Celebrating Black History Month: A Q and A With Dr. Jon Gant

This Black History Month, NTIA celebrates the historic and present-day achievements of Black Americans who paved the way for innovation in telecommunications and tech sciences. We end the month with a spotlight on Dr. Jon Gant, Director of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives. 

When did you become interested in digital inclusion?

My dad was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, so using a computer changed his life. I saw how the computer changed his life and wanted to make it accessible for everyone. Ever since then, I’ve just carried this mantle of wanting to make the computer accessible for everybody.

What brought you to NTIA?

NTIA was always on my radar since the mid-2000s as a place to work. When the opportunity came, it was perfect because they were doing all the equity work, building broadband. They also had a special program that focused on HBCUs. For seven years I was a dean at North Carolina Central University the only school of information in the country that was accredited to an HBCU. So, all the pieces just came together perfectly.

What's your favorite part of your job?

Getting to see transformation in action in the community and doing it in a way where the community is participating with the grantee, working together hand in hand to see transformation in action.