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With more than 25 years spent in higher education with a history in technology, digital equity, and workforce development, Andy has experience in managing diverse teams and networks of community-based organizations. Andy’s leadership in Philadelphia includes driving the digital equity initiatives at Drexel University. Through his leadership, he developed a Digital Navigator program that led ACP outreach, digital skills development, and computer refurbishing and distribution.
As the former chair of the Technology Learning Collaborative, he helped transform the digital equity coalition into a full nonprofit organization with strong leadership and tremendous reach. Andy has experience in organizing the TLC Philly annual conference and speaking at national conferences including Net Inclusion, CLOSE IT Summit, and B. PHL Innovation Festival.
Brittany-Rae is a communications expert with a passion for using storytelling, research, and advocacy to address issues plaguing urban communities. As Communications Director, Brittany-Rae fields all media requests and communications-related inquiries. In addition to managing external communications and providing support for member programming, she creates monthly newsletters and bi-weekly bulletins to keep NCC members and supporters abreast of developments in the broadband landscape. A long-time advocate of minority-serving institutions, Brittany-Rae has highlighted their role in addressing the nation’s digital divide, most recently in her piece in Blavity.
Before joining the Next Century Cities team, Brittany-Rae served as a press secretary in the U.S. House of Representatives. Brittany-Rae has also held communications roles within the federal government, nonprofit organizations, corporate communications departments, and higher education. She previously taught in the communications departments at the University of Maryland and Howard University.
Brittany-Rae completed her Ph.D. in Communications, Culture, and Media Studies at Howard University where she examined the intersection of urban development, community relations, and higher education. She received her M.S. in Mass Communications from Middle Tennessee State University and her B.A. in English and Creative Writing from Wellesley College.
Corian Zacher’s portfolio focuses on supporting and elevating the many local and state leaders who work tirelessly to expand broadband access and adoption in their communities. Corian creates resources for our members, tracks state and local broadband policy initiatives, and collaborates with local leaders, identifying and elevating policy barriers and opportunities.
Before coming to NCC, Corian researched and worked on telecommunications policy issues at the University of Colorado Law School, where they earned their J.D. While at Colorado Law, Corian studied telecommunications law and policy, serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Colorado Technology Law Journal. In their student note, Paving the Road to Fiber, readers will learn about federal technology policy’s impact on local broadband deployment.
Ryan is responsible for NCC’s federal policy portfolio, building and maintaining relationships with Federal Commissions Commission officials, members of Congress and staff, and public interest allies. Working with various federal agencies, Ryan submits filings on behalf of NCC members on technology and telecommunications related issues that impact the digital divide such as broadband data mapping, benchmark speeds, spectrum policy, content moderation, privacy, and others.
In his latest report, Communities Responding to Natural Disasters Through Network Resilience, Ryan documents efforts undertaken by communities across the nation to neutralize threats and improve redundancies. His advocacy extends to broadband deployment issues, evidenced by a discussion that he moderated on the impacts of the Portland. v. FCC Ninth Circuit decision. Ryan works to document community-level perspectives into federal proceedings and educates local leaders, like those in the City of Detroit, about the impact that federal programs can have in their communities.
Before coming to Next Century Cities, Ryan completed a legal fellowship with the Computer and Communications Industry Association. During his fellowship, Ryan focused on issues involving telecommunications, intellectual property, and data privacy. Additionally, he completed an internship with the Competition and Infrastructure Division of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission. He also interned with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
A member of the Pennsylvania Bar, Ryan received his Juris Doctor from American University Washington College of Law where he served on the editorial board of the National Security Law Brief. He completed his undergraduate degree at Franklin & Marshall College where he studied Government and Business Management.
Kari founded the KC Social Innovation Center – a local Kansas City
nonprofit focused on connecting youth to work-based experiences, and its
work as a city-based strategy to reduce violence, promote neighborhood
resilience, and expand civic engagement through youth-voice initiatives.
Kari has over a decade of experience working strategically with and
alongside local government agencies and urban and rural municipalities,
with expertise in policy and programs for youth engagement, public
education, and workforce development; with extensive regional
collaborations around digital equity/inclusion, innovation and
entrepreneurship, as well as smart-city based economic development.
Currently, Kari is the Director of Operations for KC Digital Drive – the
regional civic organization that supports the ecosystems for broadband,
connectivity and digital equity, and emerging tech innovation, and helps to
steward the region’s digital transformation. The organization was
established by the cities of Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas
to mobilize diverse community partners around collective action in digital
inclusion and digital innovation, and drive economic development for the
bi-state region.
Prior to nonprofit executive management, Kari had a successful 20-year
marketing career working with entrepreneurs and startups before jumping
into ed-tech in 2012 with a National Science Foundation grant working for
Mozilla, managing an experimental fund for next-generation educational
pilots that use gigabit technology to illustrate the transformative power
of high-speed, low latency Internet and cyber physical systems on learning
and workforce development.
Kari remains active in community leadership through board service, and is a
frequent speaker on opportunity ecosystems, next-generation workforce
models, human empowerment and inclusion.
Joshua Edmonds, Chief Executive Officer at DigitalC, is revolutionizing Cleveland’s digital landscape with bold ambition. By securing $53 million in public, private, and philanthropic investments for the nonprofit social enterprise, DigitalC is disrupting the telecommunications industry and bridging the city’s glaring digital divide.
Edmonds leads DigitalC with relentless tenacity, embodying the consistency and leadership that define the organization’s ethos. Under his guidance, DigitalC redefines connectivity through community- based collaborations to deliver superior high-speed home internet and tailored digital skills training.
He views DigitalC’s state-of-the-art network as a homegrown triumph, proving that a local underdog can outpace corporate giants. Forbes, GovTech, and other notable organizations have recognized his impact.
With degrees from Notre Dame College and Howard University, Edmonds is positioning Cleveland as
a national model for digital equity and inclusion.
His leadership and vision inspire progress, making DigitalC a beacon of innovation and excellence in the industry.
