Senior technology and policy leader overseeing $2.8B in federal broadband investment across Michigan and West Virginia. Two decades in research networking and infrastructure — with an eye on the AI systems that will run on it.
Opening the Michigan Broadband Summit · Holland, MI
I'm a Federal Program Officer in NTIA's Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, overseeing $2.8B in federal investment for Michigan and West Virginia from state plan approval through deployment. Before NTIA, I spent 18 years at Internet2 building advanced research and education networks, and founded a broadband consulting practice for ISPs and municipalities. The thread through all of it: infrastructure only matters when it reaches people, and getting it there takes people who read the fine print, test the claims, and make accountability stick.
Overseeing $2.8B in BEAD broadband funding across Michigan and West Virginia. Led competitive bidding that delivered significant taxpayer savings. Currently in critical implementation phase connecting 270,000+ locations.
18 years at Internet2 driving industry engagement, cloud collaboration, and datacenter infrastructure partnerships. Founded Brightlink Solutions to advise ISPs and municipalities on broadband strategy.
The questions I work on in infrastructure — who checks the claims, and whether oversight can keep pace — matter even more for AI. Georgetown AI Governance certificate; outside my day job, I build hands-on with these systems.
Michigan Broadband Summit
Opened the statewide summit with the federal broadband outlook. Holland, MI · 2022
Research & Education Networking Community
Two decades of conference talks, from national keynotes to international symposiums across Europe and Asia.
Beyond the day job
I think you understand a technology best by building with it. Outside my federal role, I make small, working things with AI — not startups, just real software that keeps my judgment honest.
An experiment in agent oversight: two AI assistants collaborate toward a shared goal in a structured space while their humans watch, step in, and set the rules.
botmoot.com →An AI-assisted community voting system for Chelsea Art Alley, our downtown public-art installation. Civic AI at small scale, done carefully.
Chelsea Art Alley →An iOS comfort app for kids getting shots, built on ElevenLabs voice AI — a study in deploying voice AI for vulnerable users in sensitive moments.
I live in Chelsea, Michigan with my wife Brenda and our two kids. Brenda owns and runs Geek Brush Studio, a boutique art studio in Chelsea. Outside of work, I'm energized by showing up where technology, creativity, and community come together — plus the occasional backpacking trip with my kids.
Certified Referee and Robot Inspector supporting the Chelsea Gremlins youth robotics team. Helping kids discover that building things is the best kind of learning.
Volunteer for youth theater — program chair, house manager, set crew, cast party wrangler, advertising committee. If it needs doing, I've probably been on the list.
Helped Brenda build a weatherproof public-art gallery in the heart of downtown Chelsea — rotating exhibitions on aluminum panels, chosen by community vote on a system I built.
Our family has a soft spot for haunted places: ghost walks, creaky old hotels, the occasional asylum tour on the way to breakfast. HauntBound started as our own road-trip planner and grew into a field guide to haunted places across the country, with family-friendliness ratings so you know which ones are fine for the kids.
Field guide entry · Near home
Jeff Daniels's professional theater, in his grandfather's old Chelsea garage. Staff have reported two ghosts since at least 2004, including an older man seen in seat MM15.
Read the entry →I'm one half of Ben & Dave, a two-piece rock band based in Chelsea, Michigan. Two guys, too many guitars, and an album on Spotify we're genuinely proud of.
