Tech Policy Leaders

Dr. Nicol Turner-Lee (@drturnerlee) is Vice President and Chief Research and Policy Officer for the Multicultural Media, Internet and Telecommunications Council. In this senior role, Dr. Turner-Lee designs and implements a research and policy agenda that supports MMTC’s mission, and advocates for telecom and Internet policy reform through legislation, rulemaking, executive orders, public-private partnerships, and best practices. In 2011, she was appointed to the Federal Advisory Committee on Diversity in the Digital Age by former FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski of the Federal Communications Commission, where she chairs the subcommittee on the use of unlicensed devices to increase minority innovation and entrepreneurship. Nicol graduated with honors from Colgate University and has a doctorate in Sociology from Northwestern University and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Illinois-Chicago.

In this episode, we discussed:

Resources

Multicultural Media, Internet and Telecom Council (MMTC)

Pew--Americans' Internet Access: 2000-2015

Michael Scurato (@michaelscurato) joined the National Hispanic Media Coalition's (NHMC) Washington, DC policy team in September 2010 when he was hired as a Law Fellow after being accepted into Georgetown Law’s Post-JD Public Service Fellowship Program. While in law school, he represented the public interest in media and telecommunications law issues at the Institute for Public Representation (IPR), one of Georgetown’s renowned legal clinics, first as a summer research assistant and later as a student in the clinical program. At IPR, he represented clients on issues such as diversifying media ownership, privacy, and protecting children from harmful ads on TV and online. He also served as a delegate in Georgetown Law’s Student Bar Association. Michael’s previous experience includes internships at the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia and with New Jersey State Assemblywoman (now State Senator) Linda Greenstein. He earned his JD from Georgetown University Law Center and his BA in Political Science from New York University. He is currently admitted to practice law in  New York and the District of Columbia.

In this episode, we discussed:

• The key barrier to broadband adoption
•  How to ensure everyone can afford broadband in the U.S.
• The status of net neutrality in the courts.

Resources

National Hispanic Media Coaltion

New America Foundation: The Cost of Connectivity 2014

FCC: Lifeline Program for Low Income Consumers

Michael Scurato (@michaelscurato) joined the National Hispanic Media Coalition's (NHMC) Washington, DC policy team in September 2010 when he was hired as a Law Fellow after being accepted into Georgetown Law’s Post-JD Public Service Fellowship Program. While in law school, he represented the public interest in media and telecommunications law issues at the Institute for Public Representation (IPR), one of Georgetown’s renowned legal clinics, first as a summer research assistant and later as a student in the clinical program. At IPR, he represented clients on issues such as diversifying media ownership, privacy, and protecting children from harmful ads on TV and online. He also served as a delegate in Georgetown Law’s Student Bar Association. Michael’s previous experience includes internships at the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia and with New Jersey State Assemblywoman (now State Senator) Linda Greenstein. He earned his JD from Georgetown University Law Center and his BA in Political Science from New York University. He is currently admitted to practice law in  New York and the District of Columbia.

In this episode, we discussed:

Resources

National Hispanic Media Coaltion

New America Foundation: The Cost of Connectivity 2014

FCC: Lifeline Program for Low Income Consumers

Alan J. Roth is USTelecom’s senior executive vice president, where he serves as deputy to President & CEO Walter B. McCormick Jr. in directing the government affairs mission of the association. Roth, a respected government relations professional and well-known Washington veteran, came to USTelecom from his role as a principal in the government affairs firm of Lent Scrivner & Roth LLC. As a former staff director and chief counsel to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Roth was recognized by Roll Call as one of the 50 most influential staffers on Capitol Hill while he served as the highest-ranking advisor to Rep. John D. Dingell (D-MI), the committee’s chairman. The Hill has also cited him in its list of top lobbyists as one of “the best in the business.”  In this episode, we discussed:  how the telecom industry defines "net neutrality". how the FCC's net neutrality order will affect consumers. what net neutrality legislation is currently pending. Resources  USTelecom The FCC's Open Internet Order Net Neutrality: President Obama's Plan for a Free and Open Internet Thune/Upton Net Neutrality Bill  Outdated Regulations Will Make Consumers Pay More for Broadband (Progressive Policy Institute)

