Sarah Bleau
Director, Middle Mile Program
NTIA
Sarah Bleau joined NTIA in February 2021 has spent the better part of her career buying, building, and selling fiber networks. She took on the leadership role for the Broadband Infrastructure Program in Fall 2021 and saw the program through to the award recommendations and announcements made in February 2022. She is the Director for the Middle Mile program and based in Denver.
Chad Crank
Managing Director
Grain Management
Chad Crank is Managing Director at Grain Management, a Washington, D.C., based private equity firm with over $8 billion in assets under management, primarily focused on acquiring operating digital infrastructure assets. Prior to Grain, Chad worked at Stephens Inc. from 2003 to 2016 as Head of the Telecom & Media investment banking group where he advised on telecom M&A deals totaling over $100 billion in value including several successful Stephens principal investments. Before Stephens, Chad worked in strategic planning at Alltel and served as an Armored Cavalry Officer in the U.S. Army after graduating from West Point. He has an M.B.A. in Finance from the Kellogg School of Management where he graduated as an Austin Scholar and a MPA in Economics from the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard. Chad serves on multiple boards including Ritter Communications, Great Plains Communications, Young’s Communications, Quintillion and 123Net.
Ben Edmond
CEO & Founder
Connectbase
Ben Edmond is the CEO and founder of Connectbase, where he is responsible for leading the company's strategy, culture and operations. Prior to founding Connectbase, Ben served as the chief revenue officer at Global Capacity, where he was responsible for all aspects of the company’s customer go-to-market strategy and execution. Ben has 25 years of experience in the fiber, telecom and networking industries, encompassing broad expertise in the areas of executive leadership, strategy, product, customer experience, sales, marketing and operations.
Carl Guardino
Vice President, Government Affairs & Policy
Tarana
Carl Guardino serves as the Vice President of Government Affairs & Policy for Tarana. After three decades in CEO and senior officer roles, including 24 years as CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Carl came to Tarana after leading global government affairs for Bloom Energy. Carl also serves as Chair on the CA Transportation Commission, which annually programs and allocates nearly $10 billion in transportation improvements throughout the state. Through his past leadership roles, Carl has led and co-led 19 statewide, regional, and countywide ballot initiatives, winning 18 out of 19 campaigns. Carl graduated from San Jose State University, where he is a Distinguished Alumnus. Outside of work, Carl is a runner, cyclist, and triathlete, having completed 19 marathons and three IRONMANs.
Kenny Gunderman
President and CEO
Uniti Group Inc.
Kenny Gunderman is President and CEO of Uniti Group Inc. He has 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry and is focused on growing Uniti's real estate portfolio of mission-critical communications infrastructure. He has prior experience at Stephens, Lehman Brothers and KPMG. He currently serves on the board of the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation, the Hendrix College Board of Trustees and the NAREIT Board of Governors. Kenny earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hendrix College and an M.B.A. from Yale.
James H. Henry
Senior Managing Director
Bank Street Group LLC
James Henry has been actively involved in the communications infrastructure and services sector for more than two decades. His extensive and multi-disciplinary knowledge of the industry is the product of his roles as an industry analyst and as an investment banker executing capital markets and strategic transactions for companies and financial sponsors. James is a Co-Founder and Senior Managing Director of Bank Street and has been a driving force in the growth and development of the firm's investment banking practice with a focus on the Bandwidth Infrastructure sector. Bank Street has been at the forefront of key strategic transactions in this sector and counts 123NET, altafiber, FirstLight Fiber, Greenlight Networks, Lumos, Metronet, Point Broadband Unite Private Networks, and many others among its roster of clients and recently executed deals. Prior to Bank Street, James was a Senior Managing Director at Bear, Stearns & Co., where he served as the senior research analyst focused on the communications infrastructure and services sector. As a recognized expert, James has testified before Congress on communications sector regulatory matters, been quoted in national publications as well as trade periodicals and speaks regularly at industry conferences.
Angie Kronenberg
President
INCOMPAS
As President of INCOMPAS, Angie Kronenberg is responsible for managing the association’s policy team and its work before federal, state, and local governments, and she leads the association’s efforts on membership and business development. She joined the association in 2013 as its Chief Advocate & General Counsel and was promoted to President in 2023. Angie has successfully influenced and shaped some of the most complex, high-profile matters in the communications space, and she is an expert on technology and telecommunications policy, including broadband deployment, access, and availability, universal service, net neutrality, merger reviews, competition policy, and administrative law. She also has been integral to the association’s modernization and growth. FierceTelecom named Angie a "Rising Star in Wireline" in 2014 and one of the Top Women in Wireline in 2015 for her advocacy work on behalf of INCOMPAS and its members. Angie is a member of the Federal Communications Bar Association and has been involved in its leadership as a former Executive Committee and Nominations Committee member. Before joining INCOMPAS, Angie was legal advisor to FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, where she was primarily responsible for the Commissioner’s wireline and broadband agenda, including the Commissioner’s work as chair of three federal-state joint boards. Prior to that, Angie was a special counsel in the Spectrum and Competition Policy Division of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. She also practiced telecommunications and media law in the Washington, D.C. office of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP for more than a decade. Angie earned a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America, where she also earned a certification from The Institute for Communications Law Studies, and she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from Baylor University and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Chip Pickering
CEO
INCOMPAS
Chip Pickering has been CEO of INCOMPAS since January 2014. During that time, INCOMPAS has achieved significant growth with leading internet, backbone, business broadband, wireless, and international companies. Under his leadership, INCOMPAS has led numerous public policy campaigns promoting competition through an open internet and in the business broadband market. Pickering was a six-term Congressman representing Mississippi’s Third District. During his time in the House, he served on the Energy & Commerce Committee, where he was vice chairman from 2002 to 2006 and a member of the Telecommunications Subcommittee. He also was co-chairman and founder of the Congressional Wireless Caucus and an assistant minority whip of the House. Previously, Chip worked for Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and served as a staff member on the Senate Commerce Committee, where he helped shape the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Because of his role in drafting the 1996 Act, he became well known as a Congressional leader on telecommunications issues. While in Congress, Chip served as chair of the subcommittee overseeing the transition to the commercial internet, the establishment of domain names, registries, and internet governance. He also successfully led a bipartisan legislative effort to codify net neutrality principles through the House in 2006. Prior to joining INCOMPAS, Chip was a partner with Capitol Resources LLC, a public affairs and government relations firm, where he represented an array of telecom clients, including wireless, cable and competitive broadband providers, as well as non-profits and companies specializing in education, energy, technology and defense.
