Contact:
Adrianne B. Furniss
847-328-3040
afurniss@benton.org
Benton Welcomes New Fellows Jonathan Sallet and Denise Linn Riedl
Adrianne B. Furniss named two new Benton Fellows: former Federal Communications Commission General Counsel Jonathan Sallet and Denise Linn Riedl, Program Analyst for Smart Chicago Collaborative.
Furniss said, “Since 1981, Benton has supported legal and policy experts who preserve and strengthen the public benefits of America’s communications environment, who can nourish and protect democratic values, and who can communicate to the public why this all matters. Denise and Jon will help ensure that more people will participate in the network revolution that is transforming society – and that traditional American values like access, diversity, and equity are upheld in the Digital Age.”
As a Benton Fellow and a civic-driven technology professional with diverse experiences in telecommunications policy and planning, Denise Linn Riedl will write and speak about broadband, digital inclusion, and emerging smart city technologies. She is the co-author, with Blair Levin (the architect of the National Broadband Plan), of The Next Generation Network Connectivity Handbook: A Guide for Community Leaders Seeking Affordable, Abundant Bandwidth, published by the Benton in December 2016.
"I am honored to be selected as a Benton Fellow and help forward important conversations at the intersection of technology, infrastructure, and inclusion," said Riedl. "While the Internet of Things, advanced wireless networks, and other smart city technologies hold so much promise, their deployment also comes with equity and civic engagement challenges. I look forward to highlighting the work of innovative institutions across the country tackling these timely challenges."
As a Benton Senior Fellow, Jon Sallet will write, speak and focus on policies to preserve and protect internet openness, to advance competition more broadly, including through antitrust, and to support FCC actions to protect privacy, security, and broadband deployment. Sallet is a former FCC General Counsel/Acting General Counsel (2013-2016), and Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Litigation, Antitrust Division, US Department of Justice (2016-2017). He is currently a partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP in Washington, DC.
"Consumers rely on communications networks every day, all day long. The Benton Foundation has long emphasized the importance of broadband in the public interest and I'm honored to be able to contribute to that work," said Sallet.