Colin Crowell


Colin Crowell is the at Twitter. He is a telecommunications and Internet technology policy expert, who worked for over two decades for then-Congressman, now Senator Ed Markey. Senator Markey is the former House Chairman of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet of the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce. From 2009 to 2010, Crowell served as Senior Counselor to Julius Genachowski, the Chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
Crowell was the 2020 Commencement Speaker, at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin on the occasion of the LBJ School’s 50th Anniversary.
Crowell has been profiled in the Washington Post, and has been quoted widely regarding technology and telecommunications policy.
He has been called "one of the most influential tech policy operatives you've never heard of" whose "fingerprints are all over some of the biggest technology and telecommunications statutes of the last two decades"; “an influential expert in the politics and policy of technology”; "a walking encyclopedia on the arcane details of tech and telecom statutes"; with “an unrivaled understanding of telecommunications law and history” and knowledge of “telecommunications and Congress unrivaled in Washington.”
Crowell is considered to be “a major architect of the FCC”s broadband plan,” and a key participant in drafting the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
In lawmaking, he was considered "a leading figure in… developing compromise," and an advocate for consumers and the public interest.
FCC Chairman Genachowski said: "No government staffer has done more to positively shape federal telecommunications policy over the past 25 years.” Genachowski called Crowell “indispensable to every key decision we've made,” possessing a “rare combination of policy smarts, wise counsel, and communications expertise.”
Crowell speaks widely on high technology policy. Among other speaking engagements, Crowell has , on the Roda Viva television show in Brazil, and joined the for a discussion on how his Jesuit education influenced his approach to social media.
Crowell graduated from Boston College with a BA in Political Science and a minor in Computer Science. He also served as a Jesuit International Volunteer upon graduation, teaching at a Jesuit school - Colegio San José, Arequipa, Peru - and working at a community soup kitchen.