Join MMTC for the 2023 Former FCC Chairs’ Symposium on July 25, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. via Zoom. Click the button below to register for the event.

Speakers include former FCC Chairs Richard Wiley, William Kennard, Mignon Clyburn, and Ajit Pai. Former FCC Commissioners Deborah Taylor Tate and Jonathan Adelstein will moderate the panel discussion. Topics will include universal broadband, 6G networks, artificial intelligence, Section 230, M&A policy, and minority media and telecom ownership. 

 A Symposium sponsorship, or an MMTC year-round support donation, are available at the levels below. 

• Gold Sponsor: $25,000 
• Sustaining Sponsor: $12,500 
• General Sponsor: $5,000 

Contact David Honig, MMTC Special Advisor and President Emeritus, dhonig@mmtconline.org to make your donation or click the button below. 

On June 26, 2023, MMTC President Robert Branson and Vice President Dr. Fallon Wilson attended the significant high-speed internet infrastructure announcement and remarks by President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and Mitch Landrieu, Senior Advisor to the President and White House Infrastructure Coordinator, at the White House. It was great to see Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communication and Information Alan Davidson; MMTC alumna Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, a senior fellow in Governance Studies, the director of the Center for Technology Innovation; Ronald Busby, President of U.S. Black Chambers, Inc.; and other partners.

On May 10 and 11, 2023, Black Churches 4 Digital Equity (BC4DE) fellows had the opportunity to meet with several key leaders at the U.S. Congress, U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Federal Communications Commission to share our mission and work on digital equity. They told powerful stories of how the Affordable Connectivity Program has helped our communities and how much we value this important step towards closing the digital divide.

View the photo gallery below featuring BC4DE meetings with U.S. Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary Don Graves, and NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson; FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), and Rep. Troy Carter (D-LA).

MMTC, ALLvanza, LGBT Tech & OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates Convene

Spectrum Policy and Underserved

Communities Discussion

On June 13, 2023, MMTC, ALLvanza, LGBT Tech, and OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates hosted the Spectrum Policy and Underserved Communities: Ensuring Equitable Access and Participation panel at the AT&T Forum in Washington, DC.

Speakers included Doug Brake, CTIA; Rebecca Tangren, NCTA; Dr. Alisa Valentin, National Urban League; Stephanie Weiner, NTIA; and John Windhauser, Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband.

Watch the webinar video below.

MMTC's capacity to serve in the tech, media, and telecom industries has expanded with the support of our team members. Go here to read their bios.

Robert Branson, President and CEO

Robert E. Branson. Esq. is the President and CEO of the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC), a non-partisan, national nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving equal opportunity and civil rights in the mass media, telecom and broadband industries, and closing the digital divide. 

Prior to joining MMTC, Branson served as Of Counsel at Empire Consulting Group a strategic business and public policy firm serving leading technology, wireless, broadcast and other industry clients. He brings his unique perspective as someone who has worked inside and outside government and who understands the challenges ahead in the diverse world we are creating in corporate America.  

In his corporate career, most recently, he was an Associate General Counsel with Verizon Communications.  In that position, he had various responsibilities, including the 5G rollout in the Washington, DC area, privacy regulations, and relationship building with leaders in the federal and state governments.

Dr. Fallon Wilson, Vice President, Policy

Dr. Fallon Wilson, Vice President, Policy, leads MMTC’s work on three focus areas in the tech, media, and telecommunications (TMT) sectors. The sectors include: Technology, Data Privacy, Artificial Intelligence, and Civil Rights in the Digital Age; Infrastructure, Broadband Connectivity, and Digital Inclusion; and Multicultural Media Ownership and Content Diversity.

Prior to joining MMTC, Dr. Fallon Wilson co-founded #BlackTechFutures Research Institute and is the former Research Director of Black Tech Mecca. At Black Tech Mecca, Dr. Wilson created the Smart Black Tech Ecosystem Assessment to support local city leaders with building a thriving black tech ecosystem.

Ananda Leeke, Chief Social Media Officer

Ananda Leeke, MMTC’s Chief Social Media Officer, leads and develops MMTC’s digital strategy and helps shape and communicate MMTC’s policy positions in the media, telecom, and tech sectors. Leeke’s career has focused at the intersection of law, finance, project management, and digital communications, with a strong emphasis on social justice. Most recently, she served as the Digital Communications Director of Law Students in Court (LSIC). Prior to joining LSIC, she established two tech inclusion initiatives: Digital Sisterhood Network, a women’s media channel and online community, and Digital Citizenship Project. She authored “Digital Sisterhood,” a social media and technology memoir. She is experienced in helping private and nonprofit organizations to develop content and implement social media strategies that tell stories about their mission and work, build online communities, and engage the public around important causes.

