David W. Beier
OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT
CHIEF DOMESTIC POLICY ADVISOR
On April 10, 1998, David W. Beier joined the Office of the Vice-President as Vice President Gore's Chief Domestic Policy Advisor. In that role, Mr. Beier advises Vice-President Gore on economic issues, as well as those of education, health care, crime, and trade. Mr. Beier is also responsible for issues of technology, science, telecommunications and the Internet, and chairs the Interagency Working Group on Electronic Commerce. As a member of the White House staff, Mr. Beier participates in the work of the National Economic Council, and the Domestic Policy Counsel. Finally, Mr. Beier serves as the Chair of the Interagency Working Group on Livable Communities, which coordinates the Administration's efforts to help communities secure an improved quality of life.
Prior to his current position, Mr. Beier served as an officer of Genentech Inc., a leading biotechnology company. At Genentech, Mr. Beier was responsible for a variety of management, legal, and policy issues. Preceding his nine years in the private sector, Mr. Beier spent a decade as Counsel to the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States House of Representatives.
Mr. Beier has a BA from Colgate University and received his Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School. He was born in Albany, New York and lived and attended high school outside Detroit, Michigan.
Sandy Berger
COMPUTER LIVING CORP
The Home of Compu-KISS®
Sandy Berger, nationally respected computer authority, radio host, and author, is a seasoned thirty-year computer expert and president of Computer Living Corp, a computer consulting and training company. Ms. Berger's gift is her ability to convey to others in easy-to-understand language what they really need to know to take advantage of today's technology. Her trademark "Compu-KISS®" which stands for "The Computer World - Keeping It Short and Simple" represents her approach to helping others understand and use the world of computer technology.
As the online editor and host of AARP's Computers and Technology Website, www.aarp.org/comptech, Ms. Berger Sandy has her fingers on the pulse of the senior community regarding its interest and opportunities involving computers. Her feature stories, product reviews, and computer tips have brought a special insight and ease of use to millions of seniors.
Ms. Berger has appeared on NBC's TODAY Show to discuss Buying and Using Computers for Seniors. She recently lead discussions regarding the influence of computers on seniors over the next twenty-five years for The Japan Society in its program entitled "The Silver Market: New Opportunities in a Graying Japan and United States." She is the author of How to Have a Meaningful Relationship with Your Computer and Your Official Grown-Ups Guide to AOL and the Internet.
A cum laude graduate of Chicago's DePaul University, Ms. Berger went on to complete intensive IBM training in computer systems, analysis, programming, system operations, and numerous computer languages. She subsequently applied her expertise within several major corporations before founding Computer Living Corp.
Bob Borchers is Project Manager for Pioneer Holdings. Pioneer is a provider of wholesale telecommunications services.
Prior to joining Pioneer, Mr. Borchers was Superintendent of Public Works for the City of Hawarden, Iowa. As Superintendent, his responsibilities included the management of Hawarden's electric, natural gas, water, waster water and street departments. Mr. Borchers was active in many organizations, and for seven years, was a member of the Board of Directors of the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities, serving as president of the association in 1997-1998. Mr. Borchers was also a member of the Executive Committee of the Missouri Basin Municipal Electric Cooperative Association, serving as Vice President, and on the Executive Board of the Northern Municipal Distributors Group, serving as Secretary-Treasurer. Mr. Borchers attended the University of Iowa.
For the past five years, Mr. Borchers has been involved in the planning, construction and start-up of Hawarden's new Communication Utility. Hawarden has installed a hybrid fiber coaxial cable (HFC) system. This HFC system is capable of providing two telephone lines, 80 channels of cable television, and high-speed Internet access to every business and residential home in the city.
Mr. Borchers is eager to share Hawarden's experience.
Bruce Brooks
MICROSOFT CORPORATION
Mr. Brooks serves as the Director of Community Affairs overseeing Microsoft's charitable programs which last year gave more the $104 million in cash and software to nonprofit organizations. Mr. Brooks served as deputy mayor to Seattle Mayor Norm Rice from 1995 through 1997, managing a wide range of municipal issues including economic development, human services, capital planning, internal administration, and personnel and labor relations. He currently serves as senior vice president for MWW/Savitt, a Seattle-based public relations and public affairs firm, where he manages firm operations and advises a wide range of clients on community relations, government affairs, business communication and corporate giving.
Mr. Brooks recently served as chairman of the Board of Directors for United Way of King County from 1998 to 1999. There, he helped guide the organization's work with donors, partner agencies and volunteers to find increasingly effective ways to meet health and human service needs across the county.
Since 1996, Mr. Brooks has served on the board of the $450 million Northwest Area Foundation, a private foundation dedicated to working in partnership with communities to alleviate poverty in an eight-state region comprising Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota.
Mr. Brooks received an undergraduate degree in history and a law degree from Harvard University. Among his other civic activities, He has served on the boards of the Benaroya Hall Music Center, the Seattle Housing Authority, the Legal Aid for Washington Fund, the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce and Leadership Tomorrow. He is married to Debra Prinzing, a Seattle-based journalist. They have two young sons.
George Campbell Jr., Ph.d.
NATIONAL ACTION COUNSEL FOR
MINORITIES IN ENGINEERING (NACME)
Since 1989, George Campbell has been president and CEO of NACME, Inc., a non-profit corpor-ation that-- conducts research and public policy analysis, publishes original educa-tional materials and develops and operates comprehensive scholarship and academic enrich-ment programs in engineering, targeting economically disadvantaged students, largely from underrepresented minority groups. Under Dr. Campbell's leadership, public support of NACME has grown from $3.6 million in 1988 to almost $9.0 million in 1999. Widely recognized as leader of the national effort to increase access to careers in science-based fields, NACME received a U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in 1996 and the U.S. Department of Labor's EPIC Award in 1998.
Dr. Campbell earned a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Syracuse Univer-sity and a B.S. in physics from Drexel University. He's also a graduate of the Executive Manage-ment Program at Yale University. As an undergraduate, he was a Simon Guggenheim Scholar and earned membership in ÿÿÿ (Sigma Pi Sigma), the national physics honor society. Dr. Campbell is a recipient of the George Arents Pioneer Medal in Physics, the Drexel University Centen-nial Medal, the Drexel Presidential Medal and Polytech-nic University's 1999 Distinguished Service Award for Science and Technology-. Listed in Who's Who in America, he's a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the New York Academy of Sciences and he's a member of the President's Circle of the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Campbell has conducted research in theoretical high energy physics and in magneto-spheric physics. During twelve years at AT&T Bell Laboratories, he held various R&D and manage-ment positions, and was appointed to the Bell Labs Leadership Continuity Program, which tracks managers into executive leadership posts. In the 1970s, he was part of the team that developed the third generation of communi-cations satellites, and from 1985 through 1988, he led a Bell Labs team in a groundbreaking international research and development collaboration with Kokusai Denshin Denwa of Japan and British Telecom International. For seven years, he served as a U. S. delegate to the Inter-national Telecom-munica-tions Union. Earlier in his career, Dr. Campbell served on the faculties of Syracuse University and Nkumbi Internation-al College in Zambia. He has pub-lish-ed papers in mathe-matical physics, high energy physics, satellite systems, digital com-munica-tions, science and technology policy and science education.
Dr. Campbell currently serves on the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee's Socio-Economic and Workforce Panel, the Congressional Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science and the Engineering Advisory Council of Cooper Union. A Trustee of Rensse-laer Poly-tech-nic Institute, Polytechnic University and the New York Hall of Science, he has served on the United States Secretary of Energy Advisory Board, the AAAS Commit-tee on Science, Engineer-ing and Public Policy, a variety of National Research Council Committees on Science and Technology Policy, a number of panels and committees of the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. In 1992-93 he chaired the New York City Chancellor's Task Force on Science Educa-tion. Dr. Campbell is a regular Commen-tator on PBS-TV's Nightly Business Report.
Married for 31 years to Dr. Mary Schmidt Camp-bell, dean of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, he and his wife have three sons and two grandsons.
James Casey is an associate in the Washington D.C. office of Morrison & Foerster. He received his A.B. in History with extensive course work in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Cornell University in 1988, and his J.D. with specialization in international legal affairs from Cornell Law School. While at Cornell, he was President of Phi Delta Phi and the American Indian Law Students Association, and was Symposium Editor for the Cornell Law Review. He is of Cherokee descent.
In 1994, Mr. Casey became an associate at Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, P.L.C., where he engaged in a regulatory and transactional practice representing broadcast and telecommunications companies before the Federal Communications Commission and other federal agencies. He became associated with Morrison & Foerster in 1995, where his practice focuses on telecommunications and Federal Indian Law. Mr. Casey's experience also includes computer and technology law, patent litigation, and trademark prosecution.
Mr. Casey has assisted a number of tribal governments and organizations with telecommunications ventures and regulatory issues, including tribal telephone companies, tribal utilities commissions, and tribally-owned radio and television stations. Mr. Casey also has been involved with ongoing tribal telecommunications legislative efforts and is a frequent speaker on issues of tribal sovereignty and economic development. In addition, Mr. Casey participates in
proceedings on indigenous knowledge rights and biodiversity issues.
Mr. Casey is a member of the Virginia State Bar and the District of Columbia Bar, as well as the Federal Communications Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the Native American Bar Association of Washington D.C.
Alexandra Enders is Senior Research Associate at the Research and Training Center on Rural Rehabilitation, Rural Institute on Disabilities at the University of Montana, where she has also been Director of Training, and Associate Director for Information Dissemination. Dr. Enders is the current president of RESNA, the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Association of North America. She is on the board of the Association for Access Engineering Specialists (AAES), and serves on numerous national advisory boards, including the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Telerehabilitation; the Center for Universal Design; and Accessible Society Access Project (ASAP).
