Peggy Dolgenos is co-founder and co-CEO of Cruzio Internet, one of the first internet service providers in the country. As CEO, she has been instrumental in maintaining the company’s long record of financial stability and reliability, and in transitioning the company from dialup to DSL to fiber optic connections over its 30-year history. Most recently, she has been involved in Cruzio’s Equal Access project, which works with schools, community leaders, and philanthropists to build broadband infrastructure to some of the most difficult-to-reach areas and to get internet to low-income students, seniors, and families. Independent ISPs like Cruzio are, unfortunately, few and far between; they create a competitive environment with lower prices and better service. Prior to founding Cruzio, she worked for nine years as a software engineer at the Santa Cruz Operation, a maker of UNIX. She has a degree in management from Yale University and computer science from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Barbara Hayes is chief economic development officer of the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC). In this role she oversees implementation of the organization’s economic development activities. In addition to assisting and supporting local economic development professionals, RCRC’s economic development efforts are focused on three key areas: forest resiliency, rural broadband, and infrastructure development. She has worked in the area of economic development for nearly 30 years at both the state and regional levels. Most recently she served as the president and CEO of the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization (SACTO), leading the region’s economic development efforts. Prior to joining SACTO, she held several positions within the California Trade and Commerce Agency, including state director of the California Small Business Development Center Program. She also provided technical assistance to small businesses and local governments in the offices of Business Development and Local Developments.

Joseph Hayes is a senior research associate at the Public Policy Institute of California, where he studies population change, educational policy, and criminal justice issues. Recent projects have focused on estimates of the undocumented immigration population, English Learner reclassification policies in California public schools, and the changing composition of the state’s prison and parole populations. He holds an MS in agricultural economics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Selwyn Hollins is director of the Internal Services Department for the County of Los Angeles. He joined the department as the general manager of administration and finance, was later promoted to chief deputy director, and was ultimately appointed as the director in July 2020. He has dedicated his career to public service for the past 30 years. Prior to working for the county, he held progressively responsible positions with the City of Los Angeles. He served as an assistant general manager with the Department of Transportation and assistant director with the Office of Finance. He also worked in various capacities for the Department of Water and Power, Personnel Department, and Los Angeles World Airports. Over the course of his career, he has been highly motivated by a desire for enhancing organizational performance and delivering outcomes that exceed expectations. Additionally, he has developed a sound working knowledge of how administration and operations must strategically align to achieve success. He has effectively utilized this insight to implement new policies and innovations that have enhanced service delivery, staff accountability, and cost reductions. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from California State University, Long Beach and a master’s degree in communications from the University of Southern California.

Kristina Ishmael is an educator, learner, advocate, and agent of change. She leads the Office of Ed Tech and develops national edtech policy to enable all-the-time learning and support digital equity. Ishmael has worked at federal, state, and school levels and has a unique perspective on policy and practice. She advised on inclusive technology portfolios at New America, was the Digital Learning Specialist for the Nebraska Department of Education and started her education career as an early childhood teacher to emerging bilingual learners. Ishmael is a respected voice in edtech and advocates for access to quality education for all learners.

Mei Wa Kwong is executive director of the Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP), the federally designated National Telehealth Policy Resource Center. In this role she works with the organization’s multitude of national and regional partners on telehealth issues and oversees CCHP’s projects and provides policy technical assistance to state and federal lawmakers, industry members, providers, consumers, and others. Prior to joining CCHP, she was a public policy analyst for Children’s Home Society of California, working on child care and early education issues on the state and federal levels. She also worked extensively with the Child Development Policy Institute, a statewide public policy organization, and was recognized by them in 2004 for her work in the early care and education field. She has written numerous policy briefs, crafted state legislation, and led several coalition efforts on a variety of issues. Recognized as an expert in her field, she has published articles on telehealth policy and has consulted with state and federal lawmakers on telehealth legislation and policy. She earned a BA in international affairs from George Washington University and a JD from George Washington University Law School.

