, a leading national civic engagement organization targeting acculturated American Latino youth. In the 2008 presidential election, Voto Latino leveraged social media and celebrity participation in five battleground states, all of which saw Latino voter participation increase 5% or more above the national average. Voto Latino’s innovative web initiatives – including a tele-novela spoof that became an internet sensation – won two Webby Official Honoree awards and a MySpace Impact award. Voto Latino’s benefit album produced with Apple iTunes during the 2008 election was the top selling album on iTunes Latino for weeks. During the 2008 election cycle, Maria Teresa was a regular commentator during MSNBC’s primary and general election night coverage. She was also a frequent guest on CNN’s AC 360 and American Morning, NPR, Telemundo and MSNBC’s Hardball. Maria Teresa started her career as a Legislative Aide for former Democratic Caucus Chairman Vic Fazio managing international trade issues and appropriations. She’s counseled Fortune 500 companies on political strategy and recently co-founded FastFWD Group, a boutique social media strategy firm. Harvard Law School, NetRoots, Personal Democracy Forum, and Tide’s Momentum are among the organizations that seek her to speak on social entrepreneurship, technology and electoral politics. Maria Teresa is an Ambassador Swanee Hunt Prime Mover Fellow, a Women’s Media Center Fellow and a Woodrow Wilson Public Policy International Affairs Fellow. She is a recipient of numerous leadership awards including from The White House Project, Imagen Foundation and the New York Legislature. This year, Washington Life magazine placed Maria Teresa on the cover of their issue highlighting the most influential Washingtonians under 40. She serves as a founding board member for both the Latino Leaders Network and Poder PAC. Maria Teresa received a masters degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a bachelors degree in international relations from the University California at Davis. A native of Sonoma, California, Maria Teresa lives in Washington, DC with her husband Raj Kumar

Jimmy Lynn

Mr. Lynn recently left an illustrious career with AOL this past spring after a wonderful there in order to start his own strategic advisory firm, JLynn Associates, which is focused on Sports Marketing, Sports Media, Clubs/Athletes and Sports Retail. His most recent position at AOL was as the Vice-President, Diversity Partnerships and Strategic Relationships — managing the 13 employee affinity groups and non-profit partnerships. Lynn’s first 11 years at AOL were spent in business development, strategic planning and account management for our Sports partnerships, including the NFL, NBA, NASCAR, NHL, MLB, NFLPA, CBS Sports, HBO Sports, Sports Illustrated, Turner Sports, ABC Sports, WWF, STATS, SportsTicker, NTN, Rodale, etc. Mr. Lynn also teaches two courses at Georgetown University including Sports Marketing Strategy, in the McDonough School of Business, for the past four years. He also just began co-teaching a graduate class, on Sports Executive Leadership in the Sports Industry Management program. Lynn also works with over 10 non-profits, including the Hoop Dreams Scholarship Foundation, Asian-American LEAD, Giving Back Fund, Capitol Movement Project, Super Leaders, Year Up, Posse Foundation, Hispanic Heritage Foundation, America’s Promise, etc. Other new ones include Greater DC Cares and the Case Foundation. Lynn holds various roles within each organization as a board member, advisory board member, mentor, connector, advisor or volunteer.

