UPDATED -- MMTC's Black History Tribute to FCC, U.S. Department of Commerce & NTIA Leaders

MMTC Celebrates the Contributions of African American FCC, U.S. Department of Commerce, and NTIA Leaders

Past and Present FCC Chairmen, Chairwoman & Commissioners

In honor of Black History Month, MMTC celebrates past and present FCC Chairs and Commissioners. Learn about them below.

Hon. Geoffrey Starks has served as an FCC Commissioner since 2019. Starks is a champion for the millions of Americans who lack access to or cannot afford a home internet connection. He advocates for consumer protection and accountability, particularly in managing the Universal Service Fund. Also, he is a leader on national security policy, working to eliminate untrustworthy equipment from America’s communications networks. Prior to his federal public service, Starks was an attorney at Williams & Connolly. Learn more here.

Hon. Mignon Clyburn became the first African American woman FCC Commissioner and Acting Chairwoman. Clyburn served the FCC as an Commissioner from 2009 to 2018. She led the FCC as Acting Chairwoman for six months in 2013. During her tenure, she was committed to closing the digital divide and championed the modernization of the agency’s Lifeline Program. She also promoted diversity in media ownership, initiated Inmate Calling Services reforms, supported inclusion in STEM opportunities and fought for an Open Internet. Currently, she is the president of MLC Strategies, a Washington, DC-based consulting firm that provides advice and critical solutions in the technology, media, telecommunications and investor owned utility industries. She also serves on Lionsgate's board of directors. Connect with her on LinkedIn here.

Hon. Benjamin Hooks, a civil rights leader, minister, and attorney, became the first African American FCC Commissioner in 1972. During Hooks' tenure, he addressed the lack of minority ownership of television and radio stations, the lack of minority employment in the broadcasting industry, and the image of African Americans in the mass media. After the FCC, he became the executive director of the NAACP. He died in 2010, leaving the Hooks Institute to promote his commitment to social change. Learn more here.

Hon. Andrew Barrett, an attorney and former teacher, served as an FCC Commissioner from 1989 to 1996. Barrett was known for being an outspoken and fiercely independent Commissioner who championed consumer outreach and engagement. Before coming to the FCC, he was a civil rights leader in Chicago, Illinois. After leaving the FCC, he joined the Edelman Public Relations Worldwide.

Hon. Tyrone Brown served as an FCC Commissioner from 1977 to 1981. Brown was a leader in the development of the FCC tax certificate policy. He was also one of the members of the Syncom group of African American-owned venture capitalists that invested funds to purchase Iridium Satellite from Motorola out of bankruptcy. He served as a consulting counsel at Wiley Rein LLP..

Hon. Michael Powell, President of the NCTA - The Internet & Television Association, served as the FCC Chairman from 2001 to 2005 and a Commissioner from 1997 to 2001. During his FCC tenure, he oversaw the rapid transformation of communications markets into the Digital Age. As a result, the Internet came into widespread commercial use, as did smart phones, Wi-Fi networks and satellite radio. Prior to joining the FCC, he worked as the Chief of Staff of the Antitrust Division in the Department of Justice. Learn more here.

Hon. William Kennard, the chairman of AT&T's board of directors, served as the FCC Chairman from 1997 to 2001. During Kennard's tenure, he shaped policies that created an explosion of new wireless phones, brought the Internet to a majority of American households, and resulted in a significant investment in new broadband technologies. He also implemented new policies to bridge the digital divide in the United States and around the world. He also served as the U.S. Ambassador to the European Union from 2009 to 2013. Learn more here.

FCC General Counsel P. Michele Ellison

P. Michele Ellison, an alumna of Howard University School of Law, is FCC General Counsel of and Chair of the Connect2Health Task Force. During her tenure at the FCC, Ellison has served as the Chief of Staff and Chief of the Enforcement Bureau. She also led the FCC's legal team as Acting General Counsel. Before joining the FCC in1995, she was a Partner, and earlier an associate, at Williams and Connolly. Learn more here.

Past and Present U.S. Department of Commerce and National Telecommunications and Information Administration Leaders

In honor of Black History Month, MMTC celebrates past and present U.S. Department of Commerce and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) leaders. Learn about them below.

Hon. Ronald Brown became the first African American to serve as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce from 1993 to 1996 during the Clinton administration. Brown also became the first African American to lead the Democratic National Committee. Prior to serving in the Clinton administration, he joined Patton Boggs as a lawyer and a lobbyist. He also worked at the National Urban League.

Hon. Robert Mallett served as Deputy Secretary and later as Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce from 1997 to 2001 during the Clinton Administration. Prior to joining the Clinton Administration, Mallett worked as the City Administrator and Deputy Mayor of Operations for the District of Columbia. After his tenure at the U.S. Department of Commerce, he worked as a Senior Vice President and Corporate Officer at Pfizer, President and CEO at Africare, and Chief Executive Officer at Rabin Martin.

Hon. Don Graves is the 19th Deputy Secretary of Commerce. Prior to serving as Deputy Secretary, Graves worked as Counselor to President Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign. He also served as Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Responsibility and Community Relations at KeyBank. During the Obama-Biden Administration, he served as Counselor and Domestic and Economic Policy Director for then-Vice President Biden. Learn more here.

Hon. Donald Cravins served as the first-ever Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency in 2022 and 2023. Prior to joining the Department of Commerce, he worked as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the National Urban League, Vice President of Policy and External Affairs at Charter Communications, Staff Director/Chief Counsel for the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu. Currently, he is the Head of Government Affairs and Outreach at Williams.

Hon. Larry Irving served as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Administrator of the National Telecommunications Infrastructure Administration (NTIA) from 1993 to 1999. Irving was one of the principal architects and advocates of the Clinton Administration’s telecommunications and Internet policies and was a point person in the Clinton Administration’s successful efforts to reform the United States telecommunications law. Before joining NTIA, he worked as a Senior Counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance. He has also served as Legislative Director and Counsel for U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland (D-TX). Currently, Irving is the President of the Irving Group, a consulting firm providing strategic planning and consulting services to international telecommunications, media and technology companies, non-profit organizations, and philanthropies.

Dr. Jon Gant is the Director of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives within the U.S. Department of Commerce’s NTIA. Prior to joining NTIA in 2023, Dr. Gant served as Dean and Professor of the School of Library and Information Sciences at North Carolina Central University. He also worked as a policy researcher and served as the founding director for Center for Digital Inclusion and Chair of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Michell Morton is the Deputy Director of Digital Equity of NTIA’s Digital Equity Act Programs. Previously, Morton served as the Digital Equity Advisor of NTIA’s Digital Equity Act Programs and a Broadband Program Specialist and Federal Program Officer. She also worked as the Program Director for Connect.DC in the D.C. Office of the Chief Technology Officer.

Angela Thi Bennett is the first-ever digital equity director at NTIA. Bennett directs the allocation of the $2.75 billion Digital Equity Program and helps develop guidelines for states to strategically utilize these funds to have a transformative impact in their communities. Prior to joining NTIA, she served as the Director of Advocacy at DigitalC. She also led East Cleveland’s department of community and economic development, served as Superintendent of a community school in Cleveland, and the Ohio State Board of Education.

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About MMTC

The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Counci l (MMTC) is a non-partisan, national nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving equal opportunity in the tech, media, and telecom (TMT) industries, and closing the digital divide on behalf of its members and constituents, including owners of radio and television broadcast stations, programmers, prospective station owners, and others involved in the TMT industries.

MMTC is generally recognized as the nation's leading advocate for multicultural advancement in communications. We strongly believe that the breathtaking changes in communications technology and the new global forms of media partnerships must enhance diversity in the 21st century.