Meet NTIA Digital Equity Director Angela Thi Bennett

As the US sets out to get everyone connected to broadband, it’s about more than just making sure broadband is available everywhere. As Angela Thi Bennett, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) first director of digital equity put it, “We’re not just focused on the technical aspects of building out the network but ensuring that people are at the epicenter.” That, Bennett said, will require a “whole of nation” approach that will involve federal and state partners, philanthropy organizations, and the private sector. According to Bennett, “The states are approaching this not as a check-the-box but approaching it as a meaningful way to incorporate [digital equity] into their plans.” Bennett came to NTIA from the non-profit DigitalC in Cleveland (OH), where she was director of advocacy, a job that entailed “helping to develop a strategy to connect with the community and educating leadership at the local state and national level on the importance of access, not only to high-speed internet but also to resources and skills to improve people’s lives,” she said. The move to NTIA is enabling her to take the work she was doing at the local level to the national level. As Bennett noted, the digital equity plans outlined in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) require “robust local engagement” and bring “the voices of all the people to the table.” Ultimately, it’s “the largest demonstration of participatory democracy that our country has ever seen,” she said.