Deborah Taylor Tate earned the baccalaureate degree from UT in 1977 and the JD in 1980. She served as a member of the Federal Communications Commission from January 2006 to January 2009. Among her many responsibilities at the FCC, Tate served as chair of both the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service and the Federal-State Joint Board on Jurisdictional Separations. She is an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Telecommunication and Information Society Laureate. Prior to being appointed to the FCC, she served as chairman and director of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, overseeing state regulation of telecommunications, gas, electricity, and water. She also formerly served as legal counsel and senior policy advisor to two Tennessee governors (Alexander and Sundquist) and as a director at Vanderbilt University’s Institute on Public Policy. She cofounded a substance abuse recovery center where women with children can receive educational and job training services and also worked to improve access to capital for women and minorities, assisting in the first FCC-sponsored Access to Capital Conference in New York City.
She is a published author and Distinguished Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Free State Foundation, an economic think tank outside Washington, DC. She serves on the boards of the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital and the Martha O’Bryan Center and is active with the Junior League of Nashville. Her work has been recognized by national and international organizations, including the Women in Cable Telecommunications, American Women in Radio and Television, and the Association of Junior Leagues International.