Blair Levin, Telecommunications Policy Strategist, and Director of the FCC's National Broadband Plan, to Be Communications and Society Fellow at the Aspen Institute

WASHINGTON, April 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program announced today that Blair Levin, Executive Director of the Omnibus Broadband Initiative at the Federal Communications Commission, will become a Communications and Society Fellow at the Aspen Institute upon his departure from the Commission on May 7, 2010. Prior to his leading the creation of the National Broadband Plan, Levin co-headed the Technology, Innovation & Government Reform Policy Working Group of President Obama's Technology Transition Team along with current FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. Levin, an attorney, served as chief of staff to FCC Chairman Reed Hundt from 1993 to 1997, where he oversaw the implementation of the 1996 Telecommunications Reform Act, and as a managing director at the investment firm Stifel Nicolaus.

Levin follows in the footsteps of four FCC Chairmen who took fellowships with the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program upon leaving the Commission. This tradition began with Democrats Reed Hundt (1993-97) and William Kennard (1997-2001) and continued with Republicans Michael Powell (2001-05) and Kevin Martin (2005-2009).

"Blair Levin is one of the premier communications strategists in the country," said Charles Firestone, executive director of the Communications and Society Program. "We look forward to his advice and counsel in the next few months."  

"I am pleased to join the Aspen Institute team," Levin said. "There I can reflect on the impact of the National Broadband Plan and particularly its application to the international arena."

The Communications and Society Program serves as a non-partisan venue for global leaders and experts to exchange insights on the societal impact of advances in digital technology and network communications. It also creates a multidisciplinary space in the communications policy-making world where veteran and emerging decision-makers can explore new concepts and develop new policy networks. Visit our homepage, www.aspeninstitute.org/c&s.

The Aspen Institute mission is twofold: to foster values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues. The Aspen Institute does this primarily in four ways: seminars, young-leader fellowships around the globe, policy programs, and public conferences and events. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It also has an international network of partners.

SOURCE The Aspen Institute