Alan J. Roth is USTelecom’s senior executive vice president, where he serves as deputy to President & CEO Walter B. McCormick Jr. in directing the government affairs mission of the association. Roth, a respected government relations professional and well-known Washington veteran, came to USTelecom from his role as a principal in the government affairs firm of Lent Scrivner & Roth LLC. As a former staff director and chief counsel to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Roth was recognized by Roll Call as one of the 50 most influential staffers on Capitol Hill while he served as the highest-ranking advisor to Rep. John D. Dingell (D-MI), the committee’s chairman. The Hill has also cited him in its list of top lobbyists as one of “the best in the business.”  In this episode, we discussed:  how the telecom industry defines "net neutrality". how the FCC's net neutrality order will affect consumers. what net neutrality legislation is currently pending. Resources  USTelecom The FCC's Open Internet Order Net Neutrality: President Obama's Plan for a Free and Open Internet Thune/Upton Net Neutrality Bill  Outdated Regulations Will Make Consumers Pay More for Broadband (Progressive Policy Institute)

Courtney Tanenbaum (@courttanenbaum) is a senior researcher and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) marketing and research lead at AIR. She is a graduate of the Institute for Education Leadership’s DC Education Policy Fellowship Program. Since joining AIR in May 2003, she has worked on several research and evaluation studies focused on federal policies and initiatives designed to improve the outcome of disadvantaged students and underrepresented minorities, both in K-12 and higher education.

Currently, Dr. Tanenbaum serves as the principal investigator for the National Study of the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate, through a grant from the National Science Foundation. Under this grant she is responsible for managing the project, writing data-driven issue briefs on issues related to the participation of underrepresented minorities and women of all races and ethnicities in STEM. Most recently she contributed to an issue brief examining graduate student debt levels and one examining gender differences in the early career pathways of new STEM doctoral recipients. She also led a two-day symposium examining the implicit and explicit biases, barriers and challenges underrepresented groups of individuals in STEM encounter along their academic and career pathways, and how institutions of higher education and STEM academic departments can use this research to develop more effective recruitment and retention programs and practices.

Under a previous grant from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Tanenbaum served as the task lead for the implementation analysis of the national evaluation of the grant program. As task lead, she conducted multiple site visits to institutions of higher education participating in the grant, during which she led interviews with college deans, grant program leadership, faculty, and undergraduate and graduate students. She led the coding and analyses of the data collected during site visits to inform the implementation component of the evaluation.

Dr. Tanenbaum also serves on several studies of federal policy. She serves as a data collection and analysis task lead for the Impact Evaluation of Race to the Top and School Improvement Grant (SIG) programs. In this role, she has contributed to an evaluation brief examining school turnaround policies, practices, and strategies in SIG, the first and second year evaluation reports. She is also lead author on an evaluation brief examining state capacity to support school turnaround.

Dr. Tanenbaum serves as the deputy project director for the Equitable Distribution of Effective Teachers study, for which she assists in the overall management of the project, leads the collection and analysis of data gathered through interviews with officials, and serves as a lead author of the final evaluation report.  In addition, she leads the school-level data collection and analysis task for the Early Implementation of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Flexibility Study. In this role, Dr. Tanenbaum is responsible for producing a policy brief exploring school-level perspectives on the implementation of ESEA flexibility that will be shared with U.S. Department of Education staff to inform future policy making, and for contributing to a key highlights report that will be released to the public.

In this episode we discussed

• Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
• Stereotype Threat and Imposter Syndrome
• Keeping Kids Interested in STEM with Comics

Resources

American Institutes for Research

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

Courtney Tanenbaum (@courttanenbaum) is a senior researcher and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) marketing and research lead at AIR. She is a graduate of the Institute for Education Leadership’s DC Education Policy Fellowship Program. Since joining AIR in May 2003, she has worked on several research and evaluation studies focused on federal policies and initiatives designed to improve the outcome of disadvantaged students and underrepresented minorities, both in K-12 and higher education.

Currently, Dr. Tanenbaum serves as the principal investigator for the National Study of the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate, through a grant from the National Science Foundation. Under this grant she is responsible for managing the project, writing data-driven issue briefs on issues related to the participation of underrepresented minorities and women of all races and ethnicities in STEM. Most recently she contributed to an issue brief examining graduate student debt levels and one examining gender differences in the early career pathways of new STEM doctoral recipients. She also led a two-day symposium examining the implicit and explicit biases, barriers and challenges underrepresented groups of individuals in STEM encounter along their academic and career pathways, and how institutions of higher education and STEM academic departments can use this research to develop more effective recruitment and retention programs and practices.

Under a previous grant from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Tanenbaum served as the task lead for the implementation analysis of the national evaluation of the grant program. As task lead, she conducted multiple site visits to institutions of higher education participating in the grant, during which she led interviews with college deans, grant program leadership, faculty, and undergraduate and graduate students. She led the coding and analyses of the data collected during site visits to inform the implementation component of the evaluation.

Dr. Tanenbaum also serves on several studies of federal policy. She serves as a data collection and analysis task lead for the Impact Evaluation of Race to the Top and School Improvement Grant (SIG) programs. In this role, she has contributed to an evaluation brief examining school turnaround policies, practices, and strategies in SIG, the first and second year evaluation reports. She is also lead author on an evaluation brief examining state capacity to support school turnaround.

Dr. Tanenbaum serves as the deputy project director for the Equitable Distribution of Effective Teachers study, for which she assists in the overall management of the project, leads the collection and analysis of data gathered through interviews with officials, and serves as a lead author of the final evaluation report.  In addition, she leads the school-level data collection and analysis task for the Early Implementation of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Flexibility Study. In this role, Dr. Tanenbaum is responsible for producing a policy brief exploring school-level perspectives on the implementation of ESEA flexibility that will be shared with U.S. Department of Education staff to inform future policy making, and for contributing to a key highlights report that will be released to the public.

In this episode we discussed

Resources

American Institutes for Research

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

Casey Rae (@caseycontrarian) is the Chief Executive Officer of the Future of Music Coalition. He is also a musician, recording engineer, educator and author. Casey regularly speaks on issues such as emerging business models, creators' rights, technology policy and intellectual property at major conferences, universities and in the media. He has testified before Congress on artist rights and is committed to building bridges across sectors in order to identify possible solutions to common challenges. Casey has written dozens of articles on the impact of technology on the creative community in scholarly journals and other publications, and is a regular commentator on the impact of technology on creators in media outlets such as NPR, Washington Post, New York Times, Politico, Billboard, L.A. Times, Gizmodo, The Hill, Ars Technica, Sirius XM Radio and more. Casey is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, an instructor at Berklee Online and the President of the Board of the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture. He is the principal of Heru.us, a media, technology and policy consultancy. In his "spare time," he runs the DC-based label Lux Eterna Records and publishes The Contrarian Media.

In this episode we discussed:

• How copyright law works
• The differing copyright standards that apply to terrestrial broadcasters versus internet broadcasters
• Casey's unique dual career in music and policy.

RESOURCES

Future of Music Coalition

Casey Rae (@caseycontrarian) is the Chief Executive Officer of the Future of Music Coalition. He is also a musician, recording engineer, educator and author. Casey regularly speaks on issues such as emerging business models, creators' rights, technology policy and intellectual property at major conferences, universities and in the media. He has testified before Congress on artist rights and is committed to building bridges across sectors in order to identify possible solutions to common challenges. Casey has written dozens of articles on the impact of technology on the creative community in scholarly journals and other publications, and is a regular commentator on the impact of technology on creators in media outlets such as NPR, Washington Post, New York Times, Politico, Billboard, L.A. Times, Gizmodo, The Hill, Ars Technica, Sirius XM Radio and more. Casey is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, an instructor at Berklee Online and the President of the Board of the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture. He is the principal of Heru.us, a media, technology and policy consultancy. In his "spare time," he runs the DC-based label Lux Eterna Records and publishes The Contrarian Media.

In this episode we discussed:

RESOURCES

Future of Music Coalition

Jason Llorenz is a professor, researcher and advocate with over a decade of federal and state-level policy development, strategic communication, and legal experience. His research interests focus on:

• Digital literacy and universal inclusion on the Internet
• Telecommunications and Internet policy
• Digital and social media in the innovation economy

Jason teaches courses in digital communication and policy at the Rutgers University School of Communication and Information.

Jason's writing appears in the Huffington Post, and he is often sought for comment on the issues facing the digital divide and universal digital inclusion. Jason has been interviewed on this subject by media outlets including the Washington Post and National Public Radio. 

A regular speaker, Jason has led discussions on Capitol Hill, in state capitols, and for groups and associations. He has been a speaker for SXSWEdu, SXSW Interactive, the Delegation of the European Union, the National Caucus of State Legislators (NCSL), the National Council of La Raza, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, LATISM, and many others.

Jason holds a BA from Cazenovia College, and Juris Doctor from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law. He serves as an advisory board member of the Multicultural Media Technology & Internet Council (MMTC), which honored him for outstanding service in 2015. He is a board member of the Energy Equity Alliance and the DC Casineros Dance Company. He is a Member of the New York State Bar.

In the Episode We Discuss:

1. Media Consumption Habits Across Demographic Groups
2. How More Americans Can Use Tech to Make Money
3. How Diversity in Tech Compares to Diversity in Media