City of Bloomington to Host Community Symposium on Next Generation High Speed Networks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Feb. 24, 2016

For more information contact:

Rick Dietz, Information Technology Services Director, City of Bloomington, 812.349.3485

City of Bloomington to Host Community Symposium on Next Generation High Speed Networks

Bloomington, Ind. ­ Next Generation High Speed Networks is the subject of a half­day symposium on Tuesday, March 1, from 1:00 to 5:00 PM, in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 401 N. Morton St. The symposium will explore the benefits of high speed network connectivity for economic development and quality of life in Bloomington.

This symposium will bring in leading national and local experts in this field. Mayor John Hamilton commented, "We are really pleased to be sharing the level of insight, knowledge and experience these nationally recognized experts will contribute to our understanding of high speed networks and how they can improve our lives and the opportunities for our city." Community wide high speed internet has been an early focus of the Hamilton administration.

Goals for the event include helping the community learn more about what has been done in other communities with next generation high speed networks, best practices, potential models for delivery as well as opportunities and applications unique to Bloomington.

The symposium will include presentations and panel discussions by leading national and local experts which will detail compelling cases and experiences. The forum will identify current community needs and expertise as well as discuss models to achieve desired outcomes. Speakers include:

• Blair Levin, Executive Director, Gig.U

• David Jent, Associate Vice President for Networks, Indiana University and Executive

  Director, Indiana GigaPOP

• Aaron Deacon, Managing Director, KC Digital Drive

• Lynn Coyne, President, Bloomington Economic Development Corporation

• Lev Gonick, CEO, OneCommunity

• Joanne Hovis, President, CTC Technology & Energy

• Elise Kohn, Principal Analyst, CTC Technology & Energy

• Mike Sullivan, Associate Director of Health Sciences, Internet2

• Mike Trotzke, Cofounder, Sproutbox

• Brad Wheeler, Vice President for IT and CIO, Indiana University

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For more information, contact Rick Dietz, Information Technology Services Director, City of Bloomington, 812.349.3485.

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Next Generation High Speed Networks
A Bloomington Community Symposium

Tuesday, March 1st
1:00-5:00 p.m.
Showers Building, City Hall
Council Chambers
Refreshments Provided

1:00-1:05: Symposium Outline and Introduction -- Rick Dietz, Director of Information &
Technology Services, City of Bloomington

1:05-1:10: Opening remarks -- Mayor John Hamilton, City of Bloomington

1:10-2:00: Keynote: New Opportunities for Cities to Win in the Game of Gigs -- Blair Levin,
Executive Director, Gig.U

2:00-2:45: Panel: Would a Next Generation High Speed Network Benefit Bloomington?
Moderator: Rick Dietz
Panelists:

• Lynn Coyne, President, Bloomington Economic Development Corporation
• Elise Kohn, Principal Analyst, CTC Technology & Energy
• Mike Trotze, Cofounder/Managing Member, SproutBox
• Brad Wheeler, Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, Indiana University

2:45-3:00: Break

3:00-3:15: IU's Leading Expertise in Next Generation Networks for the State, Nation, and
World and as a Resource for Bloomington -- Dave Jent, Associate Vice President for Networks, Indiana University; Managing Director, Indiana GigaPOP

3:15-3:30: KC Digital Drive: Creating Community Impact from Fiber Deployment in Kansas
City -- Aaron Deacon, Managing Director, KC Digital Drive

3:30-4:15: Panel: Use Cases for Next Generation Networks: How High Speed Networks Are
Transforming Communities
Moderator: Brad Wheeler

• Aaron Deacon, Managing Director, KC Digital Drive
• Joanne Hovis, President, CTC Technology & Energy
• Dr. Mike Sullivan, Associate Director of Health Sciences, Internet 2

4:15-4:55: From Digital Campus and Connected Community to Intelligent and Responsive
City - A Practical Guide -- Lev Gonick, Chief Executive, OneCommunity

4:55-5:00: Closing Remarks -- Mayor Hamilton

Blair Levin

Blair Levin is a nonresident senior fellow with the Metropolitan Policy Program. He serves as the executive director of Gig.U: The Next Generation Network Innovation Project, an initiative of three dozen leading research university communities seeking to support educational and economic development by accelerating the deployment of next generation networks. He also serves as an advisor to a variety of nonprofits with a mission of deploying or using broadband technology to advance social progress, including Case Commons, Volo and the LEAD Commission. He also advises both privately held and public companies in the telecom and technology sectors.

Brad Wheeler

Dr. Brad Wheeler leads university­wide IT services for IU's eight campuses. He has co­founded and led open source software and service collaborations such as the Sakai Project, Kuali, and the HathiTrust. He also developed IU's eTexts initiative and implemented a cutting­edge delivery model to tackle the high costs of textbooks for students. Most recently, he co­founded Unizin, a consortium of universities seeking to exert greater control and influence over the digital learning landscape. In October 2015, he was appointed interim dean of the IU School of Informatics and Computing, leading approximately 250 faculty and staff and 3,500 undergraduate and graduate students across two campuses.

