Cynthia Schultz has more than 30 years of expertise in regulatory, transactional, and commercial law in the broadband, communications, technology, and litigation sectors. She is an attorney and former senior executive, business strategist, chief compliance officer, and law partner in both the public and private sectors. Ms. Schultz is recognized as an expert in corporate and organizational governance; federal policy; compliance; public and commercial transactions; compliance requirements of federal technology and broadband grants; and Universal Support Fund (USF) programs in the education, communications, and technology sectors. She is experienced in navigating federal policy and procedures at all levels of government and an effective advocate on behalf of her clients.
Ms. Schultz also served as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer to a national broadband company. In this capacity, she oversaw the legal affairs of the company, including litigation and public policy initiatives. She also managed governance and regulatory compliance; established and centralized a compliance center of excellence in complex federal and state regulatory environments; and designed, directed, and integrated the implementation of a comprehensive contract lifecycle management solution.
As former principal of The Schultz Group, PLLC and partner with the international law firm of Patton Boggs, LLP in Washington, DC, Ms. Schultz served as lead partner on USF and E-Rate and Rural Healthcare business leading strategic, regulatory, compliance and policy advisory services for clients. She advocated for clients on USF matters before USAC, FCC, USDA RUS, and Congress. Her practice focused on communications and technology, FCC regulatory matters, E-Rate and Rural Healthcare compliance, and NTIA Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), USDA RUS technology loan and grant programs, and corporate organizational and compliance governance.
At the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA), Ms. Schultz served as Director of Compliance and Audits for the $4.7 billion in federal financial assistance awarded under the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), where she led a team of attorneys, consultants, federal program and grants officers in the development and oversight of all federal laws and regulations governing the Program, along with the post award grants administration, compliance, tribal matters, and audits.
As the former Director of Service Provider Support at the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), Ms. Schultz managed E-Rate Program operations impacting over 4,000 service providers. Prior to USAC, she served in senior management in the National Competition and Regulatory Policy Group at WorldCom. In addition, Ms. Schultz was Associate Counsel for Law and Public Policy at MCI.
Prior to her work in telecommunications and technology, she served as a Trial Attorney in the distinguished Attorney General’s Honors Program in the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, where she was lead litigator for international fraud and international trade cases. She clerked for the Honorable Gregory W. Carman, Chief Judge of the United States Court of International Trade.
Presenter, Semper Paratus: E-rate Reviews, Audits, and Appeals, Consortium of School Networking (CoSN), Portland, Oregon
2019
Presenter, E-rate Appeals and Audits, Schools, Health, Libraries & Broadband Coalition (SHLB), Washington, D.C.
2018
Panelist, Financing Future Bandwidth, Broadband Communities Summit, Austin, TX
2014
Panelist, General Session: How Innovative Fiber-Enabled Broadband Projects Are Changing Lives, Broadband Communities Summit, Dallas, TX
2013
Panelist, Meet the Experts-Strategies for Long Term Operation Excellence: BTOP Compliance,Mid-Course Workshop for Broadband Awardees, One Community and NTIA, Cleveland, Ohio
2011
Panelist, Building Tomorrow’s Economic Foundation: Broadband in the Community Through BTOP, Federal Economic Development Forum, International Economic Development Council, Alexandria, VA
2011
Trainer, Understanding Compliance and Audits of NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, NTIA National BTOP Workshops, multiple U.S. Locations
2009/2010
Presenter, BTOP Broadband Opportunities and Federal Compliance, National Association of State Directors Southern Regional Conference, Charleston, SC
2010
Presenter, Billions in New Telecommunications Funds:Where Does Your Tribe Fit In, 66th Annual Conference of the National Congress of American Indians, Palm Springs, CA
2009
Presenter, Hi Speed, High Stakes, Opportunities in the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program and Compliance, Minority Serving Institutions Technical Assistance & Capacity Building Conference, Dallas, TX
2009
Presenter, Opportunities in the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program and Compliance, Tribes of Northwest Indians 56th Annual Conference, Seattle, WA
2009
Presenter, Opportunities in the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program and Compliance and Section 106, 11th Annual Conference of the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, Durant, Oklahoma
2009
Selected Contributor, Narrowing the Digital Divide: The Role of Universal Service Programs Supporting Advanced Information Technology in Education, World Conference of International Council for Open and Distance Education and European Association of Distance Teaching Universities, Maastricht, Netherlands
2009
Panelist, The Battle for Universal Service, 4th Annual Syracuse Communications Law & Policy Symposium, Syracuse, NY
2009
Presenter, Opportunities to Reach the Educational and Rural Health Care Markets Through USF’s E-Rate and Rural Health Care Pilot Programs, BICSI Winter Conference, Orlando, FL
2009
Presenter, The E-Rate Program and Interconnected Voice Over Internet Protocol and Universal Service, BICSI Spring Conference, Dallas, TX
2007
Trainer, E-Rate Compliance Training for Service Providers, Patton Boggs LLP, Washington, D.C.
2006
Trainer, E-Rate Compliance Training for Service Providers, Universal Service Administrative Company, multiple U.S. locations
2003-2005
Certificate of Appreciation, U.S. Department of Commerce: 2010
- Invaluable Service & Dedication to Excellence in Underwriting BTOP’s
- Successful Start-Up and Launch, NTIA
Certificate of Recognition, U.S. Department of Commerce: 2010
- Outstanding Implementation & Deployment of the Broadband Technology
- Opportunities Program of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Special Act Award, U. S. Department of Commerce: 2010
- Exceptional Development and Implementation of the BTOP Post Award Grant Administration and Management Program
Special Act Award, U.S. Dept. of Commerce: 2010
- Excellence in Creation, Integration, Development, and Implementation of BTOP’s Environmental Management Program
Environmental Stewardship Award, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 2010
Client Recognition Award, U.S. Customs Service: Carrying the Sword of Justice 1993-1996 1998
Sustained Superior Performance Award, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC 1996
Special Achievement Award, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC 1994
