Senior NTIA Executive Scott D. Woods To Join Ready as VP for Community Engagement & Strategic Partnerships

Ready is pleased to announce that Scott D. Woods will join the company as Vice President of Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships on June 3. He will also open an office for Ready in Washington,D.C.

Scott joins us from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), where he was appointed as the inaugural Director of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives in the administration’s Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OIGC).

“Ready is a great company and its software product ReadyBOSS is one that will revolutionize the approach for developing and managing broadband projects in accordance with grant rules,” he said. “It’s the best way to make the most out of all of the historic funding that's out there.”

While at the NTIA, Scott also served as a principal liaison between the BroadbandUSA and OIGC program offices, and key strategic partners and external stakeholder groups. This included representatives from state and local governments, telecommunications companies, for-profit and non-profit corporations, and colleges/universities.

Scott is a broadband funding, implementation and stakeholder engagement expert and a key member of the OIGC leadership team responsible for implementing the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 grant programs and the historic $65 billion broadband funding program authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA).

His expertise and devotion to increasing broadband access and digital inclusion has helped transformed the lives of many communities throughout the U.S. through programs such as the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), BroadbandUSA Technical Assistance Program, BroadbandUSA Workshop Webinars, HBCU College Partnership Program, Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program, and the launch of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives; and through his influence among national, state and corporate decision makers, and his on-the-ground work building community-based broadband coalitions.

Scott has long advocated for better broadband maps, data collection and utilization and in his role at NTIA, has used the agency’s broadband data, mapping and visualizations under the National Broadband Availability Map to make better broadband funding and digital equity programmatic decisions.

Scott is truly excited to take the next step in his career.  At Ready, he will be more closely aligned with local communities to position them to get funding. He will further work with local communities, local and state leaders and Internet Service Providers to use ReadyBOSS’s data visualization, demographic, investment mapping software to develop winning grant proposals and manage the entire lifecycle of projects - from implementation, reporting and completion. He’ll hold “office hours” online, where he will meet with community stakeholders so they can talk about how to get started and what to do.

“Whether I'm in the community, talking with state and local government leaders, or talking to Internet Service Providers, the number one question that I get across all of those stakeholders is: Where do we begin?

“ReadyBOSS is that starting point for these stakeholders. They can use it to ascertain the data that's in their jurisdiction, service-area footprint, or planned areas for implementation or expansion.”

“Scott is a unicorn. There are few, if any, people in this country with Scott's  experience in helping communities close the digital divide,” said Ready Co-Founder postgres Faloon. “Our goal is to use the Ready platform to amplify Scott so that any community or operator can have access to him and his unique insights to guide them on their broadband journey.”

Scott received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Urban Studies from Morehouse College; a Master of Arts in Public Policy (M.P.P.) from American University; and Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Howard University School of Law.

Ready is a company that makes the Ready BOSS software system. It enables internet service providers and local communities to use interactive maps to create proposed broadband coverage areas and then to create corresponding grant applications. It also helps applicants to find match capital. The system also helps ISPs manage subscribers, plans and revenue, monitor and manage their networks, and seamlessly offer Affordable Connectivity Benefits. And, it helps grant awardees manage their extensive reporting requirements.  

For more information, or to schedule an interview, call Sarah Lai Stirland at: 831-295 8046 or email her at sarah@broadband.money.