2024 Bipartisan Tech Conference: Writing Broadband’s Next Chapter

Join the Next Century Cities team in Washington, D.C., on April 16th and 17th for two days of community storytelling, nationwide networking, and policy ideating. We look forward to dreaming up broadband’s next chapter together.

WHY STORYTELLING? As we approach our organization’s ten year anniversary, the Next Century Cities team is choosing to prioritize the stories surrounding the lived broadband experiences of our members and their communities.

OUR VISION Next Century Cities is a bipartisan, city-to-city initiative dedicated to ensuring the availability of next-generation broadband Internet for all communities.

WHO WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE? 150 local leaders, residents, advocates, academicians, Internet service providers, and other practitioners representing NCC member municipalities from across the country.

Join Live on Zoom with Broadband Breakfast!


Register Today!

Conference Agenda

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. ET | Registration and Breakfast

9:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. ET | Welcome Remarks

• Andy Stutzman (he/him), Executive Director, Next Century Cities
• Matt Chase (he/him), Executive Director, National Association of Counties
• Jess George (she/her), Head of Digital Equity & Community Impact-US, GFiber
• Rondella Hawkins (she/her), NCC Advisory Board

9:15 – 9:30 a.m. ET | The Future of Internet For All

Lukas Pietrzak (He/Him), Special Policy Advisor, NTIA

9:30 – 10:20 a.m. ET | Panel Discussion: Broadband for All Means Everyone

Moderator: Kari Keefe (she/her), Chief Operating Officer, KC Digital Drive

• Fallon Wilson (she/her), Vice President of Policy, MMTC
• AnnMarie Killian (she/her), Chief Executive Officer, TDIforAccess
• Josh Edmonds (he/him), Chief Executive Officer, DigitalC

10:30 – 11:30 a.m. ET | Keynote Panel: Shaping an Equitable Connected Future

Moderator: Khotan Harmon (she/her), Acting Officer, Telecomm & Regulatory Affairs, City of Austin, Texas

• Ricky Santiago (he/him), Digital Inclusion Manager, City of Louisville, Kentucky
• Taylor Carter-Disanto (she/her), Deputy Director of Broadband and Digital Equity, City of Baltimore, Maryland
• Chris Lewis (he/him), President & CEO, Public Knowledge
• Raza Panjwani (he/him), Senior Policy Counsel, Open Technology Institute

11:30 – 12:00 p.m. ET | Lunch

Community spotlights

12:00 – 12:50 p.m. ET | Fireside Chat with the Federal Communications Commission

Moderator: Coralette Hannon (she/her), Director Of Livable Communities for AARP Government Affairs

• Alejandro Roark (he/him), Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, FCC
• Hayley Steffen (she/her), Wireline and Space Advisor to Commissioner Anna Gomez, FCC

1:00 – 1:50 p.m. ET | Storytelling Workshop:

• Revati Prasad (she/her), VP of Programs, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society
• Drew Garner (he/him), Director of Policy Engagement, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society
• Nat Purser (she/her), Government Affairs Policy Advocate, Public Knowledge

2:00 – 2:50 p.m. ET | Panel Discussion: Setting the Stage for Success

Moderator: Jake Varn, Associate Manager, Broadband Access Initiative, the Pew Charitable Trusts

• Jordana Barton (she/her), Senior Executive Fellow, Connect Humanity
• Lazone Grays (he/him), President & CEO, IBSA
• Chad Crager (he/him), Broadband Executive Director, City of Fort Collins, Colorado

3:00 – 3:45 p.m. ET | Roundtable Research Discussions

Digital Equity Planning

• • Kari Keefe, Chief Operating Officer, KC Digital Drive
  • Andy Stutzman, Executive Director, Next Century Cities

Leveraging Community Storytelling and Anecdotal Evidence to Influence Federal Policy Making. | Ryan Johnston, Senior Policy Counsel, Next Century Cities

• Resounding Silence
•  What Comes Next
• Can We Prevent Digital Discrimination?
• Once upon a bureaucrat: exploring the role of stories in government
• Stories in Action

Brick By Brick | Brittany-Rae Gregory, Director of Communications, Next Century Cities

State Broadband One Pagers

• • Stacey Baxter, Program Manager, Next Century Cities
  • Corian Zacher, Senior Policy Counsel, Next Century Cities

Open Measurement Data & Tools | Lai Yi Ohlsen,
Lead Data Scientist, Measurement Lab

3:45 – 4:00 p.m. ET | Closing remarks

4:30 – 6:00 p.m. ET | Happy Hour at King Street Oyster Bar

22 M St NE, Washington, DC 20002

Sponsorship Opportunities

Agenda

Stay tuned for updates on our Bipartisan Tech Landing Page