Breakout Sessions

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Monday, June 2, 2025
1:00 PM - 1:40 PM CT
Coordinating Expectations Among Stakeholders Statewide
Location: Governor's Ballroom C
Moderator: Jessica Koch (she/her/hers) – Calix
Panelist: Tamarah Holmes, PhD (she/her/hers) – Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development
Panelist: Bree Maki (she/her/hers) – Minnesota Dept. of Employment and Economic Development
Panelist: Eric Frederick (he/him/his) – Michigan High-Speed Internet Office
Panelist: Brian Thorn (he/him/his) – Rhode Island Commerce Corporation
State Broadband Office: BEAD Funding Progress Update
1:00 PM - 1:40 PM CT
Fiber Expansion: Deployment Reality Check
Location: Bayou CD
Moderator: Heather Burnett Gold (she/her/hers) – TAK Broadband, LLC
Panelist: Ashley Church (she/her/hers) – GFiber
Panelist: Ashley Travers (she/her/hers) – KGPco
Panelist: Bo Gresham – DYCOM
Panelist: John George – Lightera
Deployment Best Practices
1:00 PM - 1:40 PM CT
Fiber to the Home Economics: Building Networks with the Capacity to Meet Customer Expectations
Location: Canal AB
Moderator: Jeff Heynen (he/him/his) – Dell'Oro
Panelist: Alap Modi – eero, An Amazon Company
Panelist: Mark Boxer – Lightera
Panelist: Amanda Sosne – GFiber
Panelist: Jason Moore – RouteThis
Networks at Work: The What, When, and How of Expanding Fiber Footprints
1:00 PM - 1:40 PM CT
Public/Private Partnerships: Creating Connections to Scale
Location: Canal C
Moderator: John Fletcher (he/him/his) – S&P Global
Panelist: Nicole Cottle – UTOPIA FIber
Panelist: Jeff Reiman – The Broadband Group
Panelist: Paul F. Weintraub (he/him/his) – Watch Hill Wireless Solutions
Fiber Economics: Creating the Connections that Lead to Growth
1:00 PM - 1:40 PM CT
Tribal Broadband: Architecting for Growth
Location: Governor's Ballroom D
Moderator: Tzeitel Buchanan (she/her/hers) – Lumen
Panelist: Chuck Hogg – All Points Broadband
Panelist: Johnny Hill (he/him/his) – Clearfield
Panelist: David B. Fein (he/him/his) – Chumash Enterprises
Panelist: Pete Bley – Ciena
Tribal Broadband: Key Considerations and Expectations
1:50 PM - 2:30 PM CT
Empowering Tribes by Creating Broadband Programs that Respect Sovereignty
Location: Governor's Ballroom D
Moderator: Hayden Beeson – ISE Magazine
Panelist: Andrew Metcalfe – Native Network, Inc
Panelist: Claudia Tarbell (she/her/hers) – Calix
Panelist: Robert Griffin – Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Panelist: Brian Hollister – Bonfire
Tribal Broadband: Key Considerations and Expectations
1:50 PM - 2:30 PM CT
Fiber Broadband and the Future of Precision Agriculture
Location: Canal AB
Moderator: Jim Carroll – Converge! Digest
Panelist: Jimmy Todd – Nex-Tech
Panelist: John E. Greene, Jr. – Mytra Consulting
Panelist: Darren Siekman – Valley Irrigation – A Valmont Company
Panelist: Lee Rutherford – connectSCP by South Central Power
Networks at Work: The What, When, and How of Expanding Fiber Footprints
1:50 PM - 2:30 PM CT
Hurdling Rural, Urban and Suburban Digital Divides
Location: Governor's Ballroom C
Moderator: Craig Corbin – Ready.net
Panelist: Taylre Beaty – Tennessee Economic & Community Development
Panelist: Sally Doty (she/her/hers) – Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi - BEAM
Panelist: Devon Braunstein (she/her/hers) – Illinois Office of Broadband
Panelist: Andrew Butcher (he/him/his) – Maine Connectivity Authority
State Broadband Office: BEAD Funding Progress Update
1:50 PM - 2:30 PM CT
Strategic Multifaceted Approach to Fiber Broadband Deployments
Location: Bayou CD
Moderator: Rick Talbot (he/him/his) – ACG Research
Panelist: Greg Wilson (he/him/his) – Ripple Fiber
Panelist: Mitchell J. Campagna – Mitchell J Architecture
Panelist: Ethan Elyasian (he/him/his) – LDA Fiber
Panelist: Adam Kersnowski – AirWorks Solutions Inc
Deployment Best Practices
1:50 PM - 2:30 PM CT
Taking Nothing for Granted: State and Federal Funding Best Practices
Location: Canal C
Moderator: Colby Humphrey – The Pew Charitable Trusts
Panelist: Pamela Sherwood (she/her/hers) – Brightspeed
Panelist: Bob Whitman – Corning Optical Communications
Panelist: Bobbie J. Gilbert – Ripple Fiber
Panelist: Lori Adams (she/her/hers) – Nokia
Fiber Economics: Creating the Connections that Lead to Growth
2:40 PM - 3:20 PM CT
Building Goodwill and Local Stakeholder Support for Fiber Expansion Projects
Location: Canal AB
Moderator: Ashley Brown (she/her/hers) – Adtran
Panelist: Todd Way (he/him/his) – Douglas Fast Net
Panelist: Antwon T. Alsobrook – A2D, Inc. dba eCommunity Fiber
Panelist: Chukwuma Agba – Panduit
Panelist: Drew Pappas – Bonfire
Networks at Work: The What, When, and How of Expanding Fiber Footprints
2:40 PM - 3:20 PM CT
Creating the Framework for Innovation and Enhanced Connectivity
Location: Governor's Ballroom D
Moderator: Sean P. Buckley (he/him/his) – Lightwave/Broadband Tech Report
Panelist: Sachin Gupta – Centranet
Panelist: Meade Harbison – Southern Ute Growth Fund
Panelist: Josh Snow – Trace Fiber Networks/ Chickasaw Nation
Panelist: Audrey Lee – Sac and Fox Nation
Tribal Broadband: Key Considerations and Expectations
2:40 PM - 3:20 PM CT
Fiber First, Connectivity Always
Location: Governor's Ballroom C
Moderator: Ian Doescher – Telecompetitor
Panelist: Rebecca Dilg – State of Utah
Panelist: Peter Voderberg (he/him/his) – BroadbandOhio
Panelist: Eric Bathras – Maryland Department of Information Technology
Panelist: Brian Mitchell – Nevada Office of Science, Innovation and Technology
State Broadband Office: BEAD Funding Progress Update
2:40 PM - 3:20 PM CT
Making Any Connection Work: Urban, Suburban, MDU and Rural Fiber Broadband Considerations
Location: Bayou CD
Moderator: Brad J. Randall (he/him/his) – Total Telecom
Panelist: Roger Timmerman – UTOPIA Fiber
Panelist: Denzel Davis – Biarri Networks
Panelist: Lauren Marcucci (she/her/hers) – BHC
Panelist: Erika Rogers – Mainstream Fiber
Deployment Best Practices
2:40 PM - 3:20 PM CT
Private Equity: Public Markets and Fiber Expansion
Location: Canal C
Moderator: Craig Corbin – Ready.net
Panelist: Paul J. Connolly – Entropy, Inc.
Panelist: George Stegall – Kinetic Ventures
Panelist: Shapur Izadiyar – Calix
Panelist: Jade Piros de Carvalho (she/her/hers) – Ideatek
Fiber Economics: Creating the Connections that Lead to Growth
Tuesday, June 3, 2025
1:00 PM - 1:40 PM CT
Building Tomorrow's Workforce Today
Location: Canal C
Moderator: Heather Moyer (she/her/hers) – HNM Systems
Panelist: Emily Hale – Tennessee Economic & Community Development
Panelist: James Illicete – Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD)
Panelist: Trudy Swain – Sno-Isle TECH Skills Center
Digital Equity and Workforce Development
1:00 PM - 1:40 PM CT
Fiber Ecosystem: Managing the Customer Experience
Location: Canal D
Moderator: Hayden Beeson – ISE Magazine
Panelist: Mike Roddy – GOCare
Panelist: Jenni Dettman – RouteThis
Panelist: Rachael Wierson – Gila River Telecommunications
Panelist: Jean Lamoureux – PomeGran, Inc.
Panelist: Megan Lukitsch (she/her/hers) – CSG
Service Provider Ecosystem
1:00 PM - 1:40 PM CT
Going the Extra Middle Mile with Federal, State and PPP Funding Programs
Location: Bayou AB
Moderator: Rick Talbot (he/him/his) – ACG Research
Panelist: Robin Olds – Cisco Systems
Panelist: Sean Stokes – Keller and Heckman, LLP
Panelist: Kevin Czaicki – Millennium
Middle Mile: Keeping It All Connected
1:00 PM - 1:40 PM CT
Key Considerations for Regional and National Network Builds
Location: Canal E
Moderator: Jaimie Lenderman (she/her/hers) – Omdia
Panelist: Joe Jensen – Corning
Panelist: Jimmy Hall – Velox
Panelist: James King (he/him/his) – Millennium
Panelist: Justin Suhr – Great Plains Communications
Outside Plant Considerations: Digging in as BEAD Doles Out
1:00 PM - 1:40 PM CT
Rural Market Expansion: Challenges and Opportunities
Location: Bayou CD
Moderator: Brad J. Randall (he/him/his) – Total Telecom
Panelist: Ryan B. Elswick (he/him/his) – FiberWise
Panelist: Jim Stegeman (he/him/his) – CostQuest
Panelist: Bill Brungardt (he/him/his) – BHC Engineering
Panelist: Matilda Van Duyvendyk (she/her/hers) – Vitruvi Software
Deployment Best Practices
1:50 PM - 2:30 PM CT
Building Cohesive Teams that Support Scale and Success
Location: Canal D
Moderator: Ian Doescher – Telecompetitor
Panelist: Katherine Latham – Talman Consultants, LLC
Panelist: Glenn Paul – Innovative Systems
Panelist: Drew Peele – 3-GIS
Panelist: Lexi Christensen (she/her/hers) – UTOPIA Fiber
Service Provider Ecosystem
1:50 PM - 2:30 PM CT
Creating Connections to Support AI, Data Center and Evolution at the Edge
Location: Bayou AB
Moderator: Peter Cresse – Entropy, Inc.
Panelist: Jordan Gross – Lumen
Panelist: Mike Emmendorfer – Calix
Panelist: Rick Talbot (he/him/his) – ACG Research
Panelist: Joe W. Baeumel – KGPCo
Middle Mile: Keeping It All Connected
1:50 PM - 2:30 PM CT
Fiber Deployment: Building Effective Efficient Networks
Location: Bayou CD
Moderator: John George – Lightera
Panelist: Roger Vaughn – Hexatronic
Panelist: Tom Brooks – Render Networks
Panelist: Joe Kunz – GFiber
Panelist: Anis Khemakhem – Clearfield
Deployment Best Practices
1:50 PM - 2:30 PM CT
Rural Market Expansion: Going the Extra Long Last Mile
Location: Canal E
Moderator: Darin Howe (he/him/his) – Corning
Panelist: Joe D. Centobene, Jr. – Brightspeed
Panelist: Jonathan Fitz – Prysmian
Panelist: Dustin Heath – CHR Solutions
Panelist: Colby Humphrey – The Pew Charitable Trusts
Outside Plant Considerations: Digging in as BEAD Doles Out
1:50 PM - 2:30 PM CT
Unlocking the Gate to Digital Opportunity
Location: Canal C
Moderator: Tommy Clift (he/they) – Broadband Nation
Panelist: Laura Bonar – BHC
Panelist: Ashley Poling – gaiia
Panelist: Jason Hardebeck (he/him/his) – Meridiam Fiber
Panelist: Ashley Brown (she/her/hers) – Adtran
Digital Equity and Workforce Development
2:40 PM - 3:20 PM CT
Digital Literacy as an Enabler of Economic Growth
Location: Canal C
Moderator: Mary Larkin Furlow – Heartland Forward
Panelist: Takiyah J Thomas – Clayton County Office of Digital Equity
Panelist: Curtis Dean (he/him/his) – Community Broadband Action Network
Panelist: Dr. Jill Weber (she/her/hers) – Roseburg Public Schools
Panelist: Oneisha Freeman Rojales (she/her/hers) – Georgia Technology Authority
Digital Equity and Workforce Development
2:40 PM - 3:20 PM CT
Key Deployment Considerations Above the 49th Parallel
Location: Bayou CD
Moderator: Meaghan Kappel (she/her/hers) – PwC
Panelist: Tim Ludwar – SaskTel
Panelist: Barry Walton – Corning
Panelist: Christine Marion – Digicom
Panelist: Joe Hickey (he/him/his) – PomeGran Inc.
Deployment Best Practices
2:40 PM - 3:20 PM CT
Managing the Project, Promoting the Value
Location: Bayou AB
Moderator: Erik Keith – SPG Global
Panelist: Robert Conger – Adtran
Panelist: Justin Forte – INDATEL Services
Panelist: Chris Bailey – Wesco
Panelist: J. Brent Legg – Connected Nation
Middle Mile: Keeping It All Connected
2:40 PM - 3:20 PM CT
Operating at Peak Performance: Network Partnerships at Work
Location: Canal D
Moderator: Robert Griffin – Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Panelist: David Eckard – Nokia
Panelist: Jim Rosema (he/him/his) – Gateway Fiber
Panelist: Jay Cadman (he/him/his) – IQGeo
Panelist: Marc-André Campagna – gaiia
Service Provider Ecosystem
2:40 PM - 3:20 PM CT
Streamlining the Outside Plant Deployment Process from Construction to Service Turnup
Location: Canal E
Moderator: Jeff Baumgartner – Light Reading
Panelist: Kevin Morgan (he/him/his) – Clearfield, Inc.
Panelist: Rob Laudati – Render Networks
Panelist: Scott Casey – Spatial Business Systems
Panelist: Yaniv Ben-Soussan – Harmonic
Outside Plant Considerations: Digging in as BEAD Doles Out