Scott D. Woods, Esq.

Vice President – Community Engagement & Strategic Partnerships
Ready.net, Inc.

Scott D. Woods, the vice president for community engagement and strategic partnerships for Ready.net, Inc., facilitates and develops key public-private partnerships formed via the Broadband.Money platform. He also focuses on providing a platform for local communities to express their needs for broadband access and digital equity investments, as well as developing industry partnerships and fostering alliances with key stakeholders across the country to advance and support community-based broadband education and advocacy initiatives.

In addition to his executive duties, Woods currently hosts the Ready.net podcast, Ready or Not? with Scott D. Woods, focusing on and sharing his deep knowledge of the broadband industry while giving local ISPs and communities a voice and a platform. He also hosts the new Office Hours podcast, providing information and advice on grant requirements and planning for new broadband projects exclusively on the Broadband.Money digital community platform.

Prior to Ready, Woods served as the inaugural director of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives in NTIA’s Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OIGC). While at NTIA, he served as the principal liaison between the OIGC program office and key strategic partners and external stakeholder groups, including representatives from state and local governments, telecommunications companies, for-profit and nonprofit corporations, and colleges/universities. He is a broadband funding, implementation and stakeholder engagement expert and served as a key member of the OIGC leadership team responsible for the implementation and launch of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives and the historic $65 billion broadband funding program authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA).

Woods' expertise and devotion to increasing broadband access and digital inclusion has helped transform the lives of many communities throughout the U.S. through programs such as the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP); BroadbandUSA Technical Assistance Program; BroadbandUSA Community Education Workshops; HBCU College Partnership Program; the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program; and through his influence among national, state and corporate decision makers, and his on-the-ground work building community-based broadband coalitions. Woods has long advocated for better broadband maps, data collection and utilization and in his various roles at NTIA, has used broadband data, mapping, and visualizations to make better broadband funding and programmatic decisions.

He received his B.A. in Urban Studies from Morehouse College; M.A. in Public Policy from American University; and J.D. from Howard University School of Law.