Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition Taps Joey Wender as Executive Director

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2025 – The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition on Thursday announced that Joseph Wender had been named as its new executive director, effective March 10, 2025. 

Succeeding founding Executive Director John Windhausen, Wender’s appointment comes as a critical moment in broadband policy, including a pending Supreme Court decision on the future of the Universal Service Fund.

Since its founding in 2009, SHLB has worked to ensure that every school, library, healthcare provider, and anchor institution has access to affordable, high-speed broadband. Under Windhausen’s leadership, SHLB has become a significant national coalition advocating broadband expansion and adoption.

A longtime advocate for internet access, Wender joins SHLB after leading the Capital Projects Fund at the U.S. Treasury Department in the administration of President Joe Biden, where he oversaw billions in broadband and infrastructure investments connecting rural and urban communities. 

Previously, Wender was senior policy advisor to Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., playing a significant national role in broadband policy. The coalition said that Wender will help SHLB navigate critical policy debates affecting anchor institutions. 

“This is a pivotal moment in broadband policy in this country,” Wender told Broadband Breakfast. “I’m excited to lead SHLB at this moment, as the need for high-speed internet across the nation is greater than ever.

“Anchor institutions play a crucial role in connecting Americans across the country, and I could not be more excited to be leading an organization that speaks for schools, libraries, healthcare providers — the voices that are so important, the services and institutions that are so vital to communities across the country.

“I’m proud of the incredible work we’ve done at the Capital Projects Fund investing in high-speed internet access across the country,” he said.

Also, Phil Neufeld, executive officer of strategic research and policy analysis at the Fresno Unified School District, and SHLB’s newly appointed chair, thanked Windhausen for his contributions to the organization. “John, thank you for your vision and generative leadership in building SHLB into a dynamic coalition for solving the digital divide. Joey’s experience and passion for collaborative and pragmatic policies will be invaluable as we move forward.” 

Wender holds a law degree from Harvard Law School and an undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University.