For more than 25 years, Dr. Enders has been involved with service delivery systems and networks, public policy, funding and quality assurance issues, program development and training activities, information services, independent living program development, and technology evaluation and effectiveness studies at the Electronic Industries Foundation in Washington, D.C., the Rehabilitation Engineering Center at Children's Hospital at Stanford, and the Center for Independent Living in Berkeley, California.
Dr. Enders has published widely, including three editions of the Assistive Technology Sourcebook. Her most recent article is "Telecommunications Access for Rural Americans with Disabilities" (Rural Development Perspectives Oct. 1999). Dr. Enders received a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy in 1973 from San Jose State University. She was awarded a National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research Switzer Fellowship which focused on Self-Help Tools. She has worked for the Red Cross in Armenia, and completed a fellowship in India examining the Relationship of Economic Development to Community Based Rehabilitation and Independent Living.
B. Keith Fulton
NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE
B. Keith Fulton is the "Director of Technology Programs & Policy" for the National Urban League. He is the senior advisor for the technology programs and policy direction of the National Urban League and its 114 local affiliates. In this post, Mr. Fulton develops corporate Internet strategy, manages publishing to the World Wide Web and other electronic fora, interacts with national and local decision makers, and manages the development and proliferation of state-of-the-art Technology Education & Access Centers and related technology policy.
The mission of Mr. Fulton's work is to bring the benefits of information technologies to underserved communities by integrating them into the business of community based organizations. He earned his B.A. from Virginia Tech in Urban Affairs & Planning with two years of Computer Engineering and a minor in Sociology; a Professional Certificate in Management and Policy Analysis from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government; a M.S. in Management and Policy Analysis from the New School for Social Research, Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy; and completed his J.D. with a focus on Electronic Commerce, Intellectual Property and Telecommunications Law at New York Law School.
Peter J. Joyce, Ed.D.
CISCO SYSTEMS, INC.
Peter Joyce serves as Workforce Development Manager with Cisco Systems, Inc. in San Jose, California.
Dr. Joyce is currently working with over 2,800 Cisco Networking Academies worldwide to design and develop work-based learning opportunities for students. He manages a growing number of strategic partnerships with companies, trade associations, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies, each aimed to ensure that the "digital divide" is truly a "digital opportunity."
Dr. Joyce has extensive expertise is in the area of workforce development and education. He has authored publications on workforce issues, business-education partnerships, standards and school-to-career transition. He serves on the leadership board of the National Employer Leadership Council, a group of business executives assembled by President Clinton to promote employer involvement in school-to-careers.
Thomas A. Kalil
SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR ECONOMIC POLICY
Thomas Kalil serves as a Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, and is the National Economic Council's "point person" on a wide range of technology and telecommunications issues. The NEC is a White House organization created by President Clinton to coordinate economic policy. In addition to his role in shaping the Administration's National Information Infrastructure agenda, he also is the U.S. National Coordinator for the G-8 Global Information Society pilot projects. Tom served as an advisor to the Clinton-Gore campaign on technology and competitiveness issues, and helped organize the Little Rock Economic Summit.
Prior to joining the campaign, Tom was a trade specialist at the Washington offices of Dewey Ballantine, where he represented the Semiconductor Industry Association on U.S.-Japan trade issues and technology policy.
Tom received a B.A. in political science and international economics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and completed graduate work at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He is the author of articles on nuclear strategy, U.S.-Japan trade negotiations, U.S.-Japan cooperation in science and technology, the National Information Infrastructure, distributed learning, and electronic commerce.
Tom is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Association for Computing Machinery, the Internet Society, and the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Felipe Korzenny, Ph.D.
Felipe Korzenny is President and CEO of Hispanic & Asian Marketing Communication Research, Inc., and President of SuperDatos de México. Dr. Korzenny founded H&AMCR in 1984 to assist major corporations to understand and communicate effectively with the U.S.- Hispanic market. He later broadened the scope of his company by adding Asian, international and quantitative research capabilities.
Dr. Korzenny has a wealth of experience conducting qualitative market research. Since 1980, he has conducted over 4,000 qualitative research sessions in both Spanish and English, in the United States, Mexico and Latin America. He has extensive experience in virtually every industry, ranging from consumer products and services to telecommunications, over-the-counter medications, and finance and banking. His reports are considered an industry standard for cultural insights, and he is often consulted for his expertise in marketing strategy.
Dr. Korzenny's academic background is in research methodology. He holds a Ph.D. and MA from Michigan State University in Communication Research. He has formal training in social psychology, group dynamics, intercultural communication, research methodology, philosophy of scientific inquiry, and anthropological methods and research.
Prior to founding his company, he spent twenty years as an academic professor and researcher. He taught research methods, intercultural communication, mass media research, and diffusion of innovations at the graduate and undergraduate levels at Michigan State University and San Francisco State University. He has published six books and almost a hundred research publications dealing with communication and culture. Dr. Korzenny is a prominent speaker at nationwide symposia and conferences on Hispanic markets.
