Nicol Turner-Lee, PH.D., has been selected as president and chief executive officer of the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC). For more than 30-years, NAMIC has educated, advocated and empowered to promote multi-ethnic diversity in the cable and telecommunications arena. Dr. Turner-Lee will begin her new post at NAMIC effective April 2, 2012.
Currently, Dr. Turner-Lee is vice president and the first director of the Media and Technology Institute at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a 42 year old public policy institute focused on issues of concern to African Americans and other people of color. During her tenure at the Joint Center, Dr. Turner-Lee developed the Media and Technology Institute into a signature policy and research arm that is focused on increasing representation and ownership in broadband and broadcast for people of color. Her signature work included the design and development of the first “National Minority Broadband Adoption Study” that has been cited by government, industry, and community based organizations interested in understanding minority internet use. Most notably, the study was cited in the Federal Communications Commission’s congressionally mandated National Broadband Plan, and the FCC’s subsequent report detailing the information needs of communities.
Prior to the Joint Center, Dr. Turner-Lee was an executive at One Economy Corporation – a global nonprofit that uses the power of technology and information to expand opportunities for low-income people – serving most recently as senior vice president for External Affairs in charge of public relations, national strategic partnerships, and business development.
Additionally, she has been recognized with several awards including recognitions from the Alliance for Women in Media 60 @ Sixty Women in Media, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women – Northern Virginia and as one of the 2007 “Top 10 National Broadband Promoters” by Broadband Properties Magazine. In 2011, she was also appointed to the Federal Advisory Committee on Diversity in the Digital Age by the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and was selected by Time Warner Cable as one of four participants in their signature Digital Research Program evaluating minority attitudes toward digital privacy and security.
Dr. Turner-Lee is a member of the board of directors for the Community Renewal Society, Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC), Telecommunications and Policy Research Conference (TPRC), and the Alliance for Women in Media. Dr. Turner-Lee is a former Research Fellow with Northwestern University’s Asset-Based Community Development Institute, and a former Ford Foundation Rockwood Leadership Fellow. She is the author of numerous research and policy publications, and regularly appears at national and local conferences.
Dr. Turner-Lee received her Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors from Colgate University and her Doctorate of Sociology from Northwestern University. She also holds certification in non-profit management from University of Illinois – Chicago and was a former research fellow for the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at Northwestern University.