Elise Kohn

North Carolina Next Generation Network (NCNGN) project

Elise Kohn is Senior Advisor & Program Director for the North Carolina Next Generation Network (NCNGN) project where she provides strategic guidance and coordinates interactions with a variety of stakeholders to support ten municipalities and universities in their efforts to secure ultra-high speed connectivity for their communities. Before joining NCNGN, Elise helped launch The University Community Next Generation Innovation Project, Gig.U. She managed the day-to-day operations of the Gig.U consortium of over 35 leading research universities as they completed a request for information process that helped demonstrate the economic case for ultra-high speed broadband networks. Prior to Gig.U, Elise worked at the Federal Communications Commission as a Policy Advisor in the Wireline Competition Bureau and as the Adoption Director of the Omnibus Broadband initiative. Before entering public service, Elise served as the Budget Director for Obama for America and the Presidential Inauguration Committee, and prior to that she was a Vice President in the Global Leveraged Finance Group of Merrill Lynch. In her role at Merrill Lynch, she assisted a number of high-profile clients from a variety of industries access the capital markets and assess the risks associated with strategic acquisitions, divestitures, and infrastructure investments. Elise began her professional career as a Research Historian with History Associates Incorporated. She holds a JD/MBA from New York University School of Law/Stern School of Business and a B.S. in biology with a minor in history from Indiana University Bloomington.