To watch the videos from the Made in America Summit, learn more about Broadband Breakfast Club and join below to receive full access!
Already a Breakfast Club member? Watch the videos!
Pre-register for information about the BEAD Implementation Summit on September 21, 2023.
Broadband Breakfast is pleased to announce the BEAD Implementation Summit, taking place on September 21, 2023, in Washington D.C. As state broadband offices work to prepare their five-year plans for the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment, this timely event will discuss the challenges, controversies and solutions surrounding this historic push for universal high-speed connectivity.
• Drew Clark, Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
• The Hon. Mark Lippert, Executive Vice President, Head of North American Public Affairs and Chief Risk Officer for Samsung Electronics North America
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program will take a huge step toward implementation when the agency announces the state-by-state funding allocations on Monday, June 26, 2023. In this panel at the Made in America Summit, we’ll hear reactions to the allocation announcements from state broadband officials.
• Dr. Tamarah Holmes, Director of the Office of Broadband, Commonwealth of Virginia
• Jade Piros de Carvalho, Director of the Kansas Office of Broadband Development
• Kelly Schlegel, Director, New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion
• Drew Clark (moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
The Inflation Reduction Act invests billions of dollars in clean energy projects that work to limit carbon emissions and other pollutants, including solar, wind, nuclear, clean hydrogen and more. But will its investments in clean energy founder on the lack of infrastructure deployment, or by delays in federal, state and local permitting? This session will also consider the intersection of “smart grid” infrastructure, long-haul and local, and the synchronicities between the broadband and energy economies.
• Lori Bird, U.S. Energy Program Director and Polsky Chair for Renewable Energy, World Resources Institute
• Xan Fishman, Director of Energy Policy and Carbon Management, Bipartisan Policy Center
• Quindi Franco, Assistant Director, Government Accountability Office
• Robert Glicksman (moderator), Professor of Environmental Law, George Washington University Law School
The CHIPS and Science Act provides $280 billion in funding to spur semiconductor research and manufacturing in the United States. Semiconductors are key components of consumer electronics, military systems and countless other applications, making a domestic supply chain critically important — particularly amid an increasingly hostile technological race with China. How successful will efforts be to bring semiconductor manufacturing to America?
• Gene Irisari, Head of Semiconductor Policy, Samsung
• Shawn Muma, Director of Supply Chain Innovation & Emerging Technologies, Digital Supply Chain Institute
• Maryam Rofougaran, CEO and Co-Founder, Movandi Corporation
• Rishi Iyengar (moderator), Global Technology Reporter, Foreign Policy
The Build America Buy America Act, part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, established a domestic content procurement preference for all federally subsidized infrastructure projects. Although waivers of Buy America requirements have been proposed for certain projects — such as Middle Mile Grant Program recipients — it appears unlikely that these will be extended to initiatives such as the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, despite requests and warnings from industry leaders. Although fiber-optic cable production is on the rise, significant issues remain in America’s semiconductor and electronic equipment supply. How will these issues be addressed in broadband and other infrastructure projects?
• Patrick Lozada, Director of Global Policy, Telecommunications Industry Association
• Marrisa Mitrovich, Vice President of Public Policy, Fiber Broadband Association
• Louis Peraertz, Vice President of Policy, WISPA – Broadband Without Boundaries
• Teralyn Whipple (moderator), Reporter, Broadband Breakfast
The Inflation Reduction Act establishes requirements for the use of American-made equipment in clean energy production. How will those requirements impact green energy development? How will the resulting projects interact with other ongoing infrastructure initiatives? What will it take for America to establish itself as a clean energy superpower?
• Fatima Maria Ahmad, Vice President for Clean Energy, Boundary Stone
• Harrison Godfrey, Managing Director of Federal Affairs, Advanced Energy United
• Chris Perrault, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Operations, Powerhouse
• Dr. Ed Rightor, Information Technology and Clean Energy Consultant
• Julian Spector (moderator), Senior Reporter, Canary Media
The Honorable Mark William Lippert is Executive Vice President, Head of North American Public Affairs and Chief Risk Officer for Samsung Electronics North America. He joined Samsung after executive positions at Google (YouTube) and The Boeing Company. He is a senior adviser to the CSIS Korea Chair where he hosts the biweekly webcast entitled the Capital Cable on the geopolitics and economics of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.
He served as the United States ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Republic of Korea, based in Seoul. He previously held positions in the Department of Defense, including as chief of staff to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and as assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, the top official in the Pentagon for all Asia issues. Lippert also worked in the White House as chief of staff to the National Security Council in 2009.
