Nick Maynard serves as the Co-founder and CEO of US Ignite, where he is responsible for leading the organization in its mission to accelerate the smart community movement and to strengthen public-private partnership programs to drive smarter community development and advance key network and sensor-based technologies. In his previous role as COO, Maynard was instrumental in building out US Igniteās smart community program and in establishing the Smart Bases program.
Prior to US Ignite, Nick was a Program Director at the National Science Foundation, where he launched a national advanced wireless research. He was also the Assistant Director at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he managed federal IT R&D portfolio, launching more than $1B in new programs, including a photonics foundry as well as the Presidentās ConnectHome program to bring broadband to underserved students. Previously, Nick was a member of the National Broadband Taskforce at the FCC, where he created a public-private partnership to offer technology training to small businesses in low-income communities. Nick also spent ten years in the telecom industry, consulting with leading global carriers and vendors on next-gen networks and services. Nick received his BA and MA from the University of Chicago and a Public Policy PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.