Cara Duckworth

My career in communications has taken me through an exciting journey across multiple industries over 23 years. I'm from Oklahoma, so I started in Washington, D.C. working in Senator Don Nichols' communications office. I had always dreamed of going into the movie business, and a wonderful mentor called me over to the Motion Picture Association where I worked as Director of Communications for a few years. Then the Recording Industry Association recruited me as director of communications, and I was excited to try on my music hat - I spent about 13 years there, working my way up to Senior Vice President of Communications, representing major labels and artists. I kind of created my own path, going from movies to music to books when I joined the Association of American Publishers. After that, I had the wonderful fortune of being recruited to the United States Patent and Trademark Office to run communications as Chief Corporate Communications Officer for a little over four and a half years. I left that role and came over to U.S. Telecom to learn more about broadband internet and the communications industry, where I currently serve as head of the Communications Department. In my day-to-day role, I strategize with our CEO, coordinate with my team on goals and deliverables, check in with communications colleagues at companies like AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen, and work to ensure communications is effective across all channels. I focus on connecting the dots across our organization, determining the right audience, the right message, and the right form of communication - whether that's social media posts, press releases, blog posts, or longer-term strategies.