Lippert served in the uniformed military. An intelligence officer in the United States Navy, he mobilized to active duty from 2009 to 2011 for service with Naval Special Warfare (SEALs) Development Group that included deployments to Afghanistan and other regions. From 2007 to 2008, he deployed as an intelligence officer with Seal Team One to Anbar Province, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Earlier in his career, Lippert served as a staff member in the United States Senate, where he worked on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for then-Senator Obama; the Senate Appropriations Committee State-Foreign Operations Subcommittee for Senator Leahy, and for other members of the Senate. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal for his service in Iraq.
Dr. Tamarah Holmes is director of the Office of Broadband at the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. She has served the Commonwealth of Virginia for nearly nine years as a program manager for the Virginia Appalachian Regional Commission. She previously served as a coordinator for the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program for Newark, NJ, an administrative project analyst for Richmond, and a community development block grant coordinator Chesterfield County.
Jade Piros de Carvalho is director of the Kansas Office of Broadband Development since June 2022. In less than a year, her successes include the award to the Kansas Department of Commerce of a $43 million grant by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to support an $87 million Middle Mile broadband project. Until earlier this year, she was the mayor of Hutchinson, the 11th largest city in the state, with a population of more than 40,000. She was previously the director of industry and community relations for the independent rural internet service provider Ideatek.
Kelly Schlegel, director of the New Mexico Office of Broadband Expansion, oversees the office and executes the state’s multi-billion-dollar strategic and operational plan to significantly expand New Mexico’s broadband capabilities. Schlegel has worked in the software engineering, aerospace and technology fields for more than 40 years, including over three decades with The Boeing Company. She is a graduate of the University of New Mexico and University of Redlands in Redlands, California.
Breakfast Media LLC CEO Drew Clark 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.
Lori Bird is director of the World Resources Institute’s U.S. Energy Program and the Polsky Chair for Renewable Energy. In this role, she leads a team of more than 20 specialists who work with utilities, cities and other large energy users to decarbonize the electric sector and accelerate transportation electrification. The team works to advance equitable access to clean energy, accelerate renewable energy and electric vehicle deployment, identify policy pathways to deep decarbonization, ensure wholesale power markets enable the transition to clean energy, and facilitate innovative customer and utility clean energy solutions.
Xan Fishman is the Director of Energy Policy and Carbon Management at the Bipartisan Policy Center, working on energy and infrastructure policy and carbon management. Prior to joining BPC, Fishman worked for Congressman John Delaney for nine years, most recently as his Presidential Campaign Manager and as his Chief of Staff in Congress. He helped Congressman Delaney draft and champion priority legislation to invest in infrastructure, address climate change, and spur social impact investing.
Quindi Franco is an assistant director for the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s Natural Resources and Environment team, which works on a broad spectrum of energy issues including energy security, government-wide energy programs and activities, management of oil and gas on federal lands and waters, nuclear power and waste regulation, electricity markets regulation and renewable energy sources. Franco has worked with the GAO since 2006.
Robert Glicksman is a nationally and internationally recognized expert on environmental, natural resources, and administrative law issues. Before joining the George Washington University Law School faculty in 2009, he taught at the University of Kansas School of Law, where he joined the faculty in 1982. Professor Glicksman has practiced with law firms in D.C. and New Jersey before joining and while on leave from academia, focusing on environmental, energy and administrative law issues.
Gene Irisari is head of semiconductor policy for Samsung Electronics America, a U.S. subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co. headquartered in South Korea. Based in Washington, Gene is responsible for all policy work affecting Samsung’s computer chip business, one of the largest companies in the world leading this industry. Gene also served as the corporate chair for the Task Force on American Innovation, a coalition of industry, trade associations, university groups and professional science societies all advocating for stable and robust funding for key federal research agencies.
Shawn Muma is the director of supply chain innovation and emerging technologies for the Center for Global Enterprise’s Digital Supply Chain Institute. His experience includes structuring and managing technology alliances for IBM in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Middle East and South America in a wide variety of industries including aerospace and defense, investment banking, retail banking, chemical and public sector. He has designed and implemented governance models and management systems in a variety of multi-partner environments and has vast experience in dealing with the complex issues encountered in multicultural environments.
Maryam Rofougaran is founder and CEO of Movandi, a leader in new 5G RF and millimeter wave technology that is commercializing multi-gigabit, 5G millimeter wave networks. Movandi’s BeamXR active repeater and system solutions solves today’s real world 5G deployment challenges by increasing 5G coverage and capacity, while reducing infrastructure costs by 50 percent, accelerating large-scale 5G commercialization. Prior to co-founding Movandi, Maryam was instrumental in starting and building the wireless business at Broadcom and in growing it to annual revenues of more than $3 billion.
