Senior Counsel, Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, U.S. Senate

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CHRISTIANNA BARNHART is Senior Counsel for communications and media issues to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Previously she led the technology and telecommunications team for US Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI). She has over a decade of experience in telecommunications and technology policy in both the public and private sectors, and her team provides counsel on issues related to spectrum policy, privacy, net neutrality, broadband deployment, and artificial intelligence. Before coming to the Senate, Christi was Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Charter Communications, where she represented Charter’s interests before the Federal Communications Commission and other federal agencies. At Charter, Christi oversaw the successful merger of Charter, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks, resulting in Charter becoming the second-largest cable operator in the United States. Prior to joining Charter, Christi held several leadership roles at the Federal Communications Commission. She was an advisor to then-Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, and managed the Rural Health Care universal service support fund, a $400 million dollar program designed to improve broadband connectivity in rural areas for telehealth and telemedicine. Christi holds a bachelor’s degree from James Madison University and received her JD and MBA from American University. She lives in Washington, DC, with her husband and three children.

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