Welcome to the latest edition of the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) newsletter! We're excited to share with you our three interesting features, law and policy updates, and news from our board, staff, and fellow alumni.

• Feature: MMTC's Women's "Her-story" Month Tribute Celebrates FCC Women Leaders
• Feature: MMTC, HTTP, LGBT Tech & OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates Host 2026 Tech & Telecom Policy Outlook Briefing
• Feature: Meet MMTC Spring Legal Fellows
• Law and Policy Initiatives
• MMTC News: MMTC Pays Tribute to Rev. Jesse L. Jackson's Life & Legacy
• MMTC Board & Staff News
• MMTC Fellows Alumni News
• Industry News

In honor of Women's "Her-story" Month, MMTC is taking a moment to pay tribute to and thank the former and current FCC Chairs and Commissioners for making women's "her-story" at the FCC since 1948.

• Hon. Olivia Trusty, FCC Commissioner (2025-present)
• Hon. Anna Gomez, FCC Commissioner (2023-present)
• Hon. Jessica Rosenworcel, FCC Chairwoman and Commissioner (2012-2017, 2018-2025)
• Hon. Mignon Clyburn, the first African American woman FCC Commissioner and Acting Chairwoman (2009-2018)
• Hon. J. Frieda Hennock, the first woman FCC Commissioner (1948-1955)
• Hon. Charlotte T. Reid (1971-1976)
• Hon. Margita White (1976-1979)
• Hon. Anne P. Jones (1979-1983)
• Hon. Mimi Weyforth Dawson (1981-1987)
• Hon. Patricia Diaz Dennis, the first Latina FCC Commissioner (1986-1989)
• Hon. Sherrie P. Marshall (1989-1993, no photo)
• Hon. Susan Ness (1994-2001)
• Hon. Rachelle B. Chong, the first Asian American woman FCC Commissioner (1994-1997)
• Hon. Gloria Tristani (1997-2001)
• Hon. Kathleen Q. Abernathy (2001-2005)
• Hon. Deborah Taylor Tate (2006-2009)
• Hon. Meredith Attwell Baker (2009-2011)

 Read more about them here.

On March 25, 2026, MMTC, HTTP, LGBT Tech, and OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates hosted the "2026 Tech & Telcom Policy Outlook Briefing" at CTIA in Washington, DC. Thu Nguyen, Executive Director, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, and Ajit Pai, CTIA President, gave opening remarks. Robert Branson, MMTC President and CEO, introduced the moderator and panelists.

Moderator and Panelists

• Joi Chaney, Esq., J.O.I. Strategies and Women's Tech and Telecom Partnership (moderator)
• Danielle (Davis) Canty, Esq., Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
• Alejandra Montoya-Boyer, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
• Alejandro Roark, A-I Policy Forum
• Daiquiri Ryan Mercado, Esq., exito & co.

The panelists discussed the 2026 landscape analysis about AI and data center buildout, spectrum, broadband affordability, and broadcast media. Christopher Wood, Executive Director, LGBT Tech, gave closing remarks.

Since January, MMTC has mentored and trained two legal fellows, Taylia Hinds and Erin Turner. Learn more about their fellowship experiences.