Hal Krisbergh
WORLDGATESM COMMUNICATIONS
Hal Krisbergh is Chairman and CEO of WorldGateSM Communications, a company whose cable Internet Over TVTM service enables universal Internet access for consumers through the cable TV infrastructure, without the need for a PC, modem, or any additional in-home equipment. He is the former President of General Instrument's Communications Division, the world's leading supplier of cable TV set-top converters, distribution electronics and satellite descrambling systems.
Mr. Krisbergh has been a well-known figure in the cable industry for the past seventeen years. He led the industry in the development of addressable converters, impulse pay per view (IPPV), optoelectronics and digital audio technologies. He has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from City College of New York and an MBA from Boston University. He was previously associated with Raytheon, W. R. Grace and Deloitte & Touche.
Terry Lee
CYBER-YOUTH NETWORK
A self-proclaimed "social netpreneur," Terry Lee is the founder, President, and CEO of the Cyber-Youth Network (CYN). His mission is to use the emerging information technologies, and in particular the Internet, to reshape the narrow images often associated with African Americans and other minorities, by bringing to the forefront "real-life" examples, normally ignored in the news and entertainment media.
In 1994, Mr. Lee began A Broader Image, Inc. (ABI), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping elementary and secondary schools gain greater access to computers and incorporate Internet technology into their school curriculum.
Mr. Lee grew up in the Harlem section of New York City and is a graduate of The Lawrenceville Preparatory Academy in Princeton, New Jersey and Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. He worked as a legal research assistant and litigation case manager for major New York and Washington, D.C. law firms where he completed research and received author credits for a book detailing the legal history that led to the development of Commercial Comprehensive General Liability Insurance.
Mr. Lee serves on the board of The Common Sense Group, a youth-run affiliate of the National Urban Coalition, established to aid in the development of the next generation of African-American leaders. In 1995, he was selected as an inaugural participant in the Youth Communications Network, a joint project among the Ford and Tides Foundation and the Millennium Communications Group, for the purpose of developing the communication capabilities of youth-run organizations. In 1996, Mr. Lee was selected as a Fellow with the M. Carl Holman Leadership Development Institute, a leadership and urban policy program of the National Urban Coalition and funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. He was honored as one of "Tomorrow's Leaders Today - 1996" by Public Allies of America/Americorp.
Most recently, Mr. Lee served as a senior associate, specializing in public relations, social marketing and media strategy with the strategic communications, public relations and advertising firm of Greer, Margolis, Mitchell, Burns & Associates in Washington, D.C.
Mark MacGann
SKY BRIDGE LP
Mark MacGann has served as Vice President of SkyBridge LP, as Vice President, Strategic Relations, since May 1997. Mr. MacGann joined Alcatel Telecom in 1995 as Assistant Vice President of Government Affairs.
Prior to that, he was the Deputy International Director for Omnium Communications, the financial communications arm of the Havas Group. He has also worked as an advisor to the President of the Rhônes-Alpes Region of France on European policy and relations with the institutions of the European Union.
Mr. MacGann holds a degree in International Economic Policy from the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland, a degree in Political Science from the French Institute of Political Studies, and a Masters in Political Science from the University of London.
Michael Margolis is the Co-Founder and Director of CitySkills.org (http://www.cityskills.org), a social change community that offers training materials, action tools, and job networks to transition underserved adults into the Web Industry. CitySkills.org documents the skill
standards and labor needs of Internet companies, in turn helping community technologists provide balanced training for jobs in entry-level web design. Over the past six months, Mr. Margolis has built a collaborative network that includes venture philanthropists New Profit Inc., the web company CitySoft, the World Organization of Webmasters, and a national database of over 800 community tech organizations.
Before starting CitySkills.org, Mr. Margolis was the Director of Development for Volunteer Solutions, a nonprofit organization that licenses technology for the recruitment, management, and tracking of volunteerism. As a social entrepreneur, he has consulted for several nonprofits and Internet companies on issues of web development, cause-marketing, and communication strategies.
Mr. Margolis received a bachelor's degree in anthropology from Tufts University and a certificate from the Tuck Business Bridge Program.
Kristin McDonough
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
Kristin McDonough joined The New York Public Library (NYPL) in 1996 as the director of its fourth research center, the Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL) after 25 years in higher education.
Ms. McDonough served the City University of New York in several capacities at two of its senior colleges, the College of Staten Island, where she headed reference and the bibliographic instruction program, and at Baruch College, the site of CUNY's undergraduate and graduate programs in business. At Baruch College, Ms. McDonough, served as assistant dean of the School of Education and Educational Services, and from 1988 through 1996 was chief librarian at the College. In this capacity, she oversaw the renovation of the state-of-the art, technologically sophisticated Newman Library, which won five awards including the American Institute of Architects (AIA) library building award.
Ms. McDonough earned a master's degree in library science from UNC-Chapel Hill, with a second graduate degree in English education, an experience that sharpened her interest in information literacy. Her publications include several articles and a textbook entitled Accessing Information: Research in the Social Sciences and the Humanities.
