Podcasts
Through her podcast Field Notes, Abby Crawford told us that one of her missions is to elevate overlooked voices in broadband.
By Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
Abby Crawford, a podcasting and marketing specialist with FiberCom Engineering, is the host of Field Notes – a podcast that introduces her audience to public and private sector leaders in the communications industry.
Through her role, Crawford said she gets to lead the storytelling efforts of FiberCom Engineering, a telecom engineering firm.
Crawford said one of her missions is to elevate voices that she thinks are often overlooked in broadband, energy, and infrastructure.
“I just get to ask them real questions about the work that they’re doing,” Crawford said. “And I get to just share why it matters.”
Crawford’s recent guests have included Evan Feinman. Feinman is the former director of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.
Feinman previously resigned from the role in March.
Following his departure, Feinman sounded alarm bells about the culture at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
He has also been outspoken about recent changes to the BEAD program.
Abigail Crawford, FiberCom Engineering
“He emphasized how important it was to learn from communities directly,” Crawford said, adding that Feinman made the point that county and local leaders often know more about their needs than state-level decisionmakers.
“Because they’re the people living in those counties,” she said.
She also took time to highlight FiberCom Engineering’s emphasis on storytelling in the industry.
“The work that we do is only as strong as the stories that we are able to tell,” Crawford said. “Field Notes is our way of making sure voices that the voices behind the scenes–the engineers, the planners, the community leaders–making sure that the voices doing the work are heard.”
Click here to listen to the full interview with Crawford on Spotify!
