Dr. Prasad serves as the Vice President of Programs at the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society. She holds a Ph.D. in Communication from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and an MPA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
With the Executive Director and Executive Editor, Dr. Prasad defines and implements Benton’s strategic vision. Through the institute’s research work and fellowship program, Dr. Prasad leads Benton’s contributions to evidence-based policy solutions to advance universal equitable broadband access, adoption, and application. Dr. Prasad oversees the day-to-day management of Benton's programmatic work.
Dr. Prasad's research has been published in Media, Culture & Society, Information, Culture & Society, Communication, Culture and Critique, and Journalism. She has received awards from the Global Communication and Social Change and the Media Industries Divisions of the International Communication Association. Her doctoral work examined efforts to “connect the unconnected” in rural India, including telecommunications policy, infrastructure projects, and small networks run by WISPs. Recent articles by Dr. Prasad include: