Where Policy Meets the People: Kristen Corra on SHLB's Role in the Digital Equity Ecosystem

Hotspot is a series of articles drawn from interviews with people across the digital equity and inclusion ecosystem. For this issue, Cassie Bair sat down with Kristen Corra Policy Counsel at the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition, to talk about the coalition's role in federal broadband policy, the fight to preserve the E-Rate program, and what still needs to be done to expand digital opportunity.

The Layer Most People Don't See

We live in "a digital world where people are expected to know how to use the internet," says Kristen Corra, Policy Counsel at the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition. "There are so many different parts of our lives that rely on internet connectivity  and the capability to access it and to use it."

That's the heart of digital opportunity. "When we think about digital opportunity, it's about folks having access to affordable internet, and also being able to use it," Corra says. For many communities, both happen in the same places: schools, libraries, and healthcare clinics.

Corra is Policy Counsel at SHLB, where she leads the coalition's policy work. SHLB is a national nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., with members from all over the country. Its mission is to make sure anchor institutions have access to affordable, high-quality and reliable broadband so that they can connect to the internet in order to serve their communities.

That support depends on decisions made at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and in Congress, a layer of digital equity work most people never see. SHLB works on that layer.

A Bridge Between Communities and Policymakers

"I really see SHLB as a bridge between stakeholders who have experience with the universal service programs, anchor institutions, and federal policymakers." 

– Kristen Corra

SHLB files comments with the FCC and writes letters to policymakers, but Corra emphasizes that it "really is a working coalition."

"What we do is we bring community members together, so that they can share their experiences, their questions, their concerns, and they can provide feedback to us here at SHLB, which then helps to shape our policy priorities and how we advocate," she explains. SHLB then carries those perspectives to the FCC and Congress to ensure that those voices are reflected in policy decisions.

Information flows the other way, too. SHLB keeps up with what's happening at the federal level and brings those updates back to its members, so the people affected by federal decisions know what's coming.

Who's in the Coalition, and Why the Mix Matters

"I like to say that anybody who supports our mission can be part of SHLB," Corra says.

That starts with anchor institutions, and it covers a range of roles within them, from a main branch librarian to a school district's chief technology officer. The coalition also includes research and education networks, internet providers, state broadband leaders, and other digital equity nonprofits. Some members follow E-Rate and the Rural Health Care program closely, while others track BEAD and the digital opportunity space.

That range gives SHLB a view of the field no single organization could have alone. "We have a lot of different types of members," Corra says, "but I think that's the value of SHLB itself."

Policy as Education

Corra organizes SHLB's monthly policy calls, where members discuss initiatives at the FCC and in Congress. Together they decide where SHLB should take part, whether by filing comments, writing letters, or meeting with policymakers.

"Our work really is about education," she says. SHLB hosts free public webinars, open to non-members, on topics such as cybersecurity and new federal programs. The education also flows upward back to the federal level, where SHLB is bringing the perspectives of the community to policymakers.

The policy calls give members a place to share questions, insights, stories, and data. Sometimes, Corra says, "that turns into advocacy later on down the road."

For Corra, the work is personal. "My time here at SHLB has taught me that, first and foremost, these federal programs impact everybody," she says. Through her work on E-Rate and Rural Health Care, she has seen how that support opens doors and opportunities.

Because these programs touch so many lives, she believes people should know when the FCC or Congress is considering changes. "They need to have the ability to understand what's going on," she says, "and they need to know that their voice is important to that conversation."

E-Rate : Where SHLB Meets Digital Equity

"You might not immediately think about E-Rate and digital opportunity together." 

– Kristen Corra

SHLB tracks the Digital Equity Act and other digital opportunity programs because so many of its members, especially libraries, engage in digital opportunity work. But E-Rate is at the center of SHLB's work, and Corra wants the digital equity field to see it as foundational. "Remember E-Rate is also about ensuring affordable access to the internet for schools and libraries."

E-Rate is one of four federal programs under the Universal Service Fund, or USF. "The concept of universal service has roots all the way back to 1934," Corra explains. "The Communications Act of 1934 established the FCC and the goal that all people in the U.S. shall have access to rapid, efficient, nationwide communication service with adequate facilities at reasonable charges."

The modern USF programs SHLB is most active about began with the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Corra continues, " The Telecom Act of 1996 expanded the definition of universal service and included provisions for rural healthcare providers, schools, and libraries."

E-Rate gives K-12 schools and libraries discounts on telecommunications and internet services. It doesn't cover the full cost, and funding is made available based on demand each year. Discounts depend on economic need and on whether a school district or library is classified as urban or rural, and they range from 20% to 90%.

When a library can afford its connection, the community gains a place to get online, and librarians can build digital skills training on top of it. "E-Rate provides access to the connectivity so that libraries and schools can champion educational endeavors," Corra says, "making sure that as we prepare people for a digital age, that they have the tools and resources to do so."

The Ecosystem Under Pressure

SHLB knew earlier this year that the FCC planned to review the Universal Service Fund programs, but not exactly what that review would look like. Corra's starting position is measured. "It's okay for the Commission to review the universal service programs and make sure that the Commission is fulfilling its statutory duties as aligned with Congress's intent under Section 254," she says.

What concerned SHLB was the specific questions in the rulemaking. The FCC is asking whether E-Rate should be sunset, which essentially means terminated, limited in some other way, or restricted to rural areas. In its comments to the federal government, SHLB argues that those questions don't match what Congress intended under Section 254.

If E-Rate were cut, Corra sees three groups really feeling it:

Schools and libraries: As the direct recipients, they would take a hit to their budget and have to move money from elsewhere to stay connected.

Students and patrons: Moving that money could mean fewer programs, fewer staff, and networks that aren't maintained as regularly.

The economy: SHLB commissioned an economic study on E-Rate to analyze what effect E-Rate has on things like GDP and labor. "The report indicates that eliminating E-Rate would have serious negative effects on the U.S. economy," Corra says. "For instance, the study reveals that removing roughly $2.6 billion in annual E-Rate support would reduce annual real GDP by about $4.2 billion. Eliminating E-Rate would also reduce real wages by about $2.8 billion, and tax revenues by about $1.5 billion each year."

SHLB responded by organizing public webinars, Capitol Hill briefings, resources to help people file letters with the FCC, and partnerships with organizations that offer congressional lookup and letter-writing tools. It also partnered with others to build its own Look Up Your E-Rate Data tool. "You can type in your address, and it can show you your district, the schools within your district, and how much E-Rate money they receive," Corra says.

SHLB filed extensive comments to the FCC prior to the October 13 deadline. The filing includes the economic study and an analysis of whether Congress intended the FCC to sunset the E-Rate program. Next come reply comments with a November 12 deadline.

Partners in the Ecosystem: 35 Mile and SHLB

35 Mile Foundation is a SHLB member. Its team joins the monthly policy calls, hears the updates SHLB brings back from the federal level, and contributes to the feedback SHLB gathers for its filings.

"SHLB is also a proud grant recipient of 35 Mile, and that contribution helped with our current work," Corra says. There's a current FCC proceeding concerning E-Rate, and SHLB has been a leading voice in that proceeding. They have created educational tools and resources for the public and for their members to understand what's going on. It also helped fund the economic study, which SHLB released at its recent conference, AnchorNets 2026, which ran October 7-9.

"I always think it's important to not only have stories around how federal programs like E-Rate impact the community, but also to have data," Corra says. “That economic study was extremely important for so many people to understand how programs like E-Rate impact the economy and their communities in that way.”

The partnership shows one of the ways organizations in the ecosystem strengthen each other. A funder backs the policy work, the policy work protects the connectivity, and the connectivity makes digital opportunity programs possible.

What Still Needs to Be Done

"All of those small interactions can also count towards the work that they are doing." 

– Kristen Corra

Asked what's most important that isn't happening in the digital equity space, Corra starts with a caveat: "I am not an expert in the national digital equity space." Instead, she shares a specific challenge she's been hearing from SHLB members, particularly libraries, and especially smaller libraries that don't have as many resources.

"Speaking of everything that's going on in the E-Rate space right now, it really highlights how important storytelling and data gathering is," she says. There are organizations that can gather and compile data from a national perspective, Corra explains, but at the individual level, anchor institutions, especially libraries, can find data gathering challenging.

"Within libraries, especially smaller ones, they engage in digital opportunity work all the time," she says. A library might count a specific program or class toward its digital opportunity work, but it might not think to count the small interactions it has with patrons on a regular basis, such as helping someone with an issue on their phone or a computer.

Corra wants anchor institutions to think about all of the work they do on a daily basis, from formal programs all the way down to those smaller interactions, so they can tell stories around what they're doing and why the work is so important. It comes down to understanding that these interactions count so that way they can express the impact that they're having.

That data gathering comes with its own challenge. Some members, especially libraries, are trying to understand how they can survey or gather data around the work that they're doing without invading privacy, for example.

"It's important to gather data in order to share the impact that we're having, but also respect privacy concerns," Corra says. She doesn't have an exact answer, but it's something she has heard directly from members: "It's important to gather data and stories, but you also have to balance that with the challenges of your own mission."

Encouraging Signs

Even with E-Rate under pressure, Corra sees possibilities, especially where different parts of the ecosystem are starting to work together.

Through SHLB's work on the Rural Health Care program, Corra has watched more health systems recognize that patients need digital skills and tools to take part in telehealth. She hopes care increasingly goes beyond just sending a patient home with a link to an online portal.

Instead, providers are realizing that they need to assess if their patients have the skills and the tools needed to engage in telehealth.

Corra is also excited by new partnerships between anchor institutions. For example, some libraries are creating telehealth pods, "so people can conduct their telehealth appointment from a safe space," she says.

These partnerships show what happens when the layers of the ecosystem work together. Connectivity, digital skills, and essential services all meet in the same trusted community spaces.

Every Voice Strengthens the System

"SHLB is a collection of voices." 

– Kristen Corra

Asked what she most wants people to understand about SHLB, Corra comes back to its members. "I can't emphasize enough the coalition aspect of SHLB," she says. "Different types of people coming to the table, sharing their feedback around programs like E-Rate and Rural Health Care, their experiences, their concerns, their insights. Those interactions play such a critical role in helping to shape our advocacy at the federal level."

That's what makes SHLB one of the leading voices on E-Rate. "It's not just SHLB doing this," she says. "It's the members who are making SHLB the leading experts."

Her hope for anyone reading is simple. People across the U.S. can ask for rule changes "that can really impact the status quo," Corra says, so "it's important for folks to understand that these issues really do matter, and they can make a change."

Everything happening with E-Rate right now, she says, shows how important it is "for folks to know that these things are happening, that there's important issues facing them, and that their voice really does matter in the process."

Reply comments on the FCC's E-Rate proceeding are due by November 12, 2026. Replies don't have to be formal. A short letter, or a paragraph through the FCC's express comment form, can put your story on the record.

However, the FCC's E-Rate docket stays open until the Commission acts, and letters and meeting summaries can still be filed into the record. You can also write to your members of Congress about what E-Rate means to your community. To see how much E-Rate support schools in your district receive, use SHLB's Look Up Your E-Rate Data tool. 

To learn more about SHLB, join a free webinar, or become a member, visit shlb.org.