The FCC reports….

Consistent with the Federal Advisory Committee Act,^[1] this Public Notice announces that Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has appointed members to serve on the Communications Equity and Diversity Council (CEDC).  A full list of the CEDC membership is attached to this Public Notice.

Additionally, Chairwoman Rosenworcel has appointed chairs for the three working groups of the CEDC.  The working group chairs will help organize and lead the work of the Council together with CEDC Chair Heather Gate, Vice President of Digital Inclusion, Connected Nation, and CEDC Vice Chairs Nicol Turner Lee, Ph.D., Brookings Institution and Susan Au Allen, National President & CEO, US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation whom Chairwoman Rosenworcel previously designated to lead the Council.[2]  The working group chairs are:

Robert Brooks, Digital Solution Specialist, WHUR-FM, Howard University, will chair the Innovation and Access Working Group.  Previously, Mr. Brooks served on the Access to Capital Working Group of the Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment (ACDDE), the predecessor advisory committee to the CEDC, and was instrumental in developing the ACDDE’s “Advertising Best Practices for Diverse Broadcasters” Report.

Dominique Harrison, Ph.D., Director, Technology Policy, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, will chair the Digital Empowerment and Inclusion Working Group.  Dr. Harrison served previously on the ACDDE’s Diversity in the Tech Sector Working Group and assisted in the drafting of an ACDDE report assessing the best practices of industry leaders in training and employment diversity in the tech field, including recommendations for innovative programs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

Christopher Wood, Executive Director, LGBT Technology Partnership & Institute, will chair the Diversity and Equity Working Group.  Mr. Wood served previously on the ACDDE’s Diversity in the Tech Sector Working Group and helped assemble the ACDDE’s “Resource Guide to Tech Entrepreneurship Support Organizations,” which identifies organizations that support diverse tech entrepreneurs in market entry strategies.

They have also scheduled first meeting for today (Nov 3)…

As previously announced, the CEDC will hold its first meeting on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, beginning at 10:00 a.m. EDT.^[3]  The primary agenda of the CEDC’s first meeting will be to introduce the members of the Council, set out initial assignments, and begin the selection process for working group membership.  The CEDC will also review the ACDDE’s reports and recommendations, for its charter which ended July 5, 2021.  The November 3 meeting agenda is attached to this Public Notice.

The CEDC meeting will be convened in an online format and will be available to the public via live feed from the FCC’s web page at www.fcc.gov/live.  The public may also follow the meeting on the Commission’s YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/user/fccdotgovvideo.  In addition, the public may follow the meeting on Twitter@fcc or via the Commission’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/fcc.  Members of the public may submit questions during the meeting to livequestions@fcc.gov.

[1] 5 U.S.C. App. 2.

[2] FCC Announces the Leadership and First Meeting of the Communications Equity and Diversity Council, DA 21-1315, GN Docket 17-208 (rel. October 20, 2021), https://www.fcc.gov/document/chairs-announced-fcc-diversity-committee-november-3-meeting-set.

[3] Notice of this meeting was published in the Federal Register on October 8, 2021, available at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/10/08/2021-22023/meeting-of-the-communications-equity-and-diversity-council.