Federal Communications Commission DA 21-1315 DA 21-1315 Released: October 20, 2021 FCC ANNOUNCES THE LEADERSHIP AND FIRST MEETING OF THE COMMUNICATIONS EQUITY AND DIVERSITY COUNCIL Consistent with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, See Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. 2. this Public Notice announces that the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC or Commission) Communications Equity and Diversity Council (CEDC) will hold its first meeting on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, beginning at 10:00 a.m. EDT. 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. The meeting will be available to the public via the Internet at www.fcc.gov/live. The CEDC’s mission is to focus on diversity and equity issues across the tech sector. This Committee will provide the Commission recommendations on advancing equity in the provision of and access to digital communication services and products for all people of the United States. This broadens the CEDC’s focus and responsibilities from the previously chartered Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment (ACDDE). FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has designated Heather Gate, Vice President of Digital Inclusion, Connected Nation, to serve as Chair of the CEDC. Ms. Gate is uniquely qualified to assume leadership of the CEDC with its new emphasis on the tech sector given her long tenure working on a myriad of complex issues surrounding broadband adoption and inclusion. Ms. Gate previously served as Vice Chair of the ACDDE and as Chair of the ACDDE’s Digital Empowerment and Inclusion Working Group. In addition, Nicol Turner Lee, Ph.D., Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Technology Innovation – Governance Studies, Brookings Institution, and Susan Au Allen, National President & CEO, US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation, will serve as Vice Chairs of the CEDC. Dr. Turner Lee previously served as Chair of the ACDDE’s Diversity in the Tech Sector Working Group. Ms. Allen has also served previously on the ACDDE’s Digital Empowerment and Inclusion Working Group. The Acting Chairwoman recognizes the service of the immediate past chair of the ACDDE, Anna Gomez, Partner, Wiley Rein LLP (representing the Hispanic National Bar Association), by designating her Chair Emeritus, noting, “We owe Anna a debt of gratitude for her leadership of the ACDDE. We are so pleased that she will continue to participate in the CEDC and share her expertise on these important issues going forward.” The CEDC will have three working groups charged with carrying out its work over the course of the current charter. These working groups will be called Innovation and Access, Digital Empowerment and Inclusion, and Diversity and Equity. The complete list of CEDC members, along with the composition of these three working groups, will be announced at a later date. The primary agenda of the CEDC’s first meeting will be to introduce the members of the Committee, 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 ending July 5, 2021. Further, the Committee will begin discussing how best to accomplish its mission as described above.   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. Open captioning will be provided for this event. Other reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Requests for such accommodations should be submitted via e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or by calling the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY). Such requests should include a detailed description of the accommodation needed. In addition, please include a way for the FCC to contact the requester if more information is needed to fill the request. Please allow at least five days’ advance notice for accommodation requests; last minute requests will be accepted but may not be possible to accommodate. Members of the public may submit written comments to the CEDC using the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System, ECFS, at www.fcc.gov/ecfs. Any comments should be filed in GN Docket No. 17-208. More information about the CEDC is available at https://www.fcc.gov/communications-equity-and-diversity-council. You may also contact Jamila Bess Johnson, the Designated Federal Officer for the Communications Equity and Diversity Council, at (202) 418-2608, or Jamila-Bess.Johnson@fcc.gov; or Rashann Duvall, Co-Deputy Designated Federal Officer, at (202) 418-1438, or Rashann.Duvall@fcc.gov; or Keyla Hernandez-Ulloa, Co-Deputy Designated Federal Officer, at (202) 418-0965 or Keyla.Hernandez-Ulloa@fcc.gov. – FCC – 2