The Broadcasting Board of Governors has named Dr. Nnake Nweke as its first director of the new Office of Internet Freedom. His appointment is effective July 25.
Nweke will serve as the principal advisor to the BBG Board, the CEO and its five networks on efforts to circumvent internet censorship around the globe. He will lead the development of strategies on combating internet censorship and will study its impact on BBG programming.
“I am thrilled that Dr. Nweke is stepping into this new and critical role,” said BBG CEO and Director John F. Lansing. “He brings a wealth of technology, engineering and cybersecurity experience from both the public and the private sectors, and I’m confident that his outstanding leadership will help further strengthen our efforts to counter censorship of BBG-funded, affiliated, or supported content, and other credible, independent news and information.”
Most recently, Nweke served as a branch chief in the Office of Engineering and Technology at the Federal Communications Commission. Earlier, he worked as a senior engineer in the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau of the FCC’s Cybersecurity and Communications Reliability Division, where he was honored with the Meritorious Award from the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau in recognition of his contributions to enhance the security of the U.S. communications network infrastructure.
He has also been as a senior staff member of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, a technical specialist/patent agent for a Washington law firm and a research engineer at the National Security Agency.
In January 2015, Nweke founded the Science and Technology Policy Center for Development, which aims to advance knowledge and assist in the development and implementation of science and technology policies that achieve sustained economic growth in developing nations, particularly in Africa.
He has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Maryland School of Law.
