Glenn Ricart, Ph.D.

Glenn Ricart brings forty years of innovation in computer networking and related fields to US Ignite. Dr. Ricart has been planning and assembling US Ignite since February, 2011. Glenn is an Internet pioneer who implemented the first Inter-net interconnection point of separately administered networks (the FIX in College Park, Maryland). As academic CIO at the University of Maryland, his campus implemented the first institution-wide TCP/IP (Internet) network in 1983 using low-cost PDP-11 routers (“Fuzballs”) with software devised at the University of Maryland, and provided the technology for the first NSFnet national backbone. Glenn was principal investigator of SURAnet, the first regional TCP/IP (Internet) network of academic and commercial institutions.

Dr. Ricart has also held other senior management positions including Executive Vice President and CTO for Novell in the 1990s, Managing Director of PricewaterhouseCoopers, and CEO and President of National LambdaRail. Dr. Ricart is also the founder or co-founder of three startups, the most recent of which, CenterBeam, is in its 12th year of operation.

Glenn’s formal education includes degrees from Case Institute of Technology, Case Western Reserve University, and his Ph.D. in Computer Science is from the University of Maryland, College Park. His inventions have resulted in numerous patents. Dr. Ricart has served on the boards of three public companies, CACI, the SCO Organization, and First USA Financial Services, in addition to board service on numerous non-profit boards.

William Wallace

William Wallace brings to US Ignite more than 25 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, most recently as co-founder and Executive Vice President of DigitalBridge Communications (DBC), a venture-backed startup dedicated to bringing 4G broadband wireless services to underserved portions of the U.S.

Prior to DBC, Mr. Wallace was co-founder and CEO of OnePoint Communications, which was purchased by Verizon Communications in 2000. OnePoint and its successor company, Verizon Avenue, provide bundled communications services to concentrated communities nationwide, including apartment communities, military bases, and rural areas.

Previously, he served as head of the Telecommunications practice and Chief Operating Officer for Gemini Consulting, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Cap Gemini Sogeti group. In that role, he led teams that developed strategies and improved operations for many of the world’s largest carriers.

Mr. Wallace received an AB degree in Government and Economics from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Joseph Kochan

Joseph (Joe) Kochan joins US Ignite as management consultant from Widelity, Inc. specializing in business strategy, business plan development and modeling, project management, network deployment and operations, and federal grant compliance.

Prior to joining Widelity, Mr. Kochan worked as part of the Department of Commerce’s BTOP grant program. Prior to that role, he was a founder and Vice President–Operations of DigitalBridge Communications (DBC), a Virginia-based startup backed by over $40M in venture funding dedicated to bringing broadband services to small, underserved markets nationwide using broadband wireless technology. At DBC, Mr. Kochan managed the design and deployment of 4G wireless networks covering over 600,000 people in 6 states, as well as the acquisition of the company’s first 20,000 customers.

Previously, he was with Verizon Avenue, the Verizon subsidiary focused on providing bundled communications services to concentrated communities nationwide. At Verizon he had responsibility for strategic planning and strategic project management, specifically focusing on the military housing market and the implementation of the first Verizon FiOS networks at military bases across the country.

Mr. Kochan received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree from Princeton University and lives in Washington, DC, where he serves as a volunteer and also is on the board of directors of Miriam’s Kitchen, a not-for-profit service organization serving the homeless population of the city.

Jake Brewer

Jake leads communications with the US Ignite team through Fission Strategy. He is known for architecting national campaigns and initiatives that turn big, disruptive ideas into effective, responsible reality. A few of Jake’s recent projects include leading the technology vertical of the White House’s Joining Forces Initiative, in conjunction with Code for America and the Department of Labor, and leading the Civic Data Challenge with the National Conference on Citizenship, to help turn the raw data of “civic health” into useful applications.

Prior to his role at Fission, Jake served as the Engagement Director of the Sunlight Foundation, leading Sunlight’s acclaimed communications, multimedia production and grassroots organizing teams. Before Sunlight, Jake was the strategic communications director for the Energy Action Coalition, which brought over 12,000 people to Capitol Hill to lobby for clean energy initiatives at Power Shift ’09, and mobilized 350,000 ‘energy voters’ in 10 weeks during the 2008 elections.

In his otherwise diverse career – from the innards of Washington, DC to the Persian Gulf and East Africa – Jake has run large international conferences, lead national nonprofit organizations, designed partnerships between companies and nonprofits, built websites, created distributed events and crowd-sourced design projects, and shared untold stories through video, visualizations and photography.

Outside the office, Jake is a former All-American triathlete, a published photographer and writer, and serves in a variety of advisory, committee and board roles. Through it all, Jake hopes to one day return to his first job as minor league baseball mascot Murray the Mule.

Jessica Roeder

Jessica Roeder brings to US Ignite ten years of experience in operations and program management in the government and non-profit sector. Most recently, Ms. Roeder served as a strategy and change consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton specializing in performance management, strategic planning, and project management for civil market clients. Ms. Roeder led the team responsible for aligning strategy to operations through planning, measurement, analysis and reporting for the Partnership for Supply Chain Management (PFSCM) contracted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). PFSCM is a partnership of 13 leading organizations from the commercial, non-governmental, faith-based, and academic sectors to strengthen and manage sustainable supply chains to deliver public health commodities to and within countries most in need throughout the world.

Prior to joining Booz Allen, Ms. Roeder worked as a business analyst for the National Park Service where she advised on financial communication strategies for Golden Gate National Recreation Area and developed the first ever annual report for a national park unit. Ms. Roeder also served as a program coordinator at the Harvard University School of Public Health’s HIV/AIDS Prevention in Nigeria program where she focused on managing the commodity supply chain in addition to coordinating several administrative projects to improve organizational effectiveness.

Previously Ms. Roeder was the education and publications coordinator for the Society of Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) and coordinated the scientific paper review process and served as the primary contact for the faculty presenting at their 1,800-member annual conference.

Ms. Roeder holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree from Princeton University and an MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. She is an active member of her alumni communities, including serving as a Reunion Chair and a board member for Tiger2Tiger. She currently lives in Washington, DC.

Nicole Levine

Nicole Levine brings fifteen years of experience working in the nonprofit sector to US Ignite. Specializing in nonprofit growth and sustainability, Nicole has held senior positions responsible for strategy, operations, fundraising and communications, most recently as Chief Development Officer for Higher Achievement, a national nonprofit working to ensure equal access to quality education for low-income middle-school children.

Nicole served as Executive Director of Firefly Children’s Network, a nonprofit that provides best practices and tools to governments, community leaders and direct care providers working to prevent child abandonment. As the inaugural Executive Director, Nicole successfully established the organization’s presence in Russia and forged key partnerships with the US government, the Russian government, foundations, major donors, universities and NGOs. Nicole continues to serve on Firefly’s board of Directors.

Nicole has been a consultant to private family foundations and nonprofits on revenue strategy, sustainability and the role of the board in an organization’s growth and impact. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Miriam’s Kitchen, a non-profit working to end chronic homelessness in Washington, DC .

Prior to her transition to the nonprofit sector, Nicole was the Associate Director of Market Development for the Corporate Executive Board, a best practice and executive education firm to Fortune 1000 companies.