Betsy Bailey grew up outside Washington, D.C., played basketball at Maryland, and loved the Chesapeake Bay. Her maternal roots trace back to 1634, St Mary’s County, MD. She was raised by her single mother, grandfather, and sister and swam like a dolphin. She was also a student-athlete who won a lot of basketball games around the country during the 1970’s.

Betsy was a recipient of Title IX resources earning access to education, team sports, scholarship, and media coverage. She is a former All-American, US National team player, and ‘alternate’ for the boycotted Moscow Games in 1980. As a young adult, she was recruited to play professional basketball in Germany, where she navigated and excelled working at the US Embassy in Bonn, playing in the first Budesliga and living in Europe. She became the head coach, with the same team she played for, GSV-Porz Hennef.

In 1990, Betsy Bailey signed a 5-year contract with Faruk Süren to become the Head Women’s Basketball Coach for Galatasaray Sport Club, Istanbul, Turkey. Her team won five consecutive national championships and gained respect through-out Europe. She was a pioneer in sport leadership within a friendly-foreign country.

Upon returning to the US in 1995, Betsy stumbled with reentry, yet became employed with Dale Carnegie® of New Mexico, USA. She was the Four Corners/Northern NM/Southern Colorado Area Manager enjoying 24 years’ in bringing out the best in others, their companies, and their families.

Betsy moved to St Paul, Minnesota in 2014 for her two children’s education. She worked for The Metropolitan Council as a Learning and Organizational Development Consultant and was deployed within the Environmental and Transportation Divisions to create blueprints for better, faster, cheaper. She coached her two kiddos in basketball and learned about the need for community development with The Wilder Foundation, The Women’s March, and UNA-USA Minnesota Chapter.

In 2018 she returned to New Mexico and returned to Dale Carnegie®. Today, Betsy is her mother’s full-time caregiver and the current President of the UNA-USA Albuquerque Chapter. Her attention has focused on making mom happy and co-creating a better ABQ Chapter blueprint. Her passion is aligning UN resources to serve New Mexico and the 5-State Rocky Mountain Region.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​I am a lawyer by profession with a master’s degree with Merit in law from the University of London: LLM Hons. I have been a Regulator in the Gambia, my native country for four years, A regulatory specialist in Zain/ Airtel in Sierra Leone for 3 years and with the ITU since 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

​I started as a Senior Project Coordinator of the HIPSSA project, an ITU\EU 14-million-euro project on the Harmonization of policies and legal frameworks in the ICT markets in Sub Saharan Africa. I became a program coordinator of the ITU Regional office for Africa. I am now the ITU Senior Liaison Officer to United Nations.

I have two daughters and a son. I am passionate about gender equality, Girls and Women in Tech, female empowerment and leadership.

https://www.itu.int/en/Pages/default.aspx

Mr. Troy G. Wolfe is the Senior Director, Partnerships & Special Initiatives at the United Nations Foundation. In this role, he creates partnerships that raise awareness about the Sustainable Development Goals while engaging civil society in calls for advocacy.

His service to the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) spans ten years and includes the management of grants, K-12 programming, partnerships, and philanthropic initiatives that leverage the vast resources of the United Nations Foundation to bring about innovative public programs and events.

Mr. Wolfe works closely with the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, UN Agencies, local government, and supports the more than 220 chapters of United Nations Associations with implementing quality programs that inform the public on Agenda 2030 and provide pathways for civic engagement. Under his leadership, he also plans and hosts bi-partisan Congressional Learning Trips for members of the House and Senate and leads UNA-USA efforts to form strategic partnerships that advance US-UN relations.

He also collaborates with the United Nations Department of Public Information and was appointed to the NGO/DPI Executive Committee to co-chair the Outreach & Engagement Committee for the 68th UN Civil Society Conference.

Mr. Wolfe has extensive knowledge of international development and has completed volunteer assignments with the United States Peace Corps (Suriname) and Operation Crossroads Africa (Lesotho). His portfolio also includes the oversight of partnerships and projects in the United States, the Middle East, and Turkey.

Mr. Wolfe holds an M.A. in Instructional Technology and Media from Teachers College, Columbia University, NY, and a B.A. in English with a minor in Education from Lincoln University, PA. He is is a member of Pi Lambda Theta International Honor Society and Professional Association in Education, and the New Jersey Chapter of the United Nations Association of the United States of America. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, cooking, and photography.

“Not everyone can do everything. But everyone can do something.”

Peter Corroon has an extensive background in community leadership, commercial real estate and residential housing, construction, civic affairs and small business development.

Peter Corroon is a Managing Member of Red Gate Properties, LLC which he and his brother have owned and managed since 1995. Red Gate Properties develops, rehabilitates and manages multi-family and commercial real estate properties in Utah. He also is the owner of Corroon Company which provides real estate consulting services, and is managing Sentry Financial’s Real Estate Division. He started his career with Turner Construction, the largest general contractor in the United States.