A member of the Financial Women's Association of New York, Ms. McDonough currently serves on the International Relations Committee of the Association of College and Research Libraries of American Library Association (ALA). She is a member of several boards, including the Library Advisory Boards of John Wiley and Sons, Publishers; the advisory committee of the School of Library and Information Science at Queens College CUNY; and the Steering Committee of the Information Literacy Partnership.
SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION (MOUSE)
Andrew Rasiej is Founder and President of MOUSE (Making Opportunities for Upgrading Schools and Education). MOUSE is a not-for-profit volunteer organization currently consisting of over 1200 of New York City's Silicon Alley technology professionals. These individuals make their time and expertise available to build information networks for students and teachers in public schools.
As MOUSE's President, Mr. Rasiej has spearheaded partnerships between New York City's Board of Education and many of New York's community active Fortune 500 companies to help create successful projects integrating technology into the daily lives of school communities. Since its inception in November 1997, MOUSE and its volunteers have fully wired twenty-five New York City schools and put over 50,000 students online. In addition, Mr. Rasiej has helped well-known new media and Internet companies in New York City develop proactive community outreach initiatives, includinh mentoring and internships programs.
In addition to his activities with MOUSE, Mr. Rasiej is the President and CEO of the DigitalClubNetwork.com which is an Internet music company presenting performances of musicians from clubs around the world through the Internet. The Digital Club Network also produces the Digital Club Festival which is the world's largest "on-line" music event and features real-time cybercasts of over 300 artists' performances over four days. In addition, Mr. Rasiej produces a music conference with Jupiter Communications called "Plug In" which focuses attention on the manner in which music will be produced and distributed digitally.
Mr. Rasiej received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.
Randy Ross is an enrolled member of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and a descendent of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma with family roots on the Rosebud Indian reservation in South Dakota. He is the current Executive Director, Indian Center, Inc., a multi-purpose Native American community development corporation specializing in job training, low-income housing, and other health and human services programs in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Mr. Ross has a long and dedicated track record working with the Native American community on the arts, technology, education, community economic development, and health-related projects across the country. More recently, Mr. Ross served as a project coordinator for the Oglala Sioux Tribe Community Health Representative Program, placing digital wireless services to enhance reservation-based home health care. He has also served as project consultant to the Native American Educational Services grant project for access and lifelong learning involving
four campuses in four states. Mr. Ross has served for several years as a technical assistance provider for the Administration for Native Americans, a federal agency that grants federal funding for socio-economic development.
Mr. Ross has served on the consultant team for the National Endowment for the Arts' Capstone earned income project as a field consultant, presenter and speaker for the Banff Center for the Arts, ATLATL, National Endowment for the Arts, in the area of technology. Mr. Ross has presented at conferences and symposia around the country, including those convened by Rutgers University, LaPlaza Telecommunications, Council on Foundations, and the Public Summit hosted by the Benton Foundation.
Since 1989, Mr. Ross has served as Non-trustee board member for the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., assigned to the information technology committee; he is a current member of the Mayors' Multiculture Advisory Committee, City of Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska. He is a member of the economic development committee for the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska.
Mr. Ross received undergraduate training in business administration and small business management, and has ten years government work experience serving as a Management Analyst for the Epidemiology Research Division, Aberdeen Area Indian Health Service. He co-authored a Benton Foundation publication recently issued on Native American technology and telecommunications.
Paul W. Schroeder
AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND
Paul Schroeder is currently Director of the National Technology Program for the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) and AFB's Midwest office in Chicago. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of AFB's new magazine AccessWorld: Technology for Consumers with Visual Impairments which begins circulation in January, 2000.
Mr. Schroeder joined AFB's staff in 1994 as National Program Associate in Telecommunications and Technology. Prior to AFB, he served for three years as Director of Governmental Affairs for the American Council of the Blind in Washington, D.C.
In addition to monitoring blindness-related activities in 11 midwestern states, Mr. Schroeder coordinates AFB's technology initiatives and develops technology-related programs and activities for people who are blind or visually impaired. He regularly provides input on technology policy working with governmental agencies, private industry, and nonprofit organizations.
Mr. Schroeder currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Public Technology and as Vice President of the Association for Access Engineering Specialists. He served as the Vice Chair of the Telecommunications Access Advisory Committee, a federal committee comprised of representatives from the disabilities community and the information technology industry, which compiled a report and set of guidelines for accessible telecommunications equipment.
While with the American Council of the Blind, Mr. Schroeder helped to negotiate an agreement with the Regional Bell Operating Companies resulting in the inclusion of ground-breaking disability access language in various telecommunications reform bills, including the landmark Telecommunications Act of 1996.
During his career, Mr. Schroeder has been an active advocate in several areas, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, environmental accessibility, health care reform, telecommuni-cations policy, transportation and vocational rehabilitation.
From 1985 to 1991, Mr. Schroeder was the Special Projects Coordinator for the Governor's Office of Advocacy for People with Disabilities in Columbus, Ohio. While in Columbus, he served on the Board of Directors for the Central Ohio Radio Reading Service, which provides information to individuals unable to read newspapers and other print periodicals.