Rey Ramsey

Rey Ramsey is chief executive officer of One Economy Corporation. Co-founded by Mr. Ramsey in 2000, One Economy Corporation leverages the power of technology and information to connect low-income people to the economic mainstream by bringing broadband into their homes, producing public-purpose media, and training and employing youth to enhance communities' technological capacity. Learn more at http://www.one-economy.com. Mr. Ramsey led the organization’s growth from four employees working in basement to a global organization that has taken root on four continents. Since 2000, One Economy has helped bring broadband access into the homes of over 300,000 low-income Americans. More than 16 million people have visited One Economy’s multilingual web properties. Mr. Ramsey has been on the forefront of driving the creation and distribution of public purpose media, most notably through the Public Internet Channel (http://www.pic.tv), which he founded. Through One Economy programs, hundreds of youth have delivered nearly 50,000 hours of service to their communities. Mr. Ramsey has spent years creating innovative partnerships between nonprofits, government and the private sector. Mr. Ramsey is the author, with Ben Hecht, of the book ManagingNonprofits.org: Dynamic Management for the Digital Age (John Wiley & Sons). Prior to the founding of One Economy, Mr. Ramsey served as president and chief operating officer of the Enterprise Foundation. Before joining Enterprise, Mr. Ramsey served in the cabinets of two governors of Oregon as the state’s director of housing and community services and practiced law. Mr. Ramsey serves on many boards, including the Schnitzer Investment Corporation, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and the Washington Jesuit Academy, where he is vice-chairman. He was also chairman of the NAACP’s Futures Commission and served on the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy. He was also the chairman of Habitat for Humanity International from 2003-2005. Mr. Ramsey holds a bachelors degree in political science from Rutgers University and is a graduate of the University of Virginia Law School.

Paul Schroeder

As vice president of Programs and Policy, Paul Schroeder oversees all of AFB's national programmatic efforts in aging, education, employment, literacy, and technology, as well as AFB's public policy and research agendas. Schroeder is intimately involved in AFB's technology initiatives, including efforts to encourage the development of mainstream products and services that are accessible for people who are blind or have low vision. Schroeder also collaborates with other organizations working on policy matters in the field of blindness and visual impairment. He is regularly called upon to provide input on a variety of issues to governmental agencies, private industry, and nonprofit organizations. His policy expertise and activities include the areas of telecommunications and technology policy, vocational rehabilitation, education, and public health. Schroeder is also the senior contributing editor for AccessWorld: Technology for Consumers with Visual Impairments, published by AFB Press. Prior to joining AFB, Schroeder served for three years as director of governmental affairs for the American Council of the Blind in Washington, DC, and as the special projects coordinator for the Governor's Office of Advocacy for People with Disabilities in Columbus, OH. While in Columbus, he served on the Board of Directors for the Central Ohio Radio Reading Service, which provides information to individuals unable to read newspapers and other print periodicals. Schroeder earned his B.A. in political science and international studies from American University in Washington, DC.

Jamal Simmons

Jamal Simmons emerged from the 2008 election as one of the new young voices in the world of political analysis. With an extensive background in Democratic politics and international affairs, he was a strong supporter of Barack Obama’s campaign and became a fixture on CNN’s political coverage, where his entertaining and pithy opinions distinguished him as one of freshest commentators in the media. Beginning in 1992, when he traveled with then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton, Simmons has been an advisor to presidential candidates, a cabinet secretary, U.S. Senators and members of Congress ever since. Committed to engaging more people of color in the political process, he regularly volunteers his time to mentor and speak to young people interested in politics. He is a 2009-10 French American Foundation Young Leader and former term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. A graduate of Morehouse College, Simmons received a master in public policy degree from Harvard University and is currently a principal with the Raben Group, a Washington, DC based public affairs consulting firm where he advises corporations and non-profit clients.