Lynn Coyne

Lynn Coyne has been involved in economic development throughout his careers as a practicing attorney, as Assistant Vice President for Real Estate and Economic Development and Associate Counsel at Indiana University, and now as President of the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC). He received his undergraduate and law degrees from Indiana University and has served in community leadership roles throughout his career. He brings a unique perspective to economic development from his experience in the private sector and inside a large research university. He has served as president of the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, Chair of the BEDC and is currently vice chair of Indiana University Health Bloomington Hospital which recently announced a collaboration with Indiana University for a regional academic health center.

David (Dave) Jent

For more than 20 years, Dave Jent has worked at Indiana University in all aspects of network design, installation, project management, and strategy. This network background provides his foundation for leading senior technical staff and managing complex network engineering issues, and for maintaining critical relationships with the National Research and Education Network community. He oversees the engineering team for IU's Global Research Network Operations Center, and serves as executive director of I­Light and the Indiana GigaPOP. He has previously been project manager for the Next Generation Abilene Router (NGAR) deployment project, and for the installation of dark fiber between Bloomington, Indianapolis, and West Lafayette.

Aaron Deacon

Aaron Deacon is the managing director of KC Digital Drive, a nonprofit civic tech startup supporting technology projects that increase economic prosperity and improve the quality of life for people in Kansas City. They focus on the human side of technology by addressing the digital divide, supporting high­impact technology pilot projects, and elevating Kansas City's position as a leading digital city. The organization covers a broad range of issues including education, healthcare, the arts, entrepreneurship, sustainability and digital inclusion. He has been an instrumental leader in helping Kansas City prepare to be the first market for Google Fiber. He is the founder and principal of the research and strategic planning agency Curiolab. He serves as chairman of the Social Media Club of Kansas City.

Mike Sullivan

Michael Sullivan, M.D., is Associate Director of Health Sciences for Internet2, a nonprofit whose 350 members include leading universities, research institutes, and government agencies. Internet2 operates an advanced nationwide fiber­optic network operating at 100 Gigabits per second. He works with biomedical researchers, health care organizations, and government agencies like NIH, CDC, NSF, DOE, and FCC to promote cyberinfrastructure support for advanced applications in the life sciences. He has 25 years experience in medical informatics as a medical software developer and health IT consultant. In recent years he has contributed to the creation of several health networks, including the Indiana Telehealth Network, the HealthLINC Health Information Exchange, and the Nationwide Health Information Network (NwHIN).

Elise Kohn

Elise Kohn is a highly accomplished broadband strategist with experience advising municipalities and leading research universities. In her role at CTC, she draws on her extensive background and education in law and business to provide clients with comprehensive strategic, business, and financial analysis. She has negotiated with incumbent providers and new entrants to maximize public benefits associated with regional gigabit network deployments. She helped launch and direct operations at Gig.U and the North Carolina Next Generation Network, and led an FCC team that wrote a portion of the National Broadband Plan. A former vice president at Merrill Lynch, she has also helped clients access the capital markets and assess the risks associated with strategic acquisitions, divestitures, and infrastructure investments.

Lev Gonick

Lev Gonick is an educator, technologist, and smart city architect. He has been teaching, working, and living on the Net for more than 25 years. He is co­founder and CEO of OneCommunity, the award­winning non­profit organization enabling and celebrating innovation, collaboration, and productivity through next generation broadband networks, big open data solutions, and IoT for public benefit. He was CIO at Case Western Reserve University from 2001­2013. He and his colleagues were internationally recognized for technology innovations in community engagement, learning spaces, next generation network projects, and organizational development. His innovations, including the Case Connection Zone catalyzed national projects, including US Ignite and Gig.U

Mike Trotzke

Mike is a serial entrepreneur and investor with a passion for technology, user experience and monetization. He's cofounded several technology companies including startup studio SproutBox, data sharing platform VIsible, and multifamily software provider Resite. Today, he focuses his efforts on helping startups monetize at CheddarGetter, one of the SproutBox portfolio companies. Mike serves on the board of several organizations including scheduling platform Periodic, collaborative document editor Code Together, the Humanetrix Foundation, the Bloomington Technology Partnership, and the Bloomington Digital Underground.

Joanne Hovis

Joanne Hovis is the president of CTC Technology & Energy and focuses on business consulting, strategic planning, and more. An attorney with a background in communications and commercial litigation, she is a recognized authority on the broadband market and community broadband topics and on the evolving role of government and public utilities in the provision of communications services to the public. She advises public and nonprofit clients regarding strategic and business considerations for building community broadband networks, and provides guidance on funding opportunities. She is the CEO of the Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC), and former President of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA).