Day 1: Wednesday, October 2