Mr. Schroeder holds a B.A. in Political Science and International Studies from American University. He lives in suburban Chicago with his wife, Lori and daughters, Hannah and Leah.
Margaret C. Simms, Ph.D.
JOINT CENTER FOR POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC STUDIES
Margaret C. Simms is Vice President for Research at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining the staff of the Joint Center as deputy director of research in 1986, Dr. Simms was a program director at the Urban Institute.
Dr. Simms has conducted research on minority business development issues for a number of years. Among her recent publications on the subject is "Is the Inner City Competitive?" (with Winston J. Allen), published in the Review of Black Political Economy (Fall-Winter 1996).
Dr. Simms has also edited many books and monographs on black economic well-being, including Job Creation Prospects and Strategies (with Wilhelmina A. Leigh) (Washington, D.C.: Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, 1998); Economic Perspectives on Affirmative Action (Washington, D.C.: Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, 1995); Moving Up With Baltimore: Creating Career Ladders for Blacks in the Private Sector (Washington, D.C.: Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, 1991); and Slipping Through the Cracks: The Status of Black Women (co-edited with Julianne Malveaux) (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Books, 1986).
Dr. Simms has a B.A. in economics from Carleton College and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from Stanford University. She was on the faculty of Atlanta University from 1972 to 1981, teaching first in the School of Business Administration and then serving as chair of the Department of Economics in the School of Arts and Sciences. Prior to her appointment at Atlanta University, she was a faculty member at the University of California at Santa Cruz.
Dr. Simms was editor of the Review of Black Political Economy from 1983 to 1988. She has been a member of the Black Enterprise Board of Economists since 1987 and currently serves as a member of the Policy Council of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM).
NEW DEAL
Mr. Smith serves as NewDeal's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. A long-time advocate of broader computer and Internet access, Mr. Smith brings extensive experience and knowledge of the high-tech field to NewDeal from his earlier work with Geoworks, Inc., Commodore International, and the Yankee Group.
Prior to founding NewDeal, Mr. Smith was Vice Chairman of the Board, and VP Corporate Development of publicly traded Geoworks, Inc. (GWRX), developer of the award winning GEOS operating system and application suite. In early 1996, Mr. Smith licensed the GEOS technology on an exclusive, worldwide basis for the PC market, and founded NewDeal, with the goal of bringing state-of-the-art computing to the mass market. At Geoworks, Mr. Smith was responsible for the company's new business development and strategic partnerships, including licensing GEOS to IBM EduQuest as its graphical, networked application solution for schools.
Before joining Geoworks, Mr. Smith served as VP Corporate Planning and General Manager of New Products for Commodore International Ltd., a global computer manufacturer. In addition to bringing the Amiga computer to Commodore, Mr. Smith was the instigator of Commodore's move into the online services, and was a co-founder and initial Board member of Quantum/America Online, in which Commodore held 50 percent ownership. Mr. Smith was specifically responsible for AOL's breakthrough use of local PC graphics and computing power to create a visually attractive and responsive online service against the dominant technical approach of market leaders like CompuServe and The Source, which favored downloading graphics and treating the local PC as essentially a dumb terminal. Mr. Smith also brought Lucasfilm Games and AOL together to develop and launch the first online virtual world for PCs, a multi-player game environment for the Commodore 64 called Habitat.
Earlier, Mr. Smith served as Research Director of the Home of the Future division of the Yankee Group, a Boston-based telecommunications market research firm, where he did pioneering research on the emergence of the home computer and online service markets. Mr. Smith has consulted extensively to major corporations such as AT&T, Citibank, Sony, Apple, IBM, Time Warner, NTT, and Toshiba, as well to the governments of Japan and South Korea. He holds a B.A. (Hons) from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, and has done extensive doctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the field of "diffusion in innovation."
Karen Smith is the Executive Director of TECH CORPS, a national (U.S.) nonprofit that assists elementary, middle and high schools with their technology efforts by mobilizing a nationwide network of technology volunteers. TECH CORPS recruits and places technology volunteers into schools, trains teachers to use technology, and links schools with business resources. TECH CORPS also supports a broader educational agenda through national initiatives like webTeacher, techs4schools, and CyberED which bring new and exciting technology resources to American schools.
Before TECH CORPS, Ms. Smith served as Director of Educational Technology Initiatives for the Massachusetts Software Council, directing partnerships between the software industry and the schools in Massachusetts. She is the primary author of the Council's nationally acclaimed book, The Switched-On Classroom Technology Planning Guide, a 250-page guide for schools developing long-range technology plans.
Ms. Smith holds a bachelor's degree in education and has been both a classroom teacher and school district administrator. For the past ten years, her activities have focused primarily on designing and implementing partnership programs between business and education.
Ms. Smith and her husband have two sons and live in Sudbury, Massachusetts.
