President and CEO, Merit Network
Merit Network, Inc., a non-profit corporation governed by Michigan's public universities, owns and operates the nation’s longest-running regional research and education network comprising more than 4,000 miles of fiber-optic infrastructure, and provides high-performance networking, cybersecurity solutions, and community-building services to nearly 400 member organizations, which include Michigan’s public universities, colleges, K-12 organizations, libraries, state governments, health care organizations, and other nonprofits. Sawasky and his team at Merit have launched a statewide broadband expansion program, called the “Michigan Moonshot,” and they are active at the state and national level to help close the digital divide.