IEEE ComSoc International Communications Quality and Reliability Workshop
13 May 2021 // Virtual Event

Panels

Bridging the Digital Divide: Connecting Solutions to Policies

Moderator: Kelly Krick, Ericsson

Video Link

Participants

Nicol Turner Lee, Brookings Institute

Dr. Nicol Turner Lee is a senior fellow in Governance Studies, the director of the Center for Technology Innovation, and serves as Co-Editor-In-Chief of TechTank. Dr. Turner Lee researches public policy designed to enable equitable access to technology across the U.S. and to harness its power to create change in communities across the world. Her work also explores global and domestic broadband deployment and internet governance issues. She is an expert on the intersection of race, wealth, and technology within the context of civic engagement, criminal justice, and economic development.
Her current research portfolio also includes artificial intelligence (AI), particularly machine learning algorithms and their unintended consequences on marginalized communities. Her recent co-authored paper on the subject has made her a sought-out speaker in the U.S. and around the world on the topics of digital futures, AI and ethics, algorithmic bias, and the intersection between technology and civil/human rights. She is also an expert on topics that include online privacy, 5G networks and the digital divide. Dr. Turner Lee has a forthcoming book on the U.S. digital divide titled Digitally Invisible: How the Internet is Creating the New Underclass (forthcoming 2021, Brookings Press). She sits on various U.S. federal agency and civil society boards. Dr. Turner Lee has a Ph.D. and M.A. from Northwestern University and graduated from Colgate University.

Eric Burger, Georgetown University

Dr. Eric Burger is Research Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University, recently returning full-time from his IPA detail as the Assistant Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and prior to that, his detail as Chief Technology Officer of the Federal Communications Commission. In short, Dr. Burger has a strong background in business, government, and academia.Prior to his appointment at Georgetown, he was SVP and CTO of Neustar. Before Neustar, he took a year off to get his Pilot’s License after Oracle bought BEA, where he was hired as VP Engineering and Deputy CTO and ended up Acting General Manager of the Communications Products Division. Prior to BEA, he was CTO of Cantata Technology, where he oversaw corporate research, cross-product architecture, intellectual property generation, and standards initiatives for the company. Dr. Burger contributes to and holds leadership positions in several standards bodies, including having written most of the SIP media RFC’s in the IETF and contributing to VoiceXML and CCXML in the W3C. Dr. Burger co-founded SnowShore Networks, where he invented the SIP-controlled, multi-function media server and served as CTO. He has also held senior positions at companies such as MCI, Texas Instruments, Brooktrout, Centigram, and Cable & Wireless. He holds 19 U.S. patents and has numerous patents pending. He has taught at George Mason University and George Washington University and holds degrees from MIT, Catholic University of Leuven, and Illinois Institute of Technology.

Bhushan Joshi, Ericsson

Bhushan Joshi is Head of Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility for Ericsson in Market Area North America. He has over 15 years of professional experience in corporate sustainability, business development, energy management, renewable energy, sustainability reporting, sustainability strategy development and program management. At Ericsson, Bhushan advocates for the role of the Information Communications Technology sector in enabling other industries take exponential climate action. He is also focused on developing strategies to help telecom operators achieve their energy and sustainability goals with the introduction of 5G and growth in mobile data traffic. Bhushan has an MBA in Sustainable Business Practices from Duquesne University, and holds undergraduate degrees from Ferris State University and Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University.