MCNC Ushers in New Era of Leadership with Governor Appointees

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (Feb. 28, 2019) - MCNC, the non-profit operator of the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN), today announced that North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has appointed two community leaders to the MCNC Board of Directors and that Dr. A. Hope Williams has been named the new board chair for 2019.

Gov. Cooper has appointed the following individuals to the MCNC Board of Directors:

Ajit Sivadasan as a member at-large. Sivadasan is vice president and general manager of Global eCommerce, Digital Marketing and Platform at Lenovo, where he manages the global web strategy across more than 90 countries. Additionally, he is a member of the Industry Advisory Council at the Peter Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate School.

Joy Vermillion Heinsohn as a member at-large. Heinsohn is the assistant director for the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. She has served on the Board of Trustees and Board of Visitors of Wake Forest University, the NC Equal Access to Justice Commission and is a founding board member of the NC Network of Grantmakers.

"High-speed Internet is a basic requirement of being a productive citizen in the 21st century, and MCNC has a modern approach to making North Carolina the most connected state in the country," said Sivadasan. "MCNC is committed to bringing connectivity levels in North Carolina to all-time highs, and I'm proud to now share in this commitment to help steer innovation and economic development to benefit our communities," added Vermillion Heinsohn.

The MCNC Board of Directors primarily engages with business leaders in education and technology arenas. Dr. Williams, president of North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU), has been named chair of the board. View the full list of MCNC Board of Directors.

“Dr. Williams has served as vice chair of the board since July 2017 and has been a champion for MCNC every step of the way,” said MCNC President and CEO Jean Davis. “We look forward to her incredible leadership as we continue to successfully drive broadband innovation and connectivity throughout North Carolina.”

"MCNC exists for the benefit of North Carolina and is one of our state's greatest assets,” added Dr. Williams. “MCNC is comprised of talented people who place a high value on customer service. I am honored to be part of such a customer-focused organization and one that is dedicated to being North Carolina’s partner for great ideas and state-of-the-art technology.”

Members of the MCNC Advisory Council, or MAC, are mainly technology leaders who understand the technical needs of the community and provide strategic guidance to the MCNC Board of Directors on opportunities. This 12-member group is now chaired by Tracy Doaks, Deputy State CIO and Chief Services Officer at the N.C. Department of Information Technology. New to the MAC this term is J. Michael Barker, Interim Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and CIO at UNC Chapel Hill. View the full list of members of the MCNC Advisory Council.

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About MCNC

MCNC is a technology nonprofit that builds, owns and operates the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN), which has successfully served research, education, non-profit health care, public safety, libraries, and other community institutions with Internet connectivity and services for 35 years. NCREN is the fundamental broadband infrastructure for 750 of these institutions including all K-20 education in North Carolina. As one of the nation's premier middle-mile fiber networks, MCNC leverages NCREN to customize Internet services and related applications for each customer while supporting private service providers in bringing cost-efficient connectivity to rural and underserved communities in North Carolina. Visit www.mcnc.org. MCNC Social: Facebook, Twitter @MCNC, YouTube, LinkedIn.