Ella McCarthy
Director for Missouri's Office of Broadband Development gets to work on closing the state's digital divide
The recently named director for Missouri's Office of Broadband Development has been advocating for increased internet connectivity for years. Formerly working as the Missouri Farm Bureau's director of state and local legislative affairs, BJ Tanksley has witnessed the effects the lack of broadband has on thousands of Missourians firsthand. Tanksley was named director of the office in the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) in mid-January 2022 and will lead the state's efforts to implement Gov Mike Parson (R-MO)'s plan to invest more than $400 million in broadband.