Wednesday, March 8, 2023, 12 Noon ET – A Status Update on Tribal Broadband

Now is the perfect time to revisit the status of Tribal broadband, as awards come out from the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, and as state broadband officers consider the unique needs of Tribal broadband through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment program. This Broadband Breakfast Live Online session will consider the perspective of Tribal leaders regarding the federal government’s ongoing and incipient broadband programs.

Panelists

• Joseph Valandra, President and CEO, Tribal Ready
• Denise May, Tribal Administrator, Native Village of Port Lions
• Dr. James (Jim) Trumbly, Osage Nation and Director of Wahzhazhe Connect
• Drew Clark, Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast (moderator)

Panelist resources:

• Tribal Ready Wants Better Broadband Data to Benefit Indian Country, Broadband Breakfast, February 23, 2023 
• Call to Action: Broadband Funding for Indian Country
• Readout: Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo Visits Tribal Nations to see Impact of American Rescue Plan Funding and Economic Development Support, March 2, 2023

Tribal Ready Wants Better Broadband Data to Benefit Indian Country

Joseph Valandra, president and CEO of Tribal Ready, Inc., is a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. He has more than 25 years of experience in executive-level leadership roles in the public, private, government, and non-profit sectors, including an extensive background in Tribal economic development. Using his collective experiences in government, business, and gaming, Valandra has launched various ventures uniquely focused on the technological development, marketing, and deployment of products and services designed to benefit Native nations. He is deeply committed to hard work and determination, leading to expanding opportunities for all Natives.

Denise May is the administrator of the Native Village of Port Lions, in Settlers Cove, 19 air miles west of Kodiak, Alaska. It is a federally recognized tribe and was established in August of 1978 with a base roll of 225 members. Tribal membership has grown steadily and is currently over 400.​

Dr. James Trumbly leads Wahzhazhe Connect, who brings more than 40 years of experience in the Information Technology field as a Project Manager and Systems Analyst. He has served on the faculty at the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas at El Paso, and he also worked as the Senior Project Manager for the Program Management Office while with Electronic Data Systems, now Hewlett Packard on the MCI/WorldCom Account overseeing the PMO for the entire Network Infrastructure organization. He is a Certified Project Management Professional from the Project Management Institute, has worked with the Federal Government as a defense contractor for Air Force Research Laboratory, and served in Afghanistan as a system designer and trainer.

Drew Clark (moderator) is CEO of Breakfast Media LLC. He has led the Broadband Breakfast community since 2008. An early proponent of better broadband, better lives, he initially founded the Broadband Census crowdsourcing campaign for broadband data. As Editor and Publisher, Clark presides over the leading media company advocating for higher-capacity internet everywhere through topical, timely and intelligent coverage. Clark also served as head of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois, a state broadband initiative.

Photo by Theophilos Papadopoulos used with permission

As with all Broadband Breakfast Live Online events, the FREE webcasts will take place at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday.

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See a complete list of upcoming and past Broadband Breakfast Live Online events.