Meeting of the Communications Equity and Diversity Council

The agenda for the meeting will include a discussion of the proposed workstreams for the three Communications Equity and Diversity Council working groups (Innovation and Access, Digital Empowerment and Inclusion, and Diversity and Equity) during the two-year charter. The workstreams will provide a roadmap for how each working group will support the Council’s mission to make recommendations to the Federal Communications Commission on advancing equity in the provision of, and access to, digital communication services and products for all people of the United States, without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, or disability.

This agenda may be modified at the discretion of the CEDC Chair and the DFO. The CEDC meeting will be accessible to the public on the internet via live feed from the Commission’s web page at www.fcc.gov/live. Members of the public may submit questions during the meeting to livequestions@fcc.gov. Oral statements at the meeting by parties or entities not represented on the CEDC will be permitted to the extent time permits and at the discretion of the CEDC Chair and the DFO.

Agenda

10:00 am: Welcome and Opening of Meeting

Holly Saurer, Chief, Media Bureau

10:05 am: Welcome Remarks

Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel

10:10 am: Welcome Remarks

• Jamila Bess Johnson, Designated Federal Officer, CEDC, Media Bureau
• Rashann Duvall, Co-Deputy Designated Federal Officer, CEDC, Wireline Communications Bureau
• Keyla Hernandez-Ulloa, Co-Deputy Designated Federal Officer, CEDC, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau

10:20 am: CEDC Chair/Vice Chairs’ Remarks

• Heather Gate, Chair, CEDC, Connected Nation
• Nicol Turner Lee, Ph.D., Vice Chair, CEDC, Brookings Institution
• Susan Au Allen, Vice Chair, CEDC, US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation

10:30 am: Call to Order of the February 23, 2022 CEDC Meeting/Roll Call of CEDC Members

Heather Gate, Chair, CEDC, Connected Nation

10:40 am: Innovation and Access Working Group Report

Robert Brooks, Digital Solutions Specialist WHUR-FM, Howard University

Chair, Innovation and Access Working Group

Anna Gomez, Partner, Wiley Rein LLP ACDDE Chair Emeritus, Representing the Hispanic National Bar Association

Workstream 1 Lead (Recommendations to Ensure Inclusive Practices for Identifying and Selecting Participating Entrepreneurs in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Contracting and Grants Processes)

C. Howie Hodges, II, Co-founder and Sr. Vice President of Government and External Affairs Centri Tech

Workstream 2 Lead (Access to Capital)

Matthew Bauer, Vice President and Executive Director of Connected Communities Wireless Research Center

Workstream 3 Lead (Digital Equity/Closing the Digital Skills Gap)

11:25 am: Digital Empowerment and Inclusion Working Group Report

Dominique Harrison, Ph.D., Director, Technology and Racial Equity, Citi Ventures Studio, Representing the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

Chair, Digital Empowerment and Inclusion Working Group

Dr. Jon Gant, Dean, School of Library and Information Sciences, North Carolina Central University; and Joi Chaney, Executive Director of the National Urban League Washington Bureau and Senior Vice President for Policy & Advocacy, National Urban League

Workstream 1 Co-Leads (Model Policies and Best Practices to Prevent Digital Discrimination)

Chris James, President and CEO, National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development; and Dr. Christopher Ali, Associate Professor, Department of Media Studies, University of Virginia

Workstream 2 Co-Leads (Listening Sessions on Lessons Learned: Connecting Opportunity Communities to Broadband During the COVID-19 Pandemic)

Clayton Banks, CEO Silicon Harlem; Vickie Robinson, General Manager – Airband Initiative Microsoft; and Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO, GLAAD

Workstream 3 Co-Leads (Public Convening: Connecting Opportunity Communities to Broadband During the COVID-19 Pandemic)

12:10 pm: Lunch Break

12:55 pm: Diversity and Equity Working Group

Christopher Wood, Executive Director, LGBT Technology Partnership & Institute

Chair, Diversity and Equity Working Group

Randi Parker, Senior Director of Partnership Engagement, Creating IT Futures; Jill Houghton, President and CEO, Disability:IN; and Joon Bang, CEO, Iona Senior Services

Workstream 1 Co-Leads (Defining Digital Discrimination Consistent with Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA))

Lili Gangas, Chief, Technology Community Officer, Kapor Center; and Antonio Tijerino, President and CEO, Hispanic Heritage Foundation

Workstream 2 Co-Leads (Identify Model Digital and Tech Upskilling Resources to Increase Employment in Diverse Communities)

Dr. Fallon Wilson, Co-Founder, Nashville Digital Inclusion and Access Taskforce; and Catherine Nicolaou, External Affairs and Marketing Manager,

Sacred Wind Communications, Representing NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association

Workstream 3 Co-Leads (Amplify the Role of Anchor Institutions in Creating Digital Equity in the Labor Force)

Ellen Schned, CEO, Strong Women Alliance; and Graham “Skip” Dillard, Brand Manager, Audacy New York 94.7 WXBX-FM

Workstream 4 Co-Leads (Minority Media, Communications and Tech Ownership and Development)

1:40 pm: Meeting Break

1:55 pm: Facilitated Discussion of CEDC Workstreams Related to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

• Heather Gate, Chair, CEDC, Connected Nation
• Nicol Turner Lee, Ph.D., Vice Chair, CEDC, Brookings Institution
• Susan Au Allen, Vice Chair, CEDC, US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation

3:10 pm: Comments/Questions from the Public

3:25 pm: Adjournment

• Heather Gate, Chair, CEDC, Connected Nation
• Jamila Bess Johnson, Designated Federal Officer, CEDC