Deborah Taylor Tate

Deborah Taylor Tate was twice nominated by the President of the U.S. and served as Commissioner, U.S. Federal Communications Commission, after unanimous confirmation by the Senate in 2005. Tate was a frequent participant in bilateral negotiations and respected policy leader on the international telecom policy level and served in the official U.S. delegation to the 2007 WRC in Geneva,. She is a frequent international speaker on cybersecurity, child online protection and the expansion of broadband. Known as “the Children’s Commissioner”, she was appointed Chair of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service and the Advanced Services (Broadband) Joint Board. She was awarded the WTISD Laureate for 2009 for her international work regarding the protection of children online along with Brazilian President Lula. Tate, a licensed attorney, consultant and certified Mediator; is a Distinguished Scholar at the Free State Foundation, serves on national boards including Common Sense Media and the Minority Media Telecommunications Council in Washington, DC; and as Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University. Tate served on the Senior Staff/Legal Counsel to 2 U.S. Governors for economic development, children, tourism and was Executive Director of the State Health Facilities Commission. As Chairman of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, she directed the oversight of energy, telecom and other state utilities and chaired the National Washington Action Committee for all fifty state utilities commissions. Formerly, a Director at Vanderbilt’s Institute on State and Local Policy, she co-founded Renewal House, a residence for addicted women and families and is past Chairman of Centerstone, the nation’s largest community mental health provider. She and her husband, William Howard Tate, a recognized corporate attorney, reside in Nashville, Tennessee and have three children.

Navarrow Wright

Navarrow is the President of Maximum Leverage Solutions, a consulting firm that delivers internet and social media strategy consulting as well as technology development consulting to it's clients Navarrow Co-founded with Hip Hop Mogul, Russell Simmons to create a social media site catering to the hip-hop perspective, Global Grind.com. With funding from Accel Partners, the primary investors of Facebook, "Global Grind's mission is to be a platform that allowed the urban audience to show its depth and breadth," said Navarrow Wright, founder of Global Grind "by allowing its talented and diverse members a place to find all the content that's important to them, and giving creative entrepreneurs a place to monetize their content and showcase it to largest audience possible. This network will be a significant value to advertisers who are eager to reach this unique audience in a targeted and meaningful way." Wright successfully launched the product and raised the series A round of capitol. Wright also launched a vertical ad network and celebrity blogger network while at Globalgrind. Before joining Global Grind, Wright was SVP of Technology for Medical Broadcasting Company, a division of the Internet marketing firm Digitas Inc. Prior to that, he served as CTO of Viacom's BET Interactive. At BET.com he created and implemented new technologies growing the Web site 300%, making it the leading entertainment online destination for African Americans. It was during his tenure at BET that Wright realized there was a need for a platform to showcase and promote all the creative content that is available on the net, as well as promote content that is most important to them in a unique way. With more than 13-years experience in the technology and media industry, Wright has established himself as someone who can conceptualize and develop advanced technology solutions for leading global organizations. Wright's unique understanding of the Internet space and ability to marry those technical advances with consumer demand has placed him as one of the premier technology experts in Internet and media. He prides himself on showing youth how technology can be an enabler to help them achieve their dreams. He speaks to youth groups up and down the east coast for various organizations and was recently given a commendation from the city of Newark for his work with events that have a positive impact on young people. He has made it mission to be a voice for technology adoption in underserved areas and that entrepreneurial spirit is developed in urban youth. Navarrow Wright has appeared on Run's house, Irv Gotti's show Gotti's Way and the Steve Harvey radio show. He was picked by Network Journal Magazine as of the their " 40 Under forty" professionals to watch in 2009 and selected by the Innovation Generation as one of the nation's top 100 GenerationNEXT and Information Technology leaders. Wright launched Maximum Leverage Solutions L.L.C., (http://maxlevsolutions.com) a social media and technology-consulting firm. "This digital space is always changing. There are more opportunities for success today than ever," he says. Maximum Leverage consults it's clients on the critical issues affecting the ways in which broadband and digital innovation can be used to enhance educational, entrepreneurial and economic pursuits, the improvement of healthcare services, the delivery of entertainment services, and political activism. Wright holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Rider University in Computer Science.

Governor Joe Manchin III

Joe Manchin, West Virginia’s 34th governor, was born and raised in the small coal mining town of Farmington, W.Va., where he learned at a young age the value of commitment.

He inherited a head for business from his grandfather, who was an Italian immigrant and the town grocer. His grandmother was a virtual one-woman social services agency, who helped him discover his heart for people.

