Jane Smith Patterson (Chair) //
Executive Director
NC Rural Internet Access Authority
Jane Smith Patterson is the director of e-NC, an innovative, publicly funded initiative to increase broadband access and encourage all residents of North Carolina to use technology, and especially the Internet, to improve the quality of their lives and their economic prospects. Jane’s career has concentrated on information technology infrastructure and its impact on government, industry and education. She has consulted with more than 20 countries and 38 states about the design and operation of information networks. She has served in administrations of North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt, and in his fourth term she was Senior Advisor for Science and technology and Director of the Office for Technology. Her work in private industry included service as vice president of ITT Corp.-Network Systems Group. She was also interim vice chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. In 1997, she was selected by the National Academy of Public Administration and the Alliance for Redesigning Government to receive the Public Innovator Award for her work in advancing the use of information technology in government.