Pierrette Renée Dagg is the Director of Research for Merit Network at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She oversees both Research & Development and the Technology Impact Research team. The aim of her work is to bridge the gap between academic scholarship and practical application to positively impact technology and information equity. Merit Network is a non-profit, Member-owned organization governed by Michigan’s public universities. Founded in 1966, Merit owns and operates America’s longest-running regional research and education network. After 50 years of innovation, Merit continues to provide high-performance networking and security services to government, educational and nonprofit communities in Michigan and beyond.Pierrette is also a Digital Opportunities Fund Fellow at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society where she is publishing case studies on broadband community champions. She joined Merit from Crain’s Detroit Business, where she held the position of Creative Director. She has been the recipient of multiple awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, PRism, the National Academy of Television Officers and Advisors and was also an Emmy nominee.Pierrette graduated from the University of Toledo in Interdisciplinary Studies and earned the Magna Cum Laude distinction. She was also a member of Phi Kappa Phi and was named the Distinguished Graduating Scholar by the College of Adult and Lifelong Learning.Pierrette completed her Executive MBA from the University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation in September, 2018. Pierrette earned her Ph.D. at UT in the Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education and Education Technology. She is a member of the American Educational Research Association, the Michigan Council for Women in Technology and the Pop Culture/American Culture Association.