After attending West Virginia University on a football scholarship, he became a successful businessman.  He was a state legislator from 1982–1996, where he earned a reputation for standing up for West Virginians.

As secretary of state from 2000–2004, the office became known for excellent customer service. Its SHARES program promoted democracy to schoolchildren and registered 42,000 high school students to vote. Subsequently, the 2004 general election had the highest number of West Virginians voting since 1972.

Gov. Manchin has never forgotten his family’s commitment to their local community. He also was president of the Marion County Rescue Squad from 2000 to 2004.

As governor, Joe Manchin has improved our state’s economic climate, while reducing West Virginia’s long-term debt and lowering taxes for citizens and businesses. He is committed to making health care affordable and accessible, creating a seamless education system for our children, ensuring prescription drug assistance for our seniors and providing more support for our veterans.

Under his leadership, more than 23,000 new jobs have been created with more than $8.4 billion in private business investments. West Virginia also led the nation in economic growth from May to August 2008. Working with the Legislature, he fixed the state’s workers’ compensation system, established the first comprehensive teacher pay package in more than 15 years, dramatically decreased the state’s debt, slowed the growth of state government payroll, strengthened ethics laws and cut the food tax in half.

Gov. Manchin has proposed and approved millions of dollars in tax relief for West Virginia’s citizens and businesses. He is known throughout the state as a team builder who encourages cooperation and values all input, and he has quickly become a leader on the national scene. He currently serves as president of the Council of State Governments, chairman-elect of the Southern States Energy Board, and a member of the National Governors Association’s Executive Committee. He is the immediate past chairman of the Democratic Governors Association and the Southern Governors’ Association, as well as past state co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission.

Gov. Manchin is an avid pilot, outdoorsman, hunter, angler and motorcyclist. He has been married for 41 years to the former Gayle Conelly of Beckley. They have three children: Heather, Joseph IV and Brooke, and are the proud grandparents of Joseph V, Sophie, Kelsey, Madeline, Chloe and Jack.
Manchin was re-elected to a second four-year term in November 2008. 

Sylvia Aguilera

Sylvia Aguilera is Director of the Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership, a coalition that she helped create in 1996 to ensure that the needs and perspectives of the Hispanic community were included in policy debates regarding the Digital Divide. HTTP’s members are 20 leading Hispanic advocacy and service organizations that support the social, political, and economic advancement of the 44 million Hispanics in the U.S. Their programs facilitate access to health care, quality education, jobs and economic opportunity.  In the past 12 years, HTTP has emerged as the pre-eminent Hispanic voice on telecommunications and technology policy issues. Policymakers have come to rely on HTTP’s guidance to provide insight into how telecommunications policy impacts the Hispanic community.  Ms. Aguilera is an experienced association executive with expertise in public policy and multicultural communications. She was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow at the University of Chicago, where she earned a Masters degree in Public Policy.

Mike Gallagher

Mike Gallagher has a deep background in technology policy. Mr. Gallagher was the Department of Commerce’s Assistant Secretary for Communications & Information, serving as chief telecommunications and Internet policy advisor to the George W. Bush Administration. During his over four-year tenure at the Department of Commerce, he led successful efforts to pave the way for a number of new technologies and services, such as ultrawideband, broadband over powerlines, advanced wireless services, and millimeter wavelength networks. In addition, Mr. Gallagher developed and successfully advocated the U.S. Government’s policies on international Internet governance.

