Greetings from Las Vegas, where many of us are gathered for the NTCA 2025 Fall Conference. Recognizing not everyone in our membership can join us in Las Vegas this week, I wanted to send a personal message about the future of NTCA leadership.
Many of you know my creed in leadership that we all have a finite time to leave our world better than we found it. And part of that recognition is knowing when the time has come in the life cycle of an organization to have fresh leadership, perspective, vision and a longer runway to get the job done.
While this is a bittersweet message to deliver, this is the right time for our industry to make that change. We just came through a crisis over the past four years where we didn’t know if the essential Universal Service Fund would survive. But through our hard work together, it did. And now that the debate is shifting to a new phase of challenges, it’s the perfect time for the NTCA Board of Directors to start looking for that next leader to take you all over the next mountain!
So, after considerable reflection, I have made the decision to retire from my role as CEO of NTCA at the end of March 2026. This was not an easy decision, because serving this incredible community and advocating for rural broadband has been the honor of my career. Over the past 36 years, I’ve had the privilege to work alongside dedicated members, a passionate board and an exceptional staff team. Together, we’ve helped elevate the importance of rural connectivity in the national conversation, built stronger partnerships, expanded members’ services and most importantly made meaningful progress in closing the digital divide.
I am proud of what we’ve accomplished, but I’m even more excited about what lies ahead for this industry. Rural broadband is no longer an afterthought — it’s essential infrastructure, a driver of opportunity and a national priority. I will leave confident in the momentum we’ve built and the strong foundation in place with a strategic plan focused on how to tackle the challenges to come.
This is not goodbye yet. I’ll continue to lead in my role for the next several months to ensure a smooth transition and to support the board’s leadership in identifying the next CEO, one who will have same appreciation for this industry that I do. In time, I will look forward to cheering on NTCA and all of you in new ways while I pursue other interests and devote time to other causes that I am passionate about. I want you to know this search couldn’t be in better hands than it is with this board of top-notch leaders who will be gathering your feedback as they kick off this search for only the fourth CEO in NTCA’s history. And you are in excellent hands with the NTCA team!
As always, thank you for your membership, your support, your active engagement and your friendship.