David Stephens
ONSAT NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
In 1997, motivated by his personal belief that there was a way to make the Internet's benefits more affordable, useable and openly available, David Stephens along with his partner Kuen Damiano started OnSat Network Communications, Inc. OnSat draws on Mr. Stephens' technology integration experience, the capabilities of satellite transmissions, and the skills of specialized content aggregators to provide high-speed broadband access to underserved schools, libraries, ISPs, and other institutional customers at affordable rates. OnSat is currently providing bi-directional broadband service to customers in several of the rural Western states, including Hawaii, Tribal lands, and the Virgin Islands.
Mr. Stephens moved to OnSat from a computer systems integration firm he founded in 1984, which provided services to organizations like MCI, Lockheed, J C Penney, and the FAA. The imaging software he originally developed is available in over 20 languages and is in use on more than 8 million PC desktops around the world. From 1969 to 1983, Mr. Stephens implemented automated claims processing systems in the employee benefits and health care sectors.
John Stevens, Ph.D.
Eastern Idaho may be best known for potatoes, but the region has a lot more to offer the world economy. The workforce is rich in technical skill and international savvy, due in large part to the presence of the Department of Energy Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, multiple higher education facilities, and a quality of life enhanced by easy access to exceptional recreational opportunities. Information Technology (IT) has quietly become one of the regions three best growth opportunities.
But the many, mostly small, companies that comprise the region's IT industry cluster have had little communication with each other or with traditional community development groups. While this aloof existence is common for lean, technical firms, it can be a peril to both the community and the companies themselves. There are many issues, including broadband communications infrastructure, for which demonstration of the scale of market is simply crucial - and that scale has not been recognized as individual organizations have sought improved services.
The Eastern Idaho Economic Development Council (the Council) recognized the need for alliances among peers in the IT cluster. In response, the Council spurred the creation of the volunteer, grass roots Eastern Idaho Forum for Information Technology (the Forum) in 1999. The Forum is just emerging as a voice for the regional IT industry, but is already achieving success due to its foundation on solid focus group research, its commitment to a balance between business and technical issues, and its dedication to grass roots involvement by professional peers.
John Stevens is a software developer with a big-picture outlook. Dr. Stevens works to bridge different technologies and a customer-oriented business perspective to assure win-win solutions to tough problems. As a Senior Nuclear Engineer for the international firm Studsvik Scandpower, Inc., he puts his Purdue Ph.D. to work developing software that allows the designers of nuclear reactors around the world to simultaneously pursue both higher efficiency and enhanced safety. Among his volunteer efforts in the Idaho Falls community, Dr. Stevens is a Council Board member, helping business and technology leaders work toward a shared vision of a diverse, professionally-oriented future in their micropolitan area. As the founding Chair of EIFIT, Dr. Stevens is working to make sure people can do what they want to do where they want to live.
John T. Stupka
SKYTEL COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
John Stupka, President and CEO of SkyTel Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYT), is a
25-year telecommunications veteran. Mr. Stupka came to SkyTel in August 1996 with an extensive background in both the wired and wireless industry segments.
Since accepting the top management position at SkyTel, Mr. Stupka has helped develop the wireless messaging company into a strong, marketing-driven organization. This has resulted in impressive growth of SkyTel's advanced messaging business and led to record financial performance for the company. SkyTel's nationwide advanced messaging network positions it to capitalize on the strong demand for wireless messaging, which is being fueled by the growth of Internet email and an increasingly mobile populace. Mr. Stupka was instrumental in SkyTel's proposed merger with MCI WorldCom announced on May 28, 1999. SkyTel is expected to serve as an important building block in MCI WorldCom's emerging wireless strategy.
Mr. Stupka, 49, joined Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in 1974 after receiving a BSIE at the University of Oklahoma and completing a three-year military tour. He rapidly advanced through a series of operating assignments and was appointed to Division Manager in 1979. From 1979 through 1983, Mr. Stupka managed various organizations serving business customers in Oklahoma. During this same period of time, he attended the Bell Advanced Management Program at the University of Illinois.
In January 1984, Mr. Stupka was appointed to Vice President - Network for the Southwest Region of AMPS, the AT&T organization that preceded Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems (SBMS). In October of 1984, he was promoted to Executive Vice President, and in November of 1985, was promoted to President and CEO. Under Mr. Stupka's leadership, SBMS gained wide recognition as the cellular industry's premier company, leading the industry in both market penetration and operating cash flow. He received numerous industry honors for his work in expanding the industry. In July of 1995, Mr. Stupka was promoted to Senior Vice President - Strategic Planning for SBC Communications. Reporting directly to the SBC Chairman, he directed both strategy development and SBC's technology arm, SBC Technology Resources, Inc.
SkyTel is a leader in wireless messaging, serving more than 1.7 million customers. Since 1989, SkyTel has led the paging industry towards true nationwide messaging through a series of innovations, including SkyTel two-way interactive messaging service which enables customers to exchange messages with the Internet and other pagers, receive messages via email and the Internet, and send messages to any telephone in the United States. SkyTel is headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, and had 1998 revenue of $518 million.