Mr. Gallagher was most recently Communications Practice chair at Perkins Coie, a leading international law firm offering a broad spectrum of legal services. Mr. Gallagher holds degrees in Economics and Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley and a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Professional Recognition

• Inaugural recipient of “Spirit of Innovation” award by Telecommunications Industry Association, March 2005
• Recipient of “Leadership in Government” award by Wireless Communications Association, January 2006
• Recipient of “Redfield Award” for distinguished leadership in government service by Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, January 2006

Professional Leadership

• Chair, Board of Advisors for Shared Spectrum Company, Shared Spectrum
• Member, Advisory Committee to Secretary General of the United Nations for the Internet Governance Forum
• Member, US State Department Advisory Committee on Information and Communication Policy
• Co-author, “21st Century Communications Systems for First Responders: The Right Call” with Larry Irving (NTIA Administrator under President Bill Clinton)
• Adjunct Fellow, Progress & Freedom Foundation

Previous Positions

• Perkins Coie, Communications Practice Chair, February 2006-May 2007
• U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communication & Information, Director National Telecommunications & Information Administration, August 2003-February 2006
• U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy & Counselor to Secretary Donald L. Evans, May 2003-November 2003
• U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications & Information, Deputy Director National Telecommunications & Information Administration, 2001-May 2003
• Verizon Wireless Bellevue, Wa., Staff Vice-President State Public Policy, 2000-2001
• CIA Intelligence Fellow, August 2003

Debbie Goldman

Debbie Goldman is Telecommunications Policy Director at the Communications Workers of America where she is responsible for regulatory affairs and telecommunications policy. She currently coordinates the union’s Speed Matters campaign promoting affordable high-speed Internet for America.  The Communications Workers of America is the union for the Information Age, representing 700,000 workers in communications, media, airlines, manufacturing, and public service.  Ms. Goldman has advocated before the Federal Communications Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, state regulatory commissions, and the U.S. Congress on a broad range of telecom policy issues, including broadband policy, media ownership, universal service, and mergers and acquisitions.  Ms. Goldman served as President of the Alliance for Public Technology, a coalition of individuals and organizations supporting universal affordable access to broadband technology.  Ms. Goldman holds Masters degrees in History (University of Maryland), Public Policy (University of Maryland) and Education (Stanford University).  She earned her B.A. Magna Cum Laude from Radcliffe College (Harvard University) in 1973, majoring in History.

Howie Hodges

Howie Hodges serves as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Government Affairs at One Economy Corporation. He works to steward relationships with existing funders, develop new partnerships, and engage municipal and federal government in One Economy’s Bring IT Home America campaign.  Howie has a wealth of experience in business development, community and economic development lending, financial consulting, and governmental policy issues.  Prior to joining One Economy, Howie founded and ran a very successful consulting firm and served as a senior political appointee in the U. S. Commerce Department during the Clinton Administration before going on to Bank of America, where he was a Senior Vice President. Howie serves on the board of Zions Community Investment Corporation, a specialized lender that invests and makes loans to businesses in economically disadvantaged communities.  Howie has a JD from University of Pittsburgh and a BA from Morehouse College.

John Horrigan

At the Pew Internet & American Life Project, John B. Horrigan studies the online behavior of broadband internet users, mobile internet users, and consumers of other leading edge information technology. He also leads Pew’s research on the internet’s impact on news gathering habits and consumer decisions. Horrigan is also Chairman of the Board of the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference. Prior to joining the Pew Internet Project, Horrigan was a staff officer for the Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy at the National Research Council. He has also served as press secretary to U.S. Congressman Jake Pickle.  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.

Ron Packard

Ron Packard, chief executive officer and founder of K¹², was previously a vice president of Knowledge Universe, and CEO of Knowledge Schools, which provides high-quality childhood education in community and employer-sponsored centers, and invests in, incubates, and operates several charter school companies. Previously, Mr. Packard worked for McKinsey & Company as well as for Goldman Sachs in mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Packard holds a B.A. in economics and mechanical engineering (with honors) from the University of California at Berkeley. As a Hughes scholar, he spent his undergraduate summers writing an image-processing language. He holds an M.B.A. (with honors) from the University of Chicago and he is a chartered financial analyst. Mr. Packard currently serves on the Department of Defense Educational Advisory Committee.

