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Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
Building for Digital Equity Podcast
Building for Digital Equity is a series of live stream events and a podcast hosted by Community Broadband Networks team members featuring interviews with people working for digital inclusion and ensuring everyone can reap the benefits of the Internet. You can listen to episodes below, via a podcast application (search for "Building for Digital Equity"), or via this RSS feed.
Past live streams are archived here. Our next live stream is going to be June 10, 2024 at 3ET. The 2024 Building for Digital Equity Live Streams have been sponsored by UTOPIA Fiber, the largest open access fiber network in the nation.
We also produce the weekly Community Broadband Bits podcast and a semi-regular video show called Connect This! that has its own site. Check out ILSR's other podcasts here!
Keep up with new developments by subscribing to our one-email-per-week list sharing new stories and resources. We’d love to hear your feedback! Email us.Shaun Glaze and Chris Webb Discuss the Black Brilliance Research Project - Building for Digital Equity Podcast Episode 18
This episode of the Building for Digital Equity Podcast features Dr. Shaun Glaze, Research Director, and Chris Webb, Digital Equity Lead, from the Black Brilliance Research Project in Seattle, Washington. They discuss the project's roots in response to George Floyd's tragedy in 2020 and their unique research approach, emphasizing the transformative power of connectivity in uplifting marginalized communities.
Pierrette Dagg on Research, Engagement, and Digital Inclusion - Building for Digital Equity Podcast Episode 17
Our Building for Digital Equity podcast series is back with an insightful conversation with Pierrette Renée Dagg, Director of Research for the MERIT Network in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Pierrette discusses the importance of using research to inform community engagement and digital equity strategies, as well as the use of community-facing research methods like surveys and qualitative/quantitative analysis. She also highlights the importance of considering broader systemic issues that should be taken into account when forming digital equity strategies.
Ebony Cooksie on Transitioning to Digital Equity Work - Building for Digital Equity Podcast Episode 16
Ebony Cooksie is the Market Development Manager and Government Affairs Coordinator for NextLink Internet and we talked at Net Inclusion about how she transitioned from working in education to digital equity.
Dave Sevick and Computer Reach Go In the Home - Building for Digital Equity Podcast Episode 15
Dave Sevick, Executive Director at Computer Reach in Pittsburgh, has taken his experience helping people with devices and supercharged it for digital equity work. We talk about how they are funded and why they often use Linux-powered devices, among many other topics.
Marvin Venay Takes Tech Home in Boston - Building for Digital Equity Podcast Episode 14
Marvin Venay is the Chief Advocacy Officer for Tech Goes Home in Boston, a digital equity organization that has been building tech skills and working on the digital divide for longer than most. Sean Gonsalves talks with him about their process, how they continued to thrive even after the BTOP money dried up years ago, navigating the pandemic, expanding further into Massachusetts, and their future plans.
Brandon Forestor Puts Local in Local Internet Organizing - Building for Digital Equity Podcast Episode 13
Brandon Forester is the National Organizer for Internet Rights at Media Justice. We talk about organizing for digital equity and more specifically Brandon's vision for communities having agency over how technology shows up in their neighborhoods and digital communities. We discuss how Media Justice came to prioritize prison phone justice, what organizing is and how local solutions may differ in different communities, and the need to avoid purity politics in doing this work.
Laura Breeden on the Start of NDIA and Some Digital Equity History - Building for Digital Equity Podcast Episode 12
Laura Breeden, board member of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, joins us to talk about the beginning of NDIA - which happened in a bar among friends, along with most other good ideas. We also talk about what progress has been made on digital inclusion and reflect on some of the deeper history of the Internet and digital inclusion, going back to the early 1990's.
Ini Augustine on Mutual Aid and Community Connectivity - Building for Digital Equity Podcast Episode 11
Ini Augustine is a technologist who was ready to organize with her community to improve access to computers and Internet access when the pandemic hit and many low-income neighborhoods in Minneapolis and Saint Paul were cut off from education and other resources. More recently, she organized the Black Broadband Summit and the Family Broadband Coalition. We talk about her work and the promise and challenge of forming a cooperative to bring better Internet access to people who have been abandoned by traditional business models.
Jessica Strom and Opportunity Home Help People Build Marketable Skills - Building for Digital Equity Podcast Episode 10
Jessica Strom, Digital Inclusion Manager for Opportunity Home - the Public Housing Authority of San Antonio, shares the challenges of digital inclusion on their many properties as well as leaving us with exciting success stories of how people landed well-paying jobs after completing their courses. We also discuss the challenges for housing residents to avoid scams and the importance of free Wi-Fi to be ready if ACP runs out.
Deb Socia and Free, Fast Internet Access in Chattanooga - Building for Digital Equity Podcast Episode 9
Sean Gonsalves interviews Deb Socia, President and CEO of the Enterprise Center, about Chattanooga's remarkable municipal fiber network, which began offering free, high-speed service to thousands of low-income families during the pandemic under a program called HCS EdConnect. They go on to talk about one of Sean's favorite slogans, "If it isn't affordable, it isn't access." And finally, they discuss some advice for people newly joining digital equity work.