Deborah Taylor Tate

Hon. Deborah Taylor Tate, a two-time former Presidential appointee, unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate, served as a Commissioner on the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) where was a policy leader in international media, telecommunications, and broadband policy serving as Presidential Designee to the U.S. World Radio Conference. Tate was named the first “Special Envoy” to the International Telecommunications Commission for Child Online Protection, co-recipient of the world Telecommunications and Information Society Day Laureate and co-chaired the Healthy Media Commission with Geena Davis. Domestically, she was Chairman of both the Joint Federal-State USF ($7B) and the Advanced Telecommunications Boards. Known as the “Children’s Commissioner,” she championed issues such as child online safety, reducing childhood obesity and 988, the national suicide prevention number. Tate has also been a champion for mental/behavioral health issues and is presently Co-chair of the Centerstone National Policy Council. Most recently as the former Administrator for the Tennessee Supreme Court and CEO of the state court system, was appointed Co-chair of the National Judiciary Opioid Task Force, logging over 25,000 miles to combat the opioid crisis. She helped launch the first TN Justice Bus to bring legal services to rural Tennesseans. Prior to that, Tate served as Assistant Legal Counsel and senior policy advisor to two Governors: then Governor Lamar Alexander and former Governor Don Sundquist. In that capacity, Commissioner Tate addressed a diverse array of public policy issues including “Better Schools”, economic development, Healthy Children, juvenile justice and updating Tennessee’s mental health laws.
Tate is a member of the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Tennessee Bar, a certified Mediator and served on numerous national policy entities including the Free State Foundation, the Aspen Institute, and the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies.