McKinley’s Leadership Role Will Help Guide Industry Through Largest Investment Cycle Ever

MURRAY, UT—(December 19, 2023)—Today, UTOPIA Fiber announced that Deputy Director and Chief Marketing Officer Kimberly McKinley was recently elected to the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) 2024 Board of Directors, joining a diverse group of industry leaders who will guide the organization and its members across North America through its largest investment cycle ever. In its announcement, FBA—the nation’s premier association focused solely on fiber— shared that McKinley, like her Board colleagues, has demonstrated a long-term commitment to FBA and its mission to accelerate fiber broadband deployments and close the digital equity gap across North America. 

“As we look forward to 2024, the fiber broadband industry has a lot to be excited about,” said Gary Bolton, President and CEO at the Fiber Broadband Association. “We’re set to experience the biggest and best year in fiber broadband history, and our 2024 Board of Directors is an excellent group of experienced leaders to guide us through it. Collectively, they represent a broad range within the fiber ecosystem, serving a diverse assortment of roles within their own organizations. They will bring unique, knowledgeable perspectives to FBA and our members that will help us advance fiber broadband deployments until every community is connected.”

Roger Timmerman, Executive Director & CEO of UTOPIA Fiber, remarked: “Kim’s unique approach of fostering collaboration between partners, spotting trends before others, and understanding the market as a successful network operator makes her an extraordinary leader at UTOPIA Fiber and across the industry. She works tirelessly to help bring high-speed fiber to rural communities to bridge the digital divide and positively impact the lives of residents and businesses and I applaud her and the new Board as they set out to meet the growing demand across America.”    

The full 2024 Board of Directors includes the following fiber broadband industry leaders:

• Chair: Jimmy Todd, CEO and General Manager, Nex-Tech
• Vice Chair: Kimberly McKinley, Deputy Director and Chief Marketing Officer, UTOPIA Fiber
• Secretary: Sachin Gupta, Director of Business Development, Centranet
• Treasurer: Gregg Logan, Vice President of Engineering, C Spire
• Mark Boxer, Technical Manager – Solutions and Applications Engineering, OFS
• Ashley Brown, Senior Director Field Marketing, Adtran
• Evann Freeman, Vice President, Government & Community Relations, EPB
• Scott Jackson, National Market Manager – Broadband, Graybar
• Ariane Schaffer, Government Affairs & Public Policy Manager, Google Fiber

Kimberly “Kim” McKinley joined UTOPIA Fiber in 2010. In her role as Chief Marketing Officer, she oversees the Marketing, Sales, Order Fulfillment and the Customer Service departments. During her time at UTOPIA Fiber, she has helped expand the agency from its original 11-member Utah cities to more than 20 with partners across Utah, Montana, and Idaho. UTOPIA Fiber’s Open Access model, the largest of its kind in the United States, empowers multiple private-sector internet service providers (ISPs) to compete, fostering a net-neutral environment that encourages free-market competition. This approach leads to enhanced broadband access for residents while promoting service excellence and affordability. 

Before arriving at UTOPIA Fiber, McKinley worked in the Hospitality Marketing industry on the east coast. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. 

The 2024 Board of Directors elections were held at the Fiber Broadband Association’s 2023 Premier Members Meeting, December 4-5, in Palm Springs, Calif.

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About UTOPIA Fiber   

Created by a group of Utah cities, the Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA) is a community-owned fiber optic network that uses the Open Access model to promote competition by giving customers the freedom to choose which telecommunication services they want. With fiber availability to approximately 200,000 businesses and residences in over 50 communities, UTOPIA Fiber is the largest and most successful Open Access network in the United States and enjoys the industry’s highest customer satisfaction scores. Since 2009, the agency has successfully designed, built, and operated nearly half-a-billion dollars worth of fiber projects throughout Utah and the West, including operational partnerships with Idaho Falls, Yellowstone Fiber, and Bountiful Fiber, all of which have been funded completely through subscriber revenue, at no cost to taxpayers. For more information visit www.utopiafiber.com.  

About the Fiber Broadband Association

The Fiber Broadband Association is the largest and only trade association that represents the complete fiber ecosystem of service providers, manufacturers, industry experts, and deployment specialists dedicated to the advancement of fiber broadband deployment and the pursuit of a world where communications are limitless, advancing quality of life and digital equity anywhere and everywhere. The Fiber Broadband Association helps providers, communities, and policymakers make informed decisions about how, where, and why to build better fiber broadband networks. Since 2001, these companies, organizations, and members have worked with communities and consumers in mind to build the critical infrastructure that provides the economic and societal benefits that only fiber can deliver. The Fiber Broadband Association is part of the Fibre Council Global Alliance, which is a platform of six global FTTH Councils in North America, LATAM, Europe, MEA, APAC, and South Africa. Learn more at fiberbroadband.org.