NC Rural Center

The NC Rural Center has advocated for rural broadband for more than two decades, beginning with its leadership of the e-NC Authority, a statewide initiative created in 2000 to promote broadband deployment.8 Since then, the Rural Center has continued to support broadband expansion through policy leadership, community engagement, and advocacy for state and federal investments. Recognizing that funding alone would not achieve universal connectivity, the Rural Center launched the Collaborative Broadband Initiative in 2022 with support from Dogwood Health Trust, the U.S.

Sara Nichols is a longtime rural advocate who has helped Western North Carolinians access broadband for most of the past decade. In 2023, she testified before the House Subcommittee on Communication and Technology on the future of rural broadband funding. In 2025, she was named the Tech Difference Maker of the Year by the NC Tech Association and also served as a 2025 Rural Summit broadband funding panelist.