Closing the digital divide in Virginia: The journey here and the road ahead

The Speaker:

Dr. Tamarah Holmes is the director for the Office of Broadband for the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and has been in the role since September 2019.

She has spent 20 years in the public sector in the field of community and economic development in New York and New Jersey and in Chesterfield County.

Holmes has played an instrumental role in the creation of the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative, having served as the lead in the development of the program that has grown from a $1 million to a $750 million appropriation since 2017.

Prior to her current role, she was the associate director for the policy and strategic development office in the Community Development Division at the Department of Housing and Community Development. 

In addition to serving as broadband director, she serves as the Virginia Appalachian Regional Commission program manager, overseeing the commission’s economic and community development programming in 25 counties and eight independent cities in the Appalachian region of Virginia. 

Holmes holds a master’s degree in urban planning and analysis with a concentration in housing and community development. She received her doctorate in public policy and administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. 

Major broadband expansion is underway in Virginia.

Tune in on Wednesday November 6 at noon to learn about the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development’s ongoing efforts to close the digital divide in Virginia through broadband access, affordability and adoption.

The state agency’s Office of Broadband currently manages a portfolio of nearly $2 billion in combined state and federal grants, including local and private investments on broadband infrastructure projects across the state. The office will manage an additional  $1.5 billion in federal funding from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program and $18 million in Digital Equity Act program that will support access, affordability, and adoption. 

This funding will support finishing the job of expanding broadband infrastructure to the remaining unserved localities and tackling gaps in broadband adoption and literacy.

Dr. Tamarah Holmes, director of the Virginia Office of Broadband, will explore the agency’s existing work under the broadband initiative as well as the plans in place to invest BEAD and other funding sources to bridge the digital gaps across Virginia.