Christopher L. Shipley
Executive Director of Public Policy
INCOMPAS
Chris Shipley was named Executive Director of Public Policy in 2023, and will lead the association’s efforts to expand its advocacy on behalf of members. He joined INCOMPAS in 2015, serving as attorney and policy advisor responsible for representing INCOMPAS on wireless, universal service, disabilities access, media, and competition issues. Before joining INCOMPAS, Chris was an associate with LMI Advisors, advising clients in the satellite and wireless industries on regulatory issues related to experimental licensing and international market access. Earlier in his career, Chris completed a legal internship with Harris Corporation, a telecommunications equipment manufacturer, and served as the legal fellow for Rep. Anna Eshoo, the Ranking Member of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Chris graduated from the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America with a Juris Doctor in 2013 and also earned a certification from the Institute for Communications Law Studies. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame in 2000, Chris served for three administrations as a policy analyst and grant administrator at the Arizona Governor’s Office.
Sarah Smith
Federal Program Officer, OICG
U.S. Department of Commerce, NTIA
Sarah Smith joined the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in June 2022 as a broadband program specialist with NTIA's Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth. As a broadband program specialist, Sarah works to support both the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment program and the Digital Equity Act program for both Colorado and Wyoming. In this role, she coordinates partnerships and outreach with state, local, tribal, and industry stakeholders to ensure that the goal of internet for all is achieved in her two states. Before joining the NTIA, Sarah was the Senior Manager of Broadband Programs for the State of Colorado in the Colorado Broadband Office (CBO) and focused on engagement and outreach, legislation and policy creation and management, federal funding, state broadband programs, digital equity, and closing the digital divide in the state. She was with the CBO for 6 years and started her career at the state with FirstNet Colorado, a project focused on providing broadband services to public safety. Sarah holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado – Boulder and is a certified Project Manager. In 2022, Sarah was nominated for the Emerging Leaders of the Year award through the Colorado Technology Association.
Jeff Uphues
CEO
DC BLOX
Jeff Uphues leads DC BLOX, where he is responsible for setting and leading the company’s strategy, vision and execution in designing, building and operating a fabric of interconnected, highly secure, Tier III rated data centers across the Southeast. DC BLOX currently owns and operates data centers in five Southeast markets of which all have become the defacto Connectivity Exchanges within their respective market for agile, efficient, resilient cloud connectivity and best-in-class infrastructure for digital services. Jeff, a 30-year veteran in the information technology industry, is a tireless tech-savvy executive and business strategist having held C-suite leadership roles for Liquid Web, Cbeyond, Bandwidth, ACSI Network Technologies, MCI and WilTel. Jeff serves as an active board member in several technology firms. He is a graduate of the Harvard Business School, Rice University’s Jones School of Business Executive Education program in Finance and Accounting and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Brian Wagner
Chief Strategy Officer
Visionary Broadband
Brian Wagner is the Chief Strategy Officer of Visionary Broadband. In addition to his role in overall corporate strategy and M&A activity, Brian oversees the organization’s Grants, GIS, and Regulatory departments. Prior to this role, Brian was the VP of Operations for a regional facilities-based CLEC and later, the President of Wagner Telecom Management – a consulting company specializing in aiding carriers, ISPs and municipalities with a variety of planning, technical, and regulatory issues. Brian has served on the Colorado Broadband Deployment Board for the past 7 years and has been a Board member of the Colorado Telecommunications Association since 2017. In addition, Brian has been an adjunct professor at the University of Denver’s Information and Communications Technology Program since 2011. He received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Denver and his Master of Business Administration from the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver.
Scott Widham
Managing Director
Layer 7 Capital
Scott Widham brings 40 years of experience as an owner/operator of competitive telecom infrastructure companies. He has served as CEO of Broadwing, CoBridge and Alpheus, all Texas-based fiber businesses. Scott is highly focused on providing a quality customer service experience enabling fiber infrastructure to successfully compete against more established industry competitors. He earned a BBA from The University of Texas at Austin.