BJ Tanksley joined the Department of Economic Development in January 2022 as the Director of the Office of Broadband Development (OBD). Throughout his career, Tanksley has seen the need for high-speed internet across the state of Missouri. He is excited to turn advocacy into action leading the OBD team during this vital time for our state. In his role as Director, Tanksley has grown OBD from one person to an office of twelve team members working to capitalize on historic broadband opportunities. In 2022, the team awarded just over $261 million in ARPA-funded broadband grants to help bring quality internet service to 56,000 unserved and underserved Missouri locations. In 2023, the team launched and awarded $20 million through a cell tower program to improve cellular service statewide. While deploying ARPA funding, OBD is simultaneously planning for the next opportunity provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). IIJA promises to provide monumental funding for Missouri’s unserved and underserved populations. Tanksley and team will work to utilize these funds to achieve their goal of Connecting All Missourians by addressing the infrastructure and non-infrastructure barriers to full engagement in the digital economy.

BJ and his wife, Ashley, live in Ashland and have two children, Abby and Charlie.