Daines to Welcome Commissioner Clyburn to Montana Tech Summit

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today announced that Mignon Clyburn, Federal Communications Commission Commissioner will deliver a keynote address at the Montana High Tech Jobs Summit 

The Summit, co-sponsored by Daines will take place in Missoula on October 9. The Montana Tech Summit will serve as a unique opportunity to bring together the nation’s tech leaders in the hub of Montana’s growing technology sector.  The Summit will highlight Montana’s growing role in the nation’s high-tech economy and serve as an opportunity to discuss ways to create more good-paying Montana tech jobs. 

Mignon L. Clyburn served as Acting Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission, following her appointment by President Barack Obama on May 20, 2013. As Commissioner, she is serving a second term as a Democrat on the Commission, for which she was sworn in on February 19, 2013 following her re-nomination by the President and confirmation by the United States Senate. 

“Commissioner Clyburn has trained her focus on helping the underserved and she is in a key position to help our state expand access for rural Montanans,” Daines stated. “I’m excited to host Commissioner Clyburn and help her to better understand the challenges and benefits of a rural state like Montana.” 

“I’m thrilled to be joining Senator Daines for the Montana Tech Summit,” Clyburn stated. “Access to robust, affordable broadband is critical to unlocking new economic opportunities in Montana and in communities nationwide. Working together we can close those remaining digital and opportunities divides for the benefit of all Americans.”

About Mignon Clyburn: 

Clyburn began her service at the FCC in August, 2009, after spending 11 years as a member of the sixth district on the Public Service Commission (PSC) of South Carolina. She served as its chair from July 2002 through June 2004. 

Prior to her service on the PSC, Clyburn was the publisher and general manager of The Coastal Times, a Charleston-based weekly newspaper that focused primarily on issues affecting the African American community. She co-owned and operated the family-founded newspaper for 14 years. 

A longtime champion of consumers and a defender of the public interest, Commissioner Clyburn considers every Commission proceeding with an eye toward how it will affect each and every American. She is a strong advocate for enhanced accessibility in communications for disabled citizens, and works closely with representative groups for the deaf and hard of hearing. She has fought to promote strong competition across all communications platforms, believing that the more robust and competitive the marketplace, the less need there is for regulation. However, when the market is not adequately addressing consumer concerns, Clyburn is an outspoken champion for smart, targeted regulatory action. She has pushed for media ownership rules that reflect the demographics of America, affordable universal telephone and high-speed internet access, greater broadband deployment and adoption throughout the nation, and transparency in regulation. Commissioner Clyburn is a member of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, Federal-State Joint Board on Separations, and the Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Services, all of which she chaired for three years during her first term at the FCC.

Before being elected to Congress, Daines spent 13 years working in the technology sector. He helped grow RightNow Technologies, a Bozeman-based technology company, into a global leader in cloud computing. The company grew rapidly to 17 offices around the world and software products in more than 30 languages. Oracle acquired RightNow in 2012 and remains one of Montana’s largest commercial employers. 

For more information and to register now please visit, https://montanatechsummit.com/

Members of the press are welcome to attend and can RSVP by emailing Katie_Waldman@daines.senate.gov. 

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