Ana Rua
Driven by telecommunications’ ability to empower communities, Ana Rua helps lead Public Affairs strategy at the nation's largest provider of shared wireless infrastructure, Crown Castle. An immigrant from Colombia, Rua has spent her career in New York paying it forward on the American Dream by working with intention for social responsibility at public and private institutions.
Prior to her role at Crown Castle, Rua was part of the team that spearheaded Governor Andrew Cuomo’s $500M initiative to connect the most rural and remote regions of New York State with high-speed internet access, traveling to 56 of the state’s 62 counties to facilitate the program’s implementation. Also at Governor Cuomo’s office, she inherited a $70 million portfolio of legacy projects in dire need of management, and by coordinating with utilities, establishing availability of services and ensuring minority and women-owned businesses got a seat at the table, the projects are now on track and on-budget.
Her reach has grown to the Northeastern seaboard in her current work for Crown Castle, where she paves the way for next generation wireless infrastructure with the aim of transforming the digital landscape of the region. By educating and informing residents, influencers, municipal staff and elected officials, she helps shape public policy and opinion, recruits advocates and builds community relationships with the objective of connecting those in disenfranchised and far-reaching communities with tools to empower themselves via telecommunications. “I get a tremendous sense of purpose because I work in this industry that has a fundamental focus to make people’s lives easier, better and more connected,” she says.