Broadband Development Conference
Colorado Education Broadband Coalition
Denise Atkinson-Shorey is an education and telecommunications professional with over 30 years of success at the local, state and national levels. She has served in a variety of leadership roles; running a statewide broadband initiative for schools, libraries and other community anchor institutions; managing regional technical organizations and corporate sector expertise.
Ms Atkinson-Shorey is the leader of a successful consulting firm which focuses on strategic planning, grant writing, public policy and advocacy. She has successfully received funding in NTIA’s BTOP and CMC programs, FCC’s ACP and various state and local grant programs. Her recent work has focused on the intersection of broadband access and community engagement leveraging Artificial Intelligence and workforce development
In addition to her work at e-Luminosity, Ms. Atkinson-Shorey is a founding member and former Board Member of Schools, Healthcare and Libraries for Broadband Coalition (SHLB), former Board Member of Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) and former Advisory Board Member for Internet2’s Community Anchor Program at the national level. Her work in Colorado at the state level includes a founding member for Colorado Leaders of Education Technology (CALET) and currently serves as one of the four principal members of the Colorado Educational Broadband Coalition (CEBC). In her spare time, Denise shows and trains Irish Wolfhounds and enjoys gardening and travel.
The FCC is considering significant changes to the Universal Service Fund, including proposals that could end the E-Rate program. For schools and libraries, the stakes are high: E-Rate has connected millions of students, enabled digital learning, and helped community anchor institutions serve as essential hubs for education, workforce development, telehealth, and public access.
This panel consists of technology leaders, broadband providers, and E-Rate advocates to examine what the FCC proceeding could mean for communities and the market. Panelists will discuss how E‑Rate currently creates stable demand and supports network investment, share frontline experiences negotiating service and upgrades, and identify the policy considerations providers and policymakers must weigh before making major changes. Changes to E‑Rate would alter revenue certainty, procurement practices, and investment calculus for providers, affecting pricing, deployment timelines, and willingness to serve low‑margin or hard‑to‑reach communities. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how E-Rate contributes to the broadband ecosystem keeping America’s anchor institutions reliably connected.
