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Ariane Schaffer

Head of Federal & State Public Policy - GFiber

 

Nominee Questionnaire

 

Please provide a short bio for voters to get to know you. 

Ariane Schaffer is the Head of Federal & State Public Policy for GFiber, an Alphabet company that provides Google Fiber and Google Fiber Webpass internet services to homes and businesses across the United States. Ariane joined the company in 2018 and focuses on advancing public policy to increase broadband deployments and realize digital equity for communities across the nation. In this role, she represents GFiber on a wide variety of issues impacting the business, including competition, utility safety, permitting reform, and taxes. She also serves as the company’s liaison to trade associations, industry coalitions, third-party groups, and participates on expert panels and in events with other thought leaders. She is currently serving a three-year term as a board member for the Fiber Broadband Association and is Chair of the Board for 2025. 

Prior to joining Google Fiber, Ariane was Executive Briefer to the Governor of New York. Ariane holds a bachelor’s degree from American University’s School of Public Affairs in Washington, DC and graduated from the School of Public Affairs Leadership Program and University Honors Program. She interned in the White House in the Office of Public Engagement under President Obama as well served as Legislative Intern for the U.S. Representative Cedric L. Richmond. A New Orleans native, and currently lives in New York City. 

 

Please summarize why you consider yourself an excellent candidate for the FBA Board of Directors? 

I think I would be considered an excellent candidate for the Fiber Broadband Association Board of Directors due to my extensive professional experience in the fiber and telecommunications policy landscape and my proven leadership within the organization itself. 

Key reasons for strong candidacy include: 

  • Executive Leadership at a Major Fiber Provider: I am the Head of Public Policy and Government Affairs for GFiber (Google Fiber), an Alphabet company that is a major player in deploying fiber and FTTH services across the United States. This provides the Board with a direct perspective from a prominent industry service provider. 
  • Expertise in Public Policy and Broadband Deployment: My role focuses specifically on advancing public policy to increase broadband deployments and realize digital equity. I have expertise in crucial areas impacting the industry, such as competition, utility safety, and permitting reform. This expertise is vital for a trade association focused on policy and growth. 
  • Direct Industry Involvement: I have already been serving a three-year term as a Board member for the FBA and has actively contributed to groups like the Public Policy Committee, showing a dedicated commitment to the FBA’s mission and operations. 
  • Elevated Leadership Role: My election to Chair of the FBA Board for 2025 demonstrates that my peers and the association’s membership recognize my leadership capabilities and trust me to guide the organization’s strategic agenda during a historic period of fiber investment across North America.
     

Describe your current position and functional responsibilities to your company. 

Setting Strategy and Vision
I am responsible for setting the goals, strategy, and vision for the company’s policy priorities. This includes managing the development and advancement of our policy agenda with internal teams, external partners, and governmental bodies at the federal, state, and local levels. I work with internal and outside experts across disciplines like infrastructure deployment, tariffs, and taxes to develop comprehensive policy analysis and advocacy positions, often in collaboration with trade associations, think tanks, and academic groups. 

Subject Matter Expertise and Internal Briefing
I serve as a primary subject matter expert on regulatory and legislative matters impacting our business. My function is to internally brief senior leadership on these issues to inform key decisions. Externally, I represent the company on a wide variety of critical issues, including competition, utility safety, permitting reform, and taxes. I also serve as the company’s key liaison to influential public official coalitions and third-party groups, such as the National Governors Association (NGA), the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. 

Strategic Communications and Advocacy
My role includes executing comprehensive legislative, regulatory, and political advocacy strategies. I lead cross-functional teams to champion policies that support the accelerated deployment of fiber-optic infrastructure. I also manage external lobbyists to help identify and realize new business and expansion opportunities. A core part of this function is performing research and analysis, preparing high-quality, succinct analysis, and crafting written government filings and industry articles to effectively articulate and support the company’s public policy positions. 

Executive Engagement and Business Development
I am engaged in business development by creating and advising on strategies that leverage our company’s strengths, competitive advantage, and market differentiation in the context of public policy. I engage our various business units to communicate public policy issues and market developments, and then develop and execute comprehensive plans to address them, ensuring policy strategy is aligned with overall business objectives. 

 

What was your previous position, and how long did you hold that position before transitioning to your current one? 

Previously, I served as the Executive Briefer to the Governor of New York from 2017-2018. 

 

Do you have any experience as a member of a Board of Directors? If so please provide name of the entity and number of years of which you served. 

Yes, I am currently serving year three of a 3 year term for the Fiber Broadband Association (2023-2025) and I previously held a set on the American University Young Alumni Board (2019-2024).  

 

How many years has your company been a Fiber Broadband Association Member?

10+ years 

 

How many years have you participated in Fiber Broadband Association activities? 

5 years 

 

Please indicate any Fiber Broadband Association Committees or working groups you have participated on including position and years served. 

  • Public Policy Committee Co-Chair – 2021-2022 
  • Board Liaison Public Policy Committee – 2023-2025 

 

Please list any Fiber Broadband Association Contributions (activities supported, assets developed, documents drafted, webinars presented, etc.) 

I have dedicated significant time and energy to supporting the Fiber Broadband Association’s goals, and I hope to continue this work! Please see some of my key accomplishments of the last year: 

 

Please provide a short overview of your experience with telecommunications, fiber optics, and FTTH technologies. 

Most of my career has been dedicated to telecommunications, fiber optics, and Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) technologies. My experience is concentrated on public policy, government affairs, and industry leadership within the fiber broadband sector. 

 

Please describe the goals you would like to accomplish during your term as Fiber Broadband Association Board Member. 

My primary goal is to accelerate fiber deployment. The FBA needs a powerful, consistent voice in Washington and in every State Capitol. As your board member, I will focus on tangible wins to remove regulatory barriers that are slowing us down. That means: 

  1. Streamlining Permitting Reform so we can deploy faster. 
  1. Updating outdated Locates Laws to improve safety and efficiency. 
  1. And tackling the massive, industry-wide Workforce Development challenge head-on. 

These are massive, multi-year projects, and no single company or single industry can do it alone. I will leverage my experience to forge essential cross-industry relationships, turning our policy goals into powerful, unified lobbying efforts. 

Finally, we must grow our footprint. There are well over a thousand fiber companies deploying across the US—each one should be an FBA member. I will continue my work to make our association more relevant and more valuable to every single company deploying fiber, ensuring the FBA is the definitive voice of this industry. 

 

Please describe the level of commitment (in terms of time and effort) that you intend to make to the Association during the three-year term. 

I intend to continue to work with committees, travel to all FBA conferences and represent FBA’s interests at other industry conferences.  

 

Please use this space to include any additional information you feel is important to share with voting members.   

This is an extraordinary time for fiber, and the FBA is at the center of it. We need proven policy leadership to turn our opportunity into reality. I humbly ask for your vote to continue delivering for the Fiber Broadband Association. Thank you.