We are currently witnessing the power of telecommunications to aid humanity during this global pandemic. As the world needs to remain socially distant, telecom enables much-needed human connectivity. Our industry empowers working from home, learning from home, banking from home, shopping from home, entertaining from home, in essence, the ability to survive from home. To consider quarantining without the Internet is simply unimaginable.

Additionally, I’m an ambassador for Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF), an NGO that deploys worldwide within 24 hours of a humanitarian crisis, providing communications for life and connecting the unconnected. So when you think of telecom helping humanity, I cannot help but to think of the brave TSF workforce that provides the technology and skillset to give people who are stranded and/or in despair, the much-needed ability to call their loved ones and let them know they are alive. Since its inception, TSF has deployed in over 140 crises spanning 20 countries, reconnecting more than 20 milion people.

As an industry, we can’t depend on the same standards, solutions, and people power from the past 20 to 30 years to understand and conquer the new challenges that are coming our way. Instead, we need to “think forward,” with fresh ideas, latest technologies, smoother integrations, and from younger, more diverse thought leaders.

It’s been an honor in the past three to five years to witness the rise in demand for more diverse and younger talent in our industry. At JSA, we developed the Women’s Speaking Initiative (WSI), which matches female thought leaders to event organizers in our industry, in the hopes of encouraging more women speaking and keynoting at our events and conferences.

We also require more education and promotion of our industry to younger generations. JSA has been proud to work with NJFX and other select clients as we brought telecom and subsea speakers into U.S. high school classrooms for industry education and early recruitment. We’re excited to continue this initiative virtually and live post-pandemic.

I believe there’s been a developing and profound change underway in our industry this year, fast-forwarded by the pandemic. I believe this change is extremely positive, a silver lining during this crisis, and that this change is necessary for our industry to continue to survive and thrive.

The change is: we’re becoming more flexible and open in our old age. Many of us will be retiring in the next 10 to 20 years, and we’re realizing that there needs to be a “knowledge download” to the next generation of telecom leaders and innovators. No longer can network maps live solely in our minds. No longer can valuable information just be left, like legacy cable in the walls of carrier hotels, forgotten and therefore lost.

I believe that technology has been helping here. We are beginning to track more, upload to the cloud, diversify, and clarify. We are getting detailed, down to ports, and sharing information in select groups and even sometimes openly. By moving a majority of our workforce out of the office and into the home, we have learned that through inspirational leadership, partnerships, information sharing, and collaboration, we can not only survive but thrive.

There’s tremendous power and longevity in giving our next generation access to our collective brain share and a tremendous loss to humanity if we don’t do this more aggressively, effectively, and industry-wide.

PTC is one of the top organizations in our industry dedicated to education and networking year-round. Specifically, the PTC Annual Conference in Hawaii at the beginning of each year serves as a way for our industry to gather, celebrate, network, and kick-start another season of meetings and deal-making. It’s a kick-off to the quarter and often the gunshot for our year-long horse race.

We’re proud to say JSA hasn’t missed a PTC Annual Conference in over 15 years and always looks forward to partnering with PTC and its members and attendees. The community has grown to become an amazing ecosystem as well, with subsea and telecom companies, data centers, hyperscalers, academics, regulators, and financial players all actively networking in one space. It’s a great time for us to connect face-to-face with our current and prospective clients and analysts and media, to encourage relationships and share the latest news and highlights, while being part of the rich traditions of opening ceremonies, luau, morning hikes, and afternoon cocktails, all on the beautiful island of Oahu with our friends and colleagues.

There’s a clear link between the PTC and JSA mission; both organizations are dedicated to connecting people, sharing news, facilitating business, and growing our industry. We do so by creating educational channels and encouraging diverse voices from around the world to participate. Here at JSA, we have crafted channels, such as our monthly virtual roundtables, JSA TV, JSA Podcasts, JSA Blog, and JSA News Alerts, to ensure these headlines are building public awareness and encouraging investment and recruitment for our clients and the industry at large.

My advice might sound “canned,” – but I believe it’s critical to persevering, overcoming challenges, and really being successful and happy in life – and that is: be passionate. If you are guided by your heart, there’s really no limit to what you can accomplish, both at work and at home (which ironically happens to be one in the same these days). And our industry is truly remarkable – it is the foundation for critical global communications – and as such, we are the wires that make the world tick. If you are passionate about working in an industry where what you do can have a global impact, then this is the industry for you.

At 44, in many ways, my life has just begun. My husband of 12+ years and I are so filled with love for one another, and for the magical gift of our new baby girl. Ava Capri Cutaia is six months old and pure joy.

JSA, my first born, has been a pillar of strength for our clients and for me personally this year. In January, we had a plan for my maternity leave in the summer. In March, when the news of the pandemic broke, we tore up our pre-approved annual marcomm plans for over 40 retained clients, and quickly pivoted our clients and team to shore up our clients’ digital assets, brand recognition, and targeted lead generation. We did this as we do everything: as a family. We relied on one another’s talents, we analyzed the data trends, and we revised budget allocations to maximize ROI during a time when there was very little certainty. In the springtime, we were humbled by the results of our efforts, and the love and continued support of our amazing clients. By summer, I took my maternity leave, with a grateful heart, knowing my team was rocking it out daily, on all cylinders. This fall and winter, as the pandemic seems to be tightening its grip, we remain committed to our clients and the industry and to the perseverance of humanity, as we ready for the arrival of vaccines and the demise of COVID-19.