January 6, 2017

Matthew Parks

MATTHEW PARKS is President/Executive Director of iFiber and Illinois Fiber Ventures. He’s been on the iFiber/Ventures team since the beginning of the project in 2011. He leads the Division of Information Technology (DoIT) for Northern Illinois University’s four campuses. In his role as Chief Information Officer (CIO) he develops and promotes a vision for information technology where partnering with IT makes it easy to succeed.

Matt wants people to know iFiber/Ventures iFiber is a world class fiber-optic broadband network that brings 21st Century connectivity to critically important Community Anchor Institutions in Northwest Illinois. iFiber has successfully partnered with the commercial ISP market to bring real choice for the private sector to enable access to high-speed connectivity throughout the region, promoting business retention and economic development.

Prior to joining NIU, Parks spent over 13 years in the wireless technology sector, serving in leadership and technical roles within Motorola, Nextel and Sprint. He has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Iowa and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Northern Illinois University.

When he’s not working on iFiber project, Matt loves to ski with his family, and is a die-hard Cubs fan. He enjoys playing golf and sitting around the bonfire with family and friends.