Director of the Technology Opportunities Program, U.S. Department of Commerce
Stephen Downs is the Director of the Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Appointed in 1994, Mr. Downs has been responsible at TOP (formerly known as the Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program) for the $135 million in matching grants provided to public sector and nonprofit organizations for innovative demonstration projects that use information and telecommunications technology to enhance the delivery of services—such as health, education, and public safety—to both rural and urban communities across the United States. Prior to joining NTIA, Mr. Downs served as a research fellow in the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in the U.S. Public Health Service, advising the health communications staff on emerging information and telecommunications technologies. Mr. Downs joined the Public Health Service after receiving a Master of Science in Technology and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where his thesis work focused on the policy implications of future public broadband telecommunication networks.