Dr. Nicol Turner Lee is a senior fellow in Governance Studies, the director of the Center for Technology Innovation and serves as Co-Editor-In-Chief of the TechTank blog and podcast at the Brookings Institution, which is a global think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. Dr. Turner’s research encompasses equitable access to technology across the U.S. and abroad. Her portfolio also includes leading Brookings institutional research and public policy work focused on the identification and mitigation of online biases in artificial intelligence systems. She has a forthcoming book on the U.S. digital divide titled Digitally Invisible: How the Internet is Creating the New Underclass (forthcoming Brookings Press, 2024). She has appeared throughout various news media, testified before Congress and international global governance bodies, and written extensively on tech and telecom issues. In 2022, she was recognized for her career contributions to the profession by the American Sociological Association at the annual conference, a highly distinguished honor.  She has her B.A. from Colgate University, and her Ph.D. from Northwestern University.

Christina Snider serves as Tribal Affairs Secretary to Governor Gavin Newsom and leads the Governor’s Office of Tribal Affairs established within the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom on July 1, 2022. Snider was appointed February 19, 2019 by Governor Newsom to continue her service in the Governor’s Office following her appointment on February 6, 2018 by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. She has also previously served as Executive Secretary of the California Native American Heritage Commission, appointed by Governors Newsom and Brown. Snider is an enrolled member of the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians. As a member of the Cabinet, Secretary Snider serves as the Governor’s Tribal Advisor and oversees effective government-to-government consultation between the Governor’s Administration and California tribes; informs, develops and implements policy directives related to tribal governments and Native American communities; leads the California Truth & Healing Council and California Indian Heritage Center Task Force and oversees the Tribal Nation Grant Fund Program. In addition to her duties leading the Governor’s Office of Tribal Affairs, Secretary Snider serves as a member of the California Broadband Council, the Judicial Council Tribal Court-State Court Forum and an ex officio member of the California Advisory Committee on Geographic Names. Secretary Snider received her law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2013 and is licensed to practice law in California and the District of Columbia. She has extensive experience in tribal law and policy, having worked with the United States Department of Justice Office of Tribal Justice, the National Congress of American Indians, the California Native American Heritage Commission, and several tribal governments and organizations across the nation. Snider received her Bachelor’s Degree in History from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Ji Soo Song leads the Digital Equity Education Roundtables initiative at the US Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology (OET) to expand equitable adoption of high-speed broadband and digital tools for learning. He also develops intra-agency and interagency partnerships to close the digital divide, and he provides subject matter expertise to external capacity-building and technical assistance efforts. Prior to his work at OET, he was the senior policy advisor at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), where he led the research, analysis, and communication of public policy issues concerning digital learning standards and frameworks, educator credentialing, and funding for professional development. He represented ISTE as a board member for the Title IV-A Coalition and the National Coalition for Technology in Education and Training. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and education from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree in education policy and leadership from American University. He was also a 2021 fellow with the Institute for Educational Leadership’s Education Policy Fellowship Program.

Amy Tong is Secretary of Government Operations for the State of California. Her previous role was as the State’s chief information officer and director of the California Department of Technology. She started her career in service with the State of California as an entry-level programmer at the State Water Resources Control Board. From there, she rose to positions of greater responsibility in six state agencies, ultimately being appointed to administration leadership roles. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she led critical technology projects to provide information and data, including systems for monitoring hospital capacity, public health reporting, remote learning, telework, vaccination, and wildfire response. During the emergency she guided efforts to build more than 40 new technology tools and make critical repairs to legacy systems. In her current role, she is focused on transforming state government through innovation. A champion of user-centered design, she has led efforts to modernize the state’s project delivery, technology procurement, cloud smart adoption, open data, workforce development pipeline, and cybersecurity measures. In addition to her leadership roles in state government, she volunteers as a member of the California Northstate University board of trustees, the NAACP, the Asian Pacific State Employee Association, and as national senior advisor for the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association. She holds a BS in management information systems and an MBA from California State University, Sacramento.

Sanford Williams is a lecturer of law at University of California, Los Angeles  Law School, and both a special advisor to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and a deputy managing director at the Federal Communications Commission. He was a member of the Manassas City, Virginia school board from 2010 –2021, and served as chair from 2018–2021—the first African American chairman of the Manassas City school board. He is also a member of the board of directors of Kids in the Spotlight, a Los Angeles County–based organization that helps foster youth heal and grow from trauma through storytelling and filmmaking; the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Education Foundation; the UVA Club of Los Angeles; a member of the executive committee of the Federal Communications Bar Association; and a member of the Langston Bar Association. He earned his bachelor’s degree in operations research & industrial engineering and an MBA from the Johnson School of Management. He earned a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was a member of the Virginia Law Review.