Digitally Disconnected

Mildred E. Warner is a Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning and the Department of Global Development in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning at Cornell University. Her work focuses on local government service delivery, economic development, environmental sustainability, age-friendly planning, and public health.

Dr. Warner is an expert on state and local government policy and has published widely on infrastructure, economic development, finance, service delivery, and community development. She conducts collaborative research with local government associations, policy makers, and international colleagues. Dr. Warner’s two most recent books are on the role of schools in community development and on planning approaches to address the digital divide.

Natassia Bravo received her Ph.D. from Cornell University in 2025. Her research focuses on critical infrastructure policy and intergovernmental relations in the United States, with a special interest in public-private cooperation and rural resilience.

Dr. Bravo was awarded funding for two years by The Pew Charitable Trusts to examine state broadband funding strategies and community infrastructure planning approaches in three states. This work is now featured in her first book, “Bridging the Digital Divide in the US: Planning Innovative State and Local Approaches” (July 2025), co-edited with Mildred Warner and Duxixi Shen.

Johannes M. Bauer is Professor of Media and Information and the Director of the James H. and Mary B. Quello Center at Michigan State University. From September 2023 through December 2024, he served as the Chief Economist in the Office of Economics and Analytics at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C.

Professor Bauer’s research focuses on information policy, digital infrastructure policy, and the governance of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, 6G wireless, and space communications. He enjoys working with practitioners in business, government, and civic society to develop workable solutions to harness the benefits of advanced technologies for individuals, organizations, and communities.

Colby Humphrey is an officer with Pew’s broadband access initiative, where his research focuses on broadband access and affordability challenges throughout the U.S., with particular attention to how state broadband policies are designed, implemented, and evaluated in practice.

Before joining Pew in 2022, Dr. Humphrey conducted market research for tech initiatives in the public and private sectors, worked in economic development for the State of Texas, and was a policy analyst for TennCare, Tennessee’s Medicaid program. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Baylor University, a Master’s in Public Service Administration from Texas A&M University, and a Ph.D. in Government from the University of Texas at Austin.

Dan Lamb is Deputy Supervisor of Dryden, New York and an Associate Teaching Professor at the Cornell Brooks School of Public Policy. Professor Lamb has more than two decades of experience in federal, state, and local government, which informs his teaching in intergovernmental relations, politics and policy, policy writing, and public administration. A congressional aide for 15 years, his government background also includes public transit management; consulting on infrastructure, renewable energy, and healthcare projects; and legislative research for the New York State Senate.

Professor Lamb serves on the boards of Cornerstone Family Healthcare and the Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative and is a member of Cornell’s Energy Transition Community Advisory Team. He has been Deputy Supervisor of the Town of Dryden, New York, since 2016. Professor Lamb holds an MPA from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School.