Agenda | Wednesday, May 1

All times listed are Eastern Time (ET).

8:15 a.m.–8:30 a.m.
Smart Rural Community Champion Award Presentation with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)

8:30 a.m.–8:45 a.m.
Welcome from NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield

8:45 a.m.-9:15 a.m.
Rural Digital Inclusion: Case Studies of Success and Lessons Learned
Shirley Bloomfield, CEO, NTCA
Jennifer Prather, CEO, Totelcom Communications
Catherine Nicolaou, Broadband Program Manager, the City of Albuquerque

9:15 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
Community Planning and Engagement Strategies
Tanya Sullivan, CEO, Plus One Strategic Communications
Friday Otuya, Community Engagement Specialist, Nex-Tech
Kelly Wismer, Chief of Staff to the Executive Director, Appalachian Regional Commission

10:00 a.m.–10:15 a.m.
Break

10:15 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
Conversation on Rural Issues with FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks

11:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m.
Tackling Rural Affordability
Kathryn de Wit, Project Director, Broadband Access Initiative, The Pew Charitable Trusts
Keith Gabbard, CEO, Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative
Cassidy Hjelmstad, CEO/General Manager, SRT Communications

11:30 a.m.–Noon
What Does It Mean to Be a Smart Rural Community?
Andrew Brown
Emily Buckman, Director, Government Affairs, The American Farm Bureau Federation
Mitchell Bailey, CEO, GRM Networks