Kenley Joseph, Policy Counsel

Kenley Joseph joins the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council after beginning his career with Willkie Farr & Gallagher as an associate in the Communications & Media practice group. As an associate, he handled a number of matters ranging from program carriage complaints, local franchise renewals, and wireless spectrum proceedings before local franchise authorities and the Federal Communications Commission. He also maintained a robust pro bono practice representing incarcerated persons in compassionate release motions.

Kenley obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and philosophy from Florida Atlantic University before graduating, cum laude, from Howard University School of Law.

David Honig, President Emeritus and Special Advisor; Co-founder of MMTC

David Honig has practiced communications and civil rights law since 1983, specializing in electronic redlining and race discrimination cases and defining the legal space that is the intersection of civil rights and telecommunications law. As Founder and President of MMTC for 28 years, he has represented over 80 national minority, civil rights, and religious organizations before the FCC and has been named by the National Law Journal as one of the 30 most influential communications lawyers. Honig also serves as Chief Counsel for the Florida State Conference of the NAACP and as General Counsel of the Broadband Opportunity Coalition.

Suzanne Gougherty, President of MMTC Broadcasting and Brokerage and Director of MMTC Broadcasting LLC

Over the last 40 years, Suzanne has worked in the media management business and has gained media expertise ranging from broadcast management, research, and broadcast product development. From the perspective of a broadcast media manager, and a marketing and media solutions provider, Suzanne has a full-circle range of knowledge in the media and broadcast business. Suzanne has managed all aspects of marketing and media development related to broadcast programming, show launches, media presentations, advertising campaigns, press releases, and trade advertising and managed a staff of more than 27 employees. Suzanne’s main focus as President of MMTC Broadcasting and Brokerage is overseeing the daily operation of the brokerage, and the broadcast stations owned or operated by MMTC. She secures and manages the donation of stations. She serves as MMTC’s primary media and telecom broker and assists companies and entrepreneurs in their efforts to buy, sell, or operate media or telecom assets. Suzanne also prepares engagement letters, letters of intent, and other contracts or agreements.

Alexandria Dirl, Digital Navigator Coordinator

Before joining the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) as their Digital Navigator Coordinator, Alexandria served as the Business Services Associate and Nashville Office Ambassador for Claritvate Analytics, a healthcare research company. While at Claritvate Analytics, Alexandria planned and executed all office events, developed skills in Salesforce, provided office management, and served as executive assistant to senior leadership. Since joining the MMTC team, Alexandria has assisted with project-managing events such as Black Churches 4 Digital Equity’s (BC4DE) Day on the Hill and BC4DE’s National ACP Impact Day.

Alexandria received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where she involved herself in service organizations, internships, and worked as a resident assistant during the summers.

Brian Dunmore, Consultant

Brian Dunmore works as a Consultant for the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC). His primary focus is assisting in managing the MMTC law fellowship program. The Fellowship program trains law students to become practitioners in the Civil Rights arena and the Telecommunications world. Dunmore has a unique and varied background in corporate law, sports marketing and licensing, and small business ownership which he brings to MMTC’s advocacy and to the Fellowship students. He began his career as an associate attorney in two law firms in Washington, D.C., specializing in transactional law, before joining the Reebok corporate counsel’s office, where he handled all legal matters related to advertising, marketing, sponsorships and endorsements. He then transitioned to sports marketing at Reebok where he negotiated and managed several of its key sponsorship, endorsement and licensing relationships. He continued his sports marketing career at Sprint, where he ran its corporate sponsorship marketing department. He then worked in the corporate sales and licensing groups at The PGA TOUR, before running a small business for 13 years.

Dunmore received his law degree from Yale Law School and his undergraduate degree from Harvard University.

• Read MMTC, NABOB, NNPA & U.S. Black Chambers' letter endorsing FCC nominations of Anna Gomez, Brendan Carr, and Geoffrey Starks here.

• Read MMTC, NAACP Alaska Oregon Washington State-Area Conference, and WA Build Back Black Alliance’s Memorandum of Amici Curiae here.

• Read MMTC and a coalition's letter about the AM for Every Vehicle Act here.

• Read MMTC and a coalition's Motion to File CPUC Surcharge Amicus Brief here.

