FP Virtual Dialogue: Open Networks

Ravi Agrawal is the managing editor of Foreign Policy. Before joining FP, Agrawal worked at CNN for more than a decade, including his most recent position as the network’s New Delhi bureau chief and correspondent. Previously, he served as a senior producer in CNN’s New York and London bureaus, receiving a Peabody Award and three Emmy nominations for his work. Agrawal is the author of India Connected: How the Smartphone Is Transforming the World’s Largest Democracy. He is a graduate of Harvard University.

Chris Boyer is Vice President of Global Security and Technology Policy at AT&T Services, Inc., where he is responsible for the company's global policy positions related to cybersecurity, national security and technology policy.

Mr. Boyer works closely with the AT&T Chief Security Office (CSO) and AT&T Technology and Operations (ATO) to address policy issues at the intersection of emerging technology, cybersecurity and national security.  In his over 25-year career with AT&T Mr. Boyer has performed a variety of roles.  Prior to his current assignment Boyer was AT&T's policy lead working with the high-tech community in Silicon Valley and he has held positions in the company's corporate public policy, network planning and engineering, product marketing and network services departments.

Mr. Boyer has also served in numerous external roles including as AT&T’s point of contact with the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC), a Federal advisory committee to the President on issues related to national security and emergency preparedness; former Chair of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board; former chair of the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCSA); and currently services as Chairman of the Open RAN Policy Coalition.  He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Communications Sector Coordinating Council (CSCC) which conducts planning activities with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Brian Hendricks is VP of Policy and Public Affairs for Nokia Americas. He is responsible for regulatory and legislative policy and developments impacting technology and innovation, including: spectrum allocation, cyber security, infrastructure policy, intellectual property and connected society. Brian has more than two decades of experience in technology policy, having held senior positions in the private sector, Congress, and with the FCC.

Commissioner Geoffrey Starks believes that communications technology has the potential to be one of the most powerful forces on Earth for promoting equality and opportunity. To unlock that potential, however, all Americans must have access.

He has been a champion for the millions of Americans who lack access to or cannot afford a home internet connection. He has consistently advocated for broadband deployment that helps rural communities tap into economic and educational opportunities that may not be close to home.

Bringing a wealth of enforcement experience to the Commission, Commissioner Starks advocates for consumer protection and accountability, particularly in managing the Universal Service Fund. Before he was appointed Commissioner, Starks helped lead the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau. At the Department of Justice, he served as a senior advisor to the Deputy Attorney General and received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service.

Commissioner Starks is also a leader on national security policy. His Find It, Fix It, Fund It initiative brought national attention to the urgent need to support small and rural companies as they work to make their networks more secure. With regard to personal data security, while Commissioner Starks fully supports the promise of advanced wireless service, he also fully appreciates the potentially intrusive powers of some communications technologies and is vigilant to ensure against any uses of those powers that would promote illegal discrimination or compromise personal privacy.

Before he entered federal public service, Commissioner Starks practiced law at Williams & Connolly, clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, served as a legislative staffer in the Illinois State Senate, and worked as a financial analyst. Commissioner Starks graduated from Harvard College with high honors and Yale Law School. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Lauren, and their two children.

Jaisha Wray is the Associate Administrator for International Affairs at the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration.  In this role, she formulates telecommunications and information policies and promotes these policies in international fora.  Previously, she was the Director for International Cyber Policy at the National Security Council where she was responsible for drafting and implementing the U.S. strategy on 5G technology as well as enhancing international cybersecurity cooperation with a wide range of partners and allies. She was also the Acting Deputy Director of the State Department's Office of Emerging Security Challenges where she contributed to the formulation of outer space and cyber stability policies and diplomatic strategies. At the State Department, she served as a Political Officer at U.S. Embassy London and as a Foreign Affairs Officer in the Office of Missile Defense and Space Policy. She began her government career as a Presidential Management Fellow where she completed rotations in the Space and Cyber Policy Directorate of the Office of the Secretary of Defense and in the National Reconnaissance Office. Ms. Wray holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California at Los Angeles as well as a M.A. in International Relations and a Master of Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. She has completed the International Space University Space Studies Program and the Harvard Kennedy School's Executive Education course on cybersecurity.