Connected Nation’s newest employee has a sit-down conversation with the company’s longest-tenured employee

By Kailynn Bannon
Multimedia Content Producer, Connected Nation

Washington, D.C. (May 13, 2026) – When I was first hired at Connected Nation (CN) a little under two years ago, I joined a remote nonprofit with so many employees that I had trouble remembering names. That was not the same reality for CN’s longest-tenured employee, Bernie Bogle, when she joined the company in 2003.

When she first applied for the job at CN 23 years ago, she was interviewed by half the staff, which was a total of three employees. After she came on board, Bogle and the six other employees at the time worked on site, long before the pandemic changed the future of the company and we shifted to a remote workforce.

As CN celebrates 25 years of service this year, we’re taking a look at some of the nonprofit’s most influential leaders. Ask anyone here at CN and they’ll tell you that Bogle is one of those people. That’s why I sat down with her (virtually) to ask her about some of the biggest changes she’s seen in the company over the past couple decades.

Now CN’s Chief Financial Officer, Bogle started at the company in the top financial position. She handled administration, did all the accounting work, and managed grants. Back then, Connected Nation was the Center for Technology Enterprise, Inc., conducting the ConnectKentucky project and limiting its services to the Commonwealth.

The CN team, along with Bogle, worked hard to expand regionally by launching programs in other states, including Connect Tennessee, Connect Ohio, and what would become Connected Nation. This expansion was one of the biggest changes in the early years of the company, especially compared to when I joined. When I first started at CN, we were already well established in all 50 states.

Another aspect of work life at CN that has changed over the years is shifts in leadership. While Bogle praised all three of CN’s CEOs, both past and present, for being amazing leaders, she said that they all have different leadership and work styles.

Her workload has always varied depending on who was in charge and the state of the nation’s broadband. There was a time when she, along with several other colleagues, routinely had 20-40 extra hours of work each week, but she said those long hours brought her closer to her team of coworkers.

“When you work on those kinds of things together, you build camaraderie,” Bogle said. “That's something that really builds a lot of strong relationships.”

Bogle told me about the many struggles CN has overcome, such as a painful workforce reduction that came after five years of working on grants. The team got even smaller at one point when the grant money ended, so they had to essentially rebuild the business.

“We've been in operation for over 25 years, and we always land on our feet, which is amazing, because many nonprofits don't land on their feet. But I think that is attributable to our leaders,” Bogle said.

She also told me about the many successes CN has celebrated over the years, one of them being how the team pulled together during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Of course, the nonprofit faced the same challenges many others did, with the team going from being in the administrative office three days a week to being completely remote.

“It took a pandemic for people to see that internet matters,” Bogle said. “The whole nation began to see how critical connectivity is … so what we had been saying for 20 years, people started to see it. The importance of Connected Nation’s mission was highlighted in a very significant way, although not in a way we would have preferred, and that's when additional federal funding became available.”

When I asked her what makes CN special, she said the people make the company.

“The best thing I could say about Connected Nation is just the type of people who work here. They are high achievers,” Bogle said. “They have strong character and integrity, and they work hard and won't let their teammates down.”

I also asked her what kind of advice she has for me and future new CN employees. 

“Not all companies care for their employees the way Connected Nation does,” Bogle said. “So, to me, that's one of the biggest reasons that I love Connected Nation. It's the people who are here; it's the kindness and the caring that they show others.”

She hopes that future employees can appreciate how unique CN is, especially those who have never been in the workforce or had a full-time job.

“I think it has been one of my greatest joys to be at Connected Nation,” Bogle said. “It's more than just where I work. It's a huge part of me.”

And I agree with her. CN’s staff are some of the most kind, caring people you’ll ever meet. I have never had to face a problem without someone by my side helping me every step of the way. That’s why I believe everyone belongs in a Connected Nation.