Learn About MMTC's Recent Law and Policy Efforts

• On January 11, 2026, MMTC supported the FCC's recent decision to grant Verizon’s request to waive a rule that required the company to unlock phones after 60 days. Read the social media post here.
• MMTC along with a coalition of public-interest groups, labor unions, and civil-rights organizations sent the FCC a letter of support for a public-interest petition to deny the proposed merger of Nexstar and Tegna on January 27, 2026. Go here to read the letter.
• On March 17, 2026, MMTC issued a press statement in support of the Communications Equity and Diversity Council Act, introduced by Representative Rob Menendez (NJ-08) in the 119th Congress. The bill would establish the Communications Equity and Diversity Council through an act of Congress, grounding its mandate in statute rather than in the discretionary charter renewal authority of any individual Federal Communications Commission chair.
• In March 2026, MMTC joined with HTTP, NAHJ, MMTC, and LGBT Tech in issuing a statement about the impact of the Nexstar-Tegna merger on the sustainability of local news, journalists, and communities. Read it here.
• In early January 2026, Dr. Fallon Wilson, MMTC Vice President and lead organizer of Black Churches 4 Digital Equity (BC4DE) Coalition, and Dr. Stacy Dandridge, BC4DE Fellow and Pastor of Digital Ministry & Technology at Christ Missionary Baptist Church, gave a presentation on "Bridging the Digital Divide: Navigating Digital Inequity Within the Church & Community" at the Faith Out-Loud! Launch and Leadership Retreat. The retreat was held at the Emory University Retreat Center in Atlanta, Georgia. 
• Click here to read MMTC's Black History Month e-blast that celebrates past and present FCC Chairs and Commissioners.
• MMTC joined HTTP as a community partner in its advocacy efforts to save local newsrooms and protect community voices. Read more here.
• On February 18, 2026, MMTC President Robert Branson attended Somos Inc.'s Black History Month Program that honored FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty and former FCC Chairs William Kennard, Michael Powell, Mignon Clyburn, and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks at the National Association of Broadcasters.
• On February 25, 2026, MMTC President Robert Branson participated in NCTA - The Internet and Television Association's Digital Bytes discussion that featured a fireside chat between NCTA President Cory Gardner and Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, MMTC alumna, on the future of connectivity. MANA President Amy Hinojosa also participated in the event.
• MMTC Vice President Dr. Fallon Wilson gave her opening keynote, "Sanctuaries of Radical Dreaming: HBCUs as Ancestral Conductors of Ethical AI and Black Liberation" on March 10, 2026, at the HBCU AI Con hosted by Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas. Dr. Wilson also shared her thought leadership during the "Designing for Integrity: Building and Sustaining AI Institutes in Practice panel" on March 11, 2026, at the HBCU AI Con.
• On March 13, 2026, MMTC Vice President Dr. Fallon Wilson gave a Lightning Talk at the Omidyar Network's Light House 2026 at SXSW in Austin, Texas.

On February 17, 2026, the world lost Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., a beloved civil and human rights icon who championed justice, equality, diversity, inclusion, and peace. 

Over the years, MMTC had the honor of working with Rev. Jackson and his organization, Rainbow PUSH Coalition on policy issues that advocated for diversity in corporate, media, and technology ownership and hiring. In 1997, he received MMTC’s Everett C. Parker Lifetime Achievement Award, our highest honor given to a distinguished citizen who has rendered the most distinguished service, over many years, to diversity and inclusion in the media and telecom industries.

MMTC issued a statement that expressed our deepest sympathies to Reverend Jackson’s family, staff, and friends. Read statement here.

MMTC Board member Nicolaine (Nicole) Lazarre is currently serving as an associate fellow at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. Lazarre previously served as Vice President of External Affairs at Charter Communications.

Congratulations, MMTC Vice President Dr. Fallon Wilson, on being honored by the Cosmos Club for your distinguished work in public interest technology and becoming a member on March 20, 2026.

In February 2026, MMTC Policy Counsel Kenley Joseph represented MMTC at American University, Washington College of Law's annual Externship Fair. Our participation in the fair is one of the ways we recruit for our law school fellowship program.

Read about the latest accomplishments of MMTC's former fellows.

• Oscar Draughn, 2020 MMTC Henry Rivera Fellow and graduate of Florida A&M University College of Law, is currently working as an associate attorney at Wicker Smith in Orlando, Florida.
• Amber Edney, 2020 MMTC Cathy Hughes Fellow and graduate of the University of Florida Levin College of Law, is currently serving as an associate legal analyst Bloomberg Industry Group in Arlington, Virginia.
• Savraj Gill, 2020 MMTC Henry Rivera Fellow and graduate of Syracuse University College of Law, is currently working as an associate attorney at The United Firm | La Liga Defensora in Fresno, California.
• Julian Harrison, 2016 MMTC Earle K. Moore Fellow and graduate of Syracuse University College of Law, is currently serving as Senior Policy Counsel at Tencent America.
• Adriana Lopez-Colon, 2020 MMTC Henry Rivera Fellow and graduate of St Thomas University School of Law, is currently serving as an associate attorney at the Holland Law Group in Bradenton, Florida.
• Cierra Pettiford, 2020 MMTC Cathy Hughes Fellow and graduate of the University of Florida - Fredric G. Levin College of Law, is currently serving as an attorney-advisor in the Office of General Counsel at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
• Matthew Sneed, 2017 MMTC Earle K. Moore Fellow and graduate of Syracuse University College of Law, is currently serving as Corporate Counsel - U.S. Privacy at T-Mobile.
• Bettina Tran, 2018 MMTC Cathy Hughes Fellow and graduate of Florida A&M University College of Law, is currently serving as an associate attorney at Voight, P.A. in Orlando, Florida.