• Read MMTC and a diverse coalition's letter to NTIA with Digital Equity Act comments here.

• Read MMTC's letter to NTIA about the development of a National Spectrum Strategy here.

• On April 11, 2023, MMTC Vice President Dr. Fallon Wilson participated in a panel discussion during The Future of Digital Equity Briefing: Research, Policy, and Practice briefing hosted by the National Urban League, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and the California Emerging Technology Fund. Dr. Wilson discussed how the Black Churches 4 Digital Equity Coalition's efforts have helped to facilitate greater Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) enrollment and the challenges faced by church leaders about making communities aware of ACP and getting them enrolled.

• MMTC Vice President Dr. Fallon Wilson gave a presentation on "Made in Her Image? Black Tech Futures, Digital Equity, and AI Art" at The Katie Geneva Cannon Center for Womanist Leadership's Spring Conference on April 14, 2023.

• On April 29, 2023, MMTC President Robert Branson joined the Ascension - Digital Equity and Artificial Intelligence panel at the FCBA Annual Seminar. The panel explored the intersection between digital equity and artificial intelligence. Panelists included: John Heflin, Associate, Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP; and Elizabeth Hyman, President and CEO, XR Associates. Anisa Green, Director, Federal Regulatory, AT&T Services, Inc., moderated the panel.

• On May 16, 2023, MMTC Vice President Dr. Fallon Wilson participated in the "Making ‘Internet for All a Reality" fireside chat with Alejandro Roark, Chief of Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at the FCC, at the 2023 Code for America Summit.

• MMTC President and CEO Robert Branson participated in the SHLB Coalition's Exploring the Role of Anchors in ACP Enrollment webinar on May 24, 2023. Watch the video here. The webinar featured three organizations discussing their unique approach to addressing challenges that have suppressed greater ACP enrollment. It also provided useful information to digital equity organizations seeking to expand ACP participation. Additional speakers included: Bill Herman, E-rate/Broadband/Technology Consultant for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction; and Jenny Miller, Director of Government Affairs, EducationSuperHighway.

• On June 5, 2023, MMTC Vice President Dr. Fallon Wilson and Black Churches 4 Digital Equity fellow Naomi Jordan Cook, Co-Founder, Virtual Global Consultant Group, participated in the Brookings Institution discussion on ”How an attainable broadband deployment be achieved without the Affordable Connectivity Program?” moderated by MMTC alumna Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, Senior Fellow, Brookings Governance Studies and Director of the Center for Technology Innovation. Dr. Wilson spoke on the first panel that focuses on why affordable broadband matters. Cook spoke on the second panel that addresses who benefits when broadband is affordable. Watch the video here.

• MMTC President and CEO Robert Branson participated in the National Association of Broadcasters' Future of TV Initiative - Working Group 3 meeting on June 12, 2023.

• On June 14, 2023, MMTC President and CEO Robert Branson joined FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Mitch Landrieu, Senior Advisor and Infrastructure Coordinator for the Biden-Harris Administration, for the launch of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Week hosted by the U.S. Department of Education and Civic Nation.

• MMTC President and CEO Robert Branson attended the FCC Communications Equity and Diversity Council (CEDC) meeting on June 15, 2023. Watch the replay video here.

• MMTC Vice President Dr. Fallon Wilson participated in a discussion on the freedom and future of Black religion in the Digital Age at the Digital Black Religion: A Freedom and Futures Event on June 17, 2023.at the University of Arizona DC Center. 

• On June 27, 2023, MMTC Vice President Dr. Fallon Wilson led a workshop at the second “Future Humans-Human Futures” Research Institute, hosted by the Virginia Tech Center for Humanities at the Virginia Tech Research Center in Arlington, Virginia. The Henry Luce Foundation is sponsoring the event.

Upcoming Events

On July 17th at 3:15-4:15 p.m., MMTC President Robert Branson will participate the Ensuring Diversity and Equity in Broadband Deployment and Adoption panel at the NARUC Summer Policy Institute. Get more information here.

Now more than ever, MMTC Media & Telecom Brokers is in need of donations of operating radio stations, LPTV or CP's to support our ongoing efforts to incubate and train new broadcasters. Our station donation program enables us to continue to build the ranks of the next generation of well-trained new broadcast station owners. 

If there is a station that no longer fits in your portfolio, please kindly consider donating it to MMTC. Email Suzanne Gougherty, sgougherty@mmtconline.org to learn more about our tax-free donation program.