Craig Settles

For over 20 years Craig Settles’ workshops, consulting services and books help government and other organizations worldwide understand how to use technology to cut costs, increase revenue and improve business operations. He currently is helping public and private sector organizations pursue broadband grants. His book, Fighting the Good Fight for Municipal Wireless, together with many in-depth analysis reports, established Mr. Settles as a prominent thought leader on appropriate business strategies for municipal broadband network deployments. His company, Successful.com, has consulted with various communities in the U.S., and Mr. Settles is a frequent speaker internationally on the subject.

Carl W. Taylor

Carl is the Assistant Dean of the University of South Alabama College of Medicine and Director of the Center for Strategic Health Innovation (CSHI).

A knowledge leader in the emerging field of interventional informatics, Carl’s program has twice been selected to receive prestigious national health care innovation awards. Under his direction CSHI has created RMEDE, a virtual healthcare link for nearly 2,000,000 patients by blending e-health, telehealth, informatics and simulation/modeling technologies. This effort has drawn strong interest from providers, payors, insurers and reinsurors around the country. 

Beyond e-health he is also a leader in disaster preparedness and response.  Carl has been the Principal Investigator on over dozen contracts and grants for disaster preparedness including the operation of the Advanced Regional Response Training Center in Mobile, Al. Under his direction, CSHI develops and deploys a broad suite of disaster preparedness and response tools including, e-VAST an online hazard and vulnerability software tool, a virtual medical record and an evolving pandemic infectious disease decision support simulation model.

Carl also led the development for the Advanced Incident Management System (AIMS) which is the situational awareness software for the Alabama Department of Public Health.  During Katrina, CSHI and AIMS provided 24x7 support for public health in managing information from over 80 hospitals and 7 medical needs shelters located throughout the state. Under Carl’s leadership AIMS has grown from 7 users during Hurricane Ivan to over 1000 users today both within the Continental United States and the Virgin Islands. AIMS has been translated into Spanish and German and was recently voted “the best” disaster support software tool at the Strong Angel Exercise in San Diego. In addition to working real disasters such as Hurricanes Ivan, Arlene, Cindy, Dennis, Katrina and Rita and the Enterprise Alabama tornado, he has designed or participated in a series of disaster preparedness projects including- The Strong Angel III exercise in San Diego, the Montana Last Chance Bravo Drill in Billings and the ATA Med-Red Disaster exercise in Tampa.

He serves on a number of industry and academic advisory boards, including his gubernatorial appointment to the HHS/ONCHIT Gulf Coast Health IT Task Force where he also served as Co-Chair of the Clinical Adoption Work Group, the KatrinaHealth.org advisory group, and the Alabama Hospital Preparedness Advisory Board. He has been commended in the Congressional Record and by the Governor of Louisiana for his role in developing technology for assisting in disaster response.  He is a frequent national speaker on both the future of technology driven healthcare and disaster response and has provided testimony to the United States Senate, House of Representatives and varying agencies on both the future of healthcare and disaster response.

Carl has published several peer reviewed articles on the role of technology in managing surge capacity in disasters and is the author of a chapter on disaster response in the newly released three volume work entitled The Business of Healthcare.

He holds an undergraduate degree from Marshall University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Miami. He is also an associate member of the Society of Actuaries.

Scott Wallsten

Scott Wallsten is an economist with expertise in industrial organization and public policy. His research focuses on telecommunications, regulation, competition, and technology policy. His research has been published in numerous academic journals and his commentaries have appeared in newspapers and newsmagazines around the world. He holds a PhD in economics from Stanford University.

He is vice president for research and a senior fellow at the Technology Policy Institute, a senior fellow at the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy, a lecturer in Public Policy at Stanford University, and a special consultant for Economists Incorporated. He has been director of communications policy studies and senior fellow at the Progress & Freedom Foundation, a senior fellow at the AEI - Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies and a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, an economist at The World Bank, a scholar at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, and a staff economist at the U.S. President’s Council of Economic Advisers.