IAEOZ Summit 2025 Puerto Rico

Scott D. Woods is the President of Public-Private Partnerships with Ready.net, Inc. in Washington,

D.C. He specializes in telecommunications and broadband infrastructure deployment. His primary areas of concentration are federal broadband funding, network implementation and deployment, and stakeholder engagement.

With 20+ years of broadband and telecom legal and business experience, Mr. Woods has facilitated key public-private partnerships between local communities, service providers, and

broadband stakeholders to expand infrastructure and digital equity investments and support broadband education initiatives. He frequently provides keynote remarks and speeches and serves on industry panel discussions during events such as the Broadband Leaders Summit, U.S. Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting, National League of Cities Congressional City Conference,

Fiber Connect Broadband Conference, Broadband Communities Summit, and Mountain Connect Conference.

Prior to joining Ready, Mr. Woods served as the Division Chief and inaugural Director of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives (OMBI) in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA’s) Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OICG). At NTIA, he liaised

between the OICG and key strategic partners and external stakeholders, including representatives from state and local governments, telecom companies, for-profit and nonprofit corporations, and colleges/universities. Mr. Woods was responsible for the development, implementation, and launch of the OMBI and served as a key leadership team member implementing the $65 billion broadband funding program authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Mr. Woods’ devotion to increasing broadband access has transformed the lives of many U.S. communities through, for example, the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, the BroadbandUSA Technical Assistance Program, numerous community education workshops, and the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program. His “on-the-ground” work and influence among national, state, and corporate decision-makers have built strong broadband coalitions across urban, rural, and Tribal communities.

Mr. Woods earned a bachelor’s degree in urban studies from Morehouse College, a master’s degree in public policy from American University, and a J.D. from Howard University School of Law. He serves as a Senior Advisor for Alvarez & Marsal’s Corporate Performance Improvement Team and a Board Member of Omnipoint Technology.