Stephen Downs
Director of the Technology Opportunities Program, U.S. Department
of Commerce
Stephen Downs is the Director of the Technology
Opportunities Program (TOP) in the National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA) of the U.S. Department of
Commerce. Appointed in 1994, Mr. Downs has been responsible at
TOP (formerly known as the Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure
Assistance Program) for the $135 million in matching grants provided
to public sector and nonprofit organizations for innovative demonstration
projects that use information and telecommunications technology
to enhance the delivery of services—such as health, education,
and public safety—to both rural and urban communities across
the United States. Prior to joining NTIA, Mr. Downs served as a
research fellow in the Office of Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion in the U.S. Public Health Service, advising the health
communications staff on emerging information and telecommunications
technologies. Mr. Downs joined the Public Health Service after
receiving a Master of Science in Technology and Policy from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where his thesis work focused
on the policy implications of future public broadband telecommunication
networks.
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