Lawrence Tuckett, Director of Ethnic Marketing at Luminant Worldwide Corporation, is responsible for the overall vision, management and strategic sales of Luminant's Ethnic Marketing Division. Mr. Tuckett brings an extensive background in corporate communications, interactive media and ethnic marketing to the position. As a key figure in ethnic online marketing, he was recently profiled in Crain's New York Business, the CNNfn TV broadcast "Digital Jam," the CNBC show "Power Lunch," and invited to be a guest writer for Mediaweek.
Prior to joining Luminant, Mr. Tuckett was CEO and creative director of Tuckett/Parshall Interactive (TPI), a New York-based new media agency which built a reputation among leading corporate clients, such as HBO, Motown and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co., that relied on his interactive media expertise to produce an array of multimedia presentations and corporate websites. While heading Tuckett/Parshall, he successfully developed and launched Essence.com, the first major website for African-American women. In addition, Mr. Tuckett recently served as a strategic consultant to Chase bank to develop interactive advertising and is currently designing an online marketing plan for Black Enterprise.
Lawrence studied architecture at Cornell University and sits on the executive board of Minority Internet and Technology Professionals (MITP).
Todd A. Weiler
COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS, INC. (CIS)
Todd A. Weiler is the Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Communications for Communities In Schools, Inc. (CIS), the nation's largest stay-in-school network. He is responsible for creating the infrastructure and programs that make this organization a model technology nonprofit.
Since his arrival in May 1999, Mr. Weiler has established a Wide Area Network that links the CIS Regional Support Centers with the National Headquarters. This network demonstrates the latest technologies in voice compression, video-conferencing, as well as various distance-learning capabilities. Mr. Weiler is also taking a lead role in establishing Communities In Schools as a leader in bridging the digital divide. His focus is on encouraging the public, private and nonprofit sector partnerships that are critical to providing the access and training required to bridge and close this critical gap.
Prior to joining CIS, Mr. Weiler served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Reserve Affairs and Training. In that position, he was instrumental in the development and implementation of the Army's Distance Learning Program. For more than six years, he managed over $17 billion of the Army budget and streamlined multiple processes that resulted in large savings to the department. Additionally, Mr. Weiler was appointed by President Clinton to the Federal Prison Industries Board of Directors, where he developed an arbitration process to resolve federal customer complaints. Mr. Weiler's service in the Clinton Administration followed his work as part of Mrs. Clinton's staff during the 1992 presidential campaign.
Mr. Weiler is a decorated combat veteran of Operations Desert Shield/Storm. He served as an attack helicopter pilot and participated in the largest air assault operation in history. He is a distinguished graduate of the Army Aviation Center and holds a Bachelor's Degree from Texas Christian University.
Robin Willner
IBM CORPORATION
Robin Willner is Director of Corporate Relations for IBM Corporation. She joined IBM in March 1994 to design and implement Reinventing Education, new philanthropic initiative in
K-12 school reform. This $35 million program now includes 21 grant partnerships with school districts and states throughout the nation plus several international sites, each focusing on a collaborative effort to develop new applications of technology to overcome common barriers to school improvement and increase student achievement.
Ms. Willner also has responsibility for a growing number of Reinventing Education efforts in other countries. In addition she oversees a range of discretionary programs in the United States, including work force development projects for adults and other efforts to apply technology to specific societal issues.
Prior to joining IBM, Ms. Willner served for three and a half years as Executive Director for Strategic Planning for the New York City public schools. In that position, she was chief policy advisor to Chancellor Joseph A. Fernandez and oversaw all evaluation, research, testing and data collection activities in the nation's largest school district. As Deputy Executive Director of INTERFACE a New York City-based not-for-profit agency, for more than a dozen years, she directed over 100 research reports on public policy in the areas of education job training, and child welfare.
Ms. Willner is a member of the U.S. Department of Education Expert Panel on Education Technology and serves on the Board of Directors of the Center for Education Policy and the New York City Project.
Curtis White
ALLIED COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC.
Curtis White is President of Allied Communications, Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based competitive local exchange carrier specializing in bundled products and services in the affordable housing sector. Allied is Telecommunications Manager for the "Smart Home Community" prototype in Washington, D.C.
With initial sponsorship from the Fannie Mae Foundation, the project shows how marrying housing construction with deployment of broadband capacity promotes economic development and community revitalization. Allied has used its broadband platform to jump-start numerous public-private partnerships resulting in technology aided amenities in the community, such
as implementation of community telemedicine node; distance education program with local university; training residents to be "telemedics," network support specialists and installers of fiber optics; and perhaps, most significantly, new employment opportunities.
The company's specialized product mix includes: discounted commodity connections (local and long distance) and highspeed Internet (primarily DSL); specialized broadband products in distance education and telemedicine; and broadband enabled video-on-demand.
Mr. Curtis has been in the telecommunications industry for more than 30 years. As a communications lawyer, he advised private sector companies, governments, and international organizations on such matters as mobile satellites, cellular, cable, telecommunications privatization and satellite slotting.
He earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Center where he also served as an Adjunct Professor of Communications Law, and undergraduate degrees from Florida A&M University. He maintains memberships in the Bars of the District of Columbia, various Circuit Courts of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.