Our Vision
We believe that affordable broadband access should be a human right. We also believe that technologies and business models already exist that could be used to close the broadband gap. With the right technologies, policies, and partnerships, the broadband gap can be closed once and for all.
Meet the Team
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Paul Garnett
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
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Greg Guice
CHIEF POLICY OFFICER
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David Johnson
CHIEF RESEARCH OFFICER
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Jess Monago
VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS
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Breese McIlvaine
DIRECTOR, US PROGRAMS
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Alexander Jeffery
SENIOR PUBLIC POLICY MANAGER
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Caroline Hauser
DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS STRATEGY
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Nicholus Steward
SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER
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Michael Ray
FINANCE AND OPERATIONS MANAGER
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Emily Keshap
PUBLIC POLICY ASSOCIATE
Supported by a global, multi-disciplinary team of on-the-ground consultants
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Access to relevant and affordable services over high speed internet is the key equalizer for the emerging world… Enabling innovative and affordable technology solutions that reach this goal is what inspires me.
Working with fantastic teams at Adaptrum, the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance, Microsoft and in consulting engagements with operators, investors, companies, regulators and multinationals across Africa and globally, we deliver to the commercial goals of organizations while making an impact on society. This involves developing new business and financing models, conducting market assessments, and building technology solutions as well as partnering on innovation initiatives for scale. In projects across countries in Africa for example, I seek out African innovation to help shape Africa’s future on projects that combine enabling regulations, strong commercial management, and taking advantage of interesting value chain opportunities such as smart manufacturing. TVWS (TV Whitespace) in particular has been an area that holds tremendous potential for the unreached in Africa, has privileged me over the last 5 years to make a humble contribution to bringing affordable connectivity to rural areas.
Mark holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from University of Pretoria, and BSc Computer Science and Mathematics fom University of Stellenbosch.
Email: Mark@Vernonburggroup.com
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Mariya Zheleva brings over 15 years of experience in computer communication technologies with specialization in wireless communications, emerging networks with dynamic spectrum access and networking for infrastructure-challenged areas. Currently, she is an assistant professor in Computer Science at the University at Albany — SUNY where she directs the Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory (The UbiNET Lab). Prior to this, Mariya completed her PhD in Computer Science at the University of California Santa Barbara where she concentrated on evaluating and bridging the rural digital divide by designing and deploying novel mobile wireless network solutions. Mariya also brings experience from the industry having worked at a national Internet Service Provider and a national Mobile Network Provider in her home country, Bulgaria.
Mariya’s research quantifies and addresses the inequalities created by the digital divide across various application domains from emergency preparedness and response to agriculture and education and across different regions from rural Africa to rural U.S. She has extensive experience working on the ground with diverse communities to understand their communication needs and evaluate the performance of the networks that serve them. Her research findings have shed light on users’ experience as they interact with various networking technologies and have informed better design of networks that cater to limited infrastructure environments while harnessing identified usage patterns and communication needs. Mariya’s lab has developed and deployed distributed cellular networks and have focused on designing efficient wireless backhaul solutions for areas where wired connectivity is prohibitively expensive. Mariya’s work has been supported by highly prestigious programs from the National Science Foundation, including the NSF Smart and Connected Communities and the NSF CAREER programs. She is the recipient of the 2019 Dynamic Spectrum Alliance award for University Research on New Opportunities for Dynamic Spectrum Access and the University at Albany Presidential Award for Outstanding Public Engagement.
Mariya Zheleva earned her B.Eng. and M.Eng. degrees in Radio Communications Engineering from the Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria. She holds an M.S. and a Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from University of California Santa Barbara
Email: Mariya@Vernonburggroup.com
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Umair brings fifteen years of wireless technology experience in designing, and operating fixed and mobile networks. With his end to end technology understanding, and experience of designing and building modern communications networks; he revels in decision making involving technology, operations and financial modeling trade-offs.
Umair has held various product, technical sales and engineering roles at Adaptrum, LCC International, McAfee, Turnotech and Sprint. These experiences include LTE network deployment projects with customers like AT&T, Ericsson and Samsung. Additional notable work include technical feasibility and business case research and analysis for new wireless standards. Umair received his Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from Oral Roberts University, and an MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.
Umair received his Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from Oral Roberts University, and an MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.
Email: Umair@Vernonburggroup.com
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Based in Bogota, Colombia, Héctor has spent the last two decades working in the ICT (Information and communications technology) sector. Héctor has been an independent consultant for the last four years and previously worked for thirteen years in government and regulatory affairs roles for major global technology and telecommunications companies - including Microsoft, Nokia, and Telefonica. With a particular emphasis on the Latin America region, Héctor has multidisciplinary experiences and skills (local, regional, and global perspectives) focused on ICT public policy, regulatory affairs and government affairs, and the creation and management of public-private partnerships. Héctor’s clients have included private companies, some regulatory authorities, academic institutions, and industry associations.
Héctor’s public policy work has focused on: (1) Internet connectivity through traditional networks/technologies and other emergent technologies. (2) Digital ecosystem promotion and creation. (3) Competition in telecommunications markets. (4) Data protection rules management. (5) ICT fixed and mobile networks and services/spectrum policies and regulations. (5) Intellectual property in the digital environment. (6) Management processes regarding integration of telecommunications companies. (7) The definition of legal strategies in cases of restrictive competition practices.
Héctor has law degrees from Universidad de los Andes, Universidad Externado de Colombia, and Pantheon Assas – Paris II University.
Email: Hector@vernonburggroup.com
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With a passion for bringing data to life, Kyle brings over 8 years of experience in data analytics, engineering, and visualization. From source systems to visualization and reporting, Kyle has utilized various tools including Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) applications, cloud data warehousing and many visualization platforms including Tableau, Looker and PowerBI.
Kyle received his Masters in Business Administration, specializing in Sustainable Innovation, from the Grossman School of Business at the University of Vermont. During his time here, he gained international development experience through consulting for a company focused on bringing clean water to local communities in Ghana.
Email: Kyle@vernonburggroup.com
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Namema Amendi has a decade of experience in technology policy—having worked in consulting, in-house at some of the biggest technology companies in the world, and in academic journals. He has widely participated in regulatory undertakings including drafting quality of service (QoS) regulations, filing extensive comments in response to plans to allocate certain spectrum bands, and tracking tax proposals for taxing over-the-top (OTT) service providers. His clients have included governments, Fortune 100 companies, and small Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
Outside of telecommunications, Namema has led a team in designing content policies that govern the platforms Instagram and Facebook, which are used by billions worldwide. Engaging with stakeholders on a wide array of issues, working closely with technical staff, and communicating with policymakers were important aspects of the work and they continue to be relevant in his practice today.
Having spent his teenage years in rural Kenya, Namema has the lived experience of being on the under-resourced side of the digital divides. He therefore approaches closing this gap deliberately and with energy.
Namema holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Biology from Columbia University and a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from Columbia Law School.
Email: Namema@vernonburggroup.com