Rachelle Chong, Former Commissioner FCC and California PUC, JD

Rachelle Chong is a federal and state telecommunications legal expert, headquartered in California. A self described policy geek, she has served as a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission under President Clinton as well as at the California Public Utilities Commission under Governor Schwarzenegger. She has devoted more than two decades of work on broadband and Digital Divide issues, and is a fierce protector of the freedom of press. She is proud to be the "Mother of CASF,” the CPUC's California Advanced Services Fund broadband infrastructure and adoption program. After her CPUC service, she served as Special Counsel to California Technology Dept. (now the California Dept. of Technology). She has been a partner at Graham & James and Coudert Brothers law firms, and served as General Counsel to two start-ups, Broadband Office and Sidecar, a TNC. At present, Chong operates a solo law firm and lobbying firm in San Francisco. She represents a broad variety of clients in the telecom, broadband and autonomous vehicle passenger transportation industries. She currently serves on three boards as a telecom/energy expert, including two fiber providers in the Northeast and DigitalLIFT, a non-profit association. She has extensive board experience including on public corporate boards and nonprofit organizations, such as Big Brothers Big Sisters. She recently served as the SHLB Chairwoman for two years, and was on the SHLB board for a full term. She holds a law degree from University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, and a dual BS degree from UC Berkeley in Political Science and Journalism.