Mr. Corroon previously served as Mayor of Salt Lake County from 2005-2013, becoming the second mayor in Salt Lake County’s history. He also has served as the Chair of the Utah Democratic Party from 2014-2017.

He holds a law degree, a Master of Science degree in Real Estate Development and Finance, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. He also has taught finance and real estate development courses at Westminster College and Salt Lake Community College.

Mr. Corroon has a long record of public service. He was responsible for starting a non-profit affordable housing company to serve unmet housing needs in Salt Lake City. He was also a board member and President of the Salt Lake Chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

He has also served on the boards of the United Nations Association (USA), the U.S. Global Leadership Council, National Association of Counties, County Executives of America as its Vice-Chair, the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce where he received the Best Elected Official award, the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, the Utah Technology Council, and the United Way.

Mr. Corroon speaks French, Spanish and Italian at various levels of fluency. He lives in Salt Lake City with his wife Amy and three children, Sophie, Peter and James. He also has a twin brother, Christopher.

Katrina is the Community Engagement Manager for UNA-USA. In this capacity she works with a nationwide network of community chapters in their efforts to educate and advocate within their communities. She cultivates resources to build chapter sustainability and increases UNA’s presence by establishing new chapters. Prior to working with UNA-USA, Katrina worked at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. where she managed their nationwide scholarship programs and collaborated with congressional offices on events throughout the year focused on education, grassroots action, and woman empowerment. Katrina has studied abroad in France, Martinique, and has worked as an intern in Brussels, Belgium with the Belarus EU Business Council. Katrina has a bachelor’s degree in modern foreign languages from James Madison University and an master’s degree in international affairs from American University, where she focused on comparative regional studies and cross-cultural communications.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrinafinch/

Necip is the Regional Coordinator of the Dialogue Institute, which promotes mutual understanding, respect and cooperation among people of diverse faiths and cultures by creating opportunities for direct communication and meaningful shared experiences. The Institute was established in 2002 as a 501-c-3 non-profit educational organization by Turkish-Americans and their friends. He previously served as executive director of the New Mexico branch for eight years. Necip was born and raised in Turkey and moved to New York in 2007 to attain a higher education. He received a job offer after he completed his Master’s and stayed in the US. Necip holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Turkey; Master’s Degree in Management from New York Institute of Technology and Religious Literacy degree from Harvard University.

Lukas manages member relations, external partnerships, and campaigns for Next Century Cities. His work includes developing working relationships with partners across the country to elevate the work of the organization and local officials in its members. He seeks out new and innovative ways to elevate member stories while bringing local leaders together to develop solutions to their most pressing connectivity challenges. Lukas also provides subject matter expertise on digital redlining, community broadband networks, civic engagement, and more.

Lukas has helped address technology policy issues for the last three years as a student, research assistant, and policy fellow. A graduate of the University of Virginia, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Studies and conducted research on local government solutions to the digital divide. In May 2021, he graduated with a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University in May 2021. At Georgetown, Lukas delivered a lecture at TEDxGeorgetown about the history of municipal networks from electric grids to fiber-optic networks and published a thesis entitled “Washington, D.C.’s Homework Gap: Exploring the Relationship Between Connectivity and Student Success In District of Columbia Public Schools.”

Learn more about Lukas and his favorite cities here.

lukas@nextcenturycities.org

Twitter: @Ltpietrzak

Rebecca Dilg is the director of the Utah Broadband Center within the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity. Her role is to facilitate broadband expansion, connectivity, and digital inclusion efforts collaborating with legislators, local communities, broadband providers, and statewide organizations. She is administering the state’s Broadband Access grant with the statutory priority to bring broadband to rural unserved areas.

rdilg@utah.gov

Ed and his team are responsible for coordinating broadband efforts across the state of Colorado to support public safety critical communications across the state. He is a Lieutenant with Evergreen Fire Rescue where he serves as a firefighter, Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), SWRTS, and Public Information Officer. Ed is also an EMT skills Instructor at Red Rocks Community College. He served as a military policeman in the United States Army.

Gar Clarke is the New Mexico Geospatial Information Officer and supports the Broadband Program at the State Department of Information Technology (NM DoIT). He manages a multi-year mapping of broadband availability that assists planning and implementation strategies to expand access and enhance adoption of broadband within the state.

New Mexico Broadband (NMBB) Program

Rand Tilton is a New Mexico Broadband Program Manager with the NM State Department of Information Technology implementing the New Mexico Broadband Strategic Plan for Broadband Internet access to NM Communities.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Carey followed an unconventional path to realize her true potential for leading teams and building communities, both inside and out of the workplace. Her passion for sharing stories and articulating complex ideas give her a well-rounded skill set to operate at all levels from the production floor to the boardroom. A passionate certified educator, Carey is accredited in public relations and has an extensive background in continual improvement and quality assurance.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/careybeamapr/