Rishi Iyengar is the global technology reporter at Foreign Policy, covering the intersection of geopolitics and technology. Prior to joining FP, he spent six years at CNN Business as India editor in New Delhi and a technology writer in San Francisco, after two years reporting for Time magazine from Hong Kong. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Fergusson College in Pune, India, a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and is an alumnus of the Young India Fellowship.
Patrick Lozada is the Director of Global Policy at the Telecommunications Industry Association, a U.S.-based industry association representing the manufacturers and suppliers of telecommunications equipment and services. In this role, Patrick leads TIA’s work on issues related to trade, supply chains, and standardization policy. Prior to this role, he was a Director in the China Practice of the Albright Stonebridge Group and the Manager of Business Advisory Services in the Shanghai office of the U.S. China Business Council.
Marissa Mitrovich is the Fiber Broadband Association’s Vice President of Public Policy, leading its efforts before Congress, the White House and regulatory agencies in Washington. She brings more than two decades of experience in governmental affairs and telecom, including previous roles as the vice president of federal legislative affairs for Frontier and vice president of public policy for Verizon, where she interfaced with the administration and worked on state government affairs issues and corporate responsibility initiatives. Mitrovich also brings experience in workforce development and public-private partnerships from her time as vice president of program development for the Wireless Infrastructure Association.
Since 2019, Louis Peraertz has served as Vice President of Policy for WISPA – Broadband Without Boundaries. Prior to this, he served for 19 years in many roles at the Federal Communications Commission. Notably, Peraertz served for more than seven years as former FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn’s advisor and recommended how several FCC policies could be changed to spur deployment of advanced wireless and other services in unserved and underserved areas.
Teralyn Whipple, who joined Broadband Breakfast in 2022, studied marketing at Brigham Young University. She has reported extensively on broadband infrastructure, investments and deployment – particularly controversies over broadband mapping, the Commerce Department Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment grant program, the CHIPS Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. She has also headed marketing campaigns for several small companies.
Fatima Maria Ahmad is a Vice President for Clean Energy in Boundary Stone’s Washington office. Prior to joining BSP, she served as Senior Counsel with the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis in the 116th and 117th Congresses. Previously, she was a Senior Solutions Fellow at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, and also served as a Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Fish & Wildlife & Parks at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), where she helped DOI license 10,000 MW of wind, solar, and geothermal energy during the first term of the Obama Administration.
Harry Godfrey leads Advanced Energy United’s Federal Investment & Manufacturing Working Group. With experience in industry, federal government, and academia, Harry also oversees our Virginia engagement and played a pivotal role in the passage of the Virginia Clean Economy Act. Before arriving at Advanced Energy United, Harry worked at Invenergy and Opower, where he developed expertise in renewable generation and energy efficiency. He previously held positions in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs and the Office of Majority Whip James E. Clyburn.
Chris Perrault is the Senior Vice President of Strategy and Operations at Powerhouse, the climate tech innovation firm, leading Powerhouse's sales and client teams. Previously, Chris was the COO of CleanChoice Energy, the pioneering 100% renewable retailer, where he oversaw their operations, policy, and data teams. Chris has also worked for some of the largest companies in our industry, including developing Direct Energy’s corporate climate strategy, integrating new businesses at Constellation, and managing operations at AES NewEnergy. He started in energy as Director of Utilities for PepsiCo Restaurants.
Dr. Ed Rightor recently retired from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation where he directed the Center for Clean Energy Innovation. Previously he spearheaded decarbonization initiatives while directing the Industrial Program at the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. Earlier he held a number of leadership roles at Dow Chemical in Environmental, Business Development and R&D during a 31 year career.
Julian Spector is senior reporter at Canary Media, where he reports on the rise of clean energy. He worked at Greentech Media for nearly five years. Before that he reported for CityLab at The Atlantic and conducted grant-funded freelance journalism on climate impacts in Bangladesh. His stories have also appeared in The Guardian, HuffPost, Al Jazeera America and more. He graduated from Duke University and now basks in the sunshine of Los Angeles.
Samsung Electronics constantly reinvents the future, expanding its highly differentiated mobile devices as well as working hard to develop next-generation innovation. Samsung follows a simple business philosophy: to devote its talent and technology to creating superior products and services that contribute to a better global society. In 2021, Samsung announced a $17 billion investment in a new semiconductor manufacturing facility, helping to improve supply chain resilience and boost production of crucial logic chips.
Sign up below to be the first to hear when registration opens and new speakers are announced, or check this page for regular updates. For sponsorship information, please contact sales@breakfast.media.