John D. Evans

Creative and Dreams Music Network welcomes John D. Evans, chairman and CEO of Evans Telecommunications Company and the John D. Evans Foundation.

John D. Evans is an internationally recognized expert in the telecommunications industry and a leader in technological innovation. He is perhaps best known as one of the co-founders of C-SPAN, where he served as chairman in the early 1990s. He continues to serve on its board and executive committee. In recent years, Mr. Evans has turned considerable amounts of his energy toward consulting and speaking on the future of new technology and its impact of media and society. He is currently chairman and CEO of Evans Telecommunications Company, an investment, consulting and operating company in the cable television and telecommunications industries. During the 1980s and 1990s, he and his business partner, Gus Hauser, created one of the nation’s largest cable television operations.

Since 1982, Mr. Evans has served on the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) Board of Directors. In 1981, he received the NCTA President’s Award, and in 1984, the prestigious Vanguard Award for Young Leadership in recognition for his contributions to the cable television industry. In July 2001, he was inducted into the Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association Hall of Fame for his achievements and contributions toward the advancement of cable telecommunications in Virginia. In April 2004, he was inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame in Richmond, Virginia for his contributions to national media.

In 1998, Mr. Evans was appointed to Internet2’s industry strategy council where he served for six years. In June 2008, he was appointed to Internet2’s external relations council. In 2011, he was elected to Internet2’s Board of Trustees. In 2009, he was appointed by the National Science Foundation to serve on a distinguished panel to review and recommend multi-million dollar grants for NSF’s $200 million Academic Research Infrastructure Program (ARI-R2), an integral part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

In 1995, he was appointed by Dr. Robert Gallo, co-discoverer of the AIDS virus, to the advisory board for the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland. In 1998, Mr. Evans gave the keynote address at Dr. Gallo’s annual meeting on AIDS and viruses, which was attended by more than 1,000 of the world’s top AIDS scientists and clinicians. In 1999, he was asked to head up a four-university research alliance, The Waterford Project, to accelerate the development of an AIDS vaccine for the world. In December 2001, Mr. Evans received the League of African American Women’s annual award for his and The Waterford Project’s contributions to the fight against the AIDS pandemic. In 2002, he was elected to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative Board of Directors where he also chairs the finance and audit committee and serves as treasurer. In 2008, Mr. Evans received IHV’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in AIDS vaccine research and his public service.

In 2009, Washington and Jefferson College honored Mr. Evans with their Entrepreneur of the Year Award in recognition for his contributions to business and nonprofit ventures. That same year he also received the Courage in Business Award from the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

As a U.S. Navy Lieutenant, Mr. Evans served aboard the aircraft carriers USS America and USS John F. Kennedy as a television project officer for “SeaLab” and on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations at the Pentagon.

Mr. Evans graduated from the University of Michigan and is an active alumnus who serves on the U of M’s president’s advisory group and several other U of M advisory councils. He was a U of M commencement speaker at the 2009 department of communications graduation.

As the founder of the John D. Evans Foundations, Mr. Evans is committed to HIV/AIDS research, protection of the environment and quality of life improvement through technological innovation, education and the arts.

For more information about Mr. Evans, please contact info@creativeanddreamsmusicnetwork.com.

“It all starts with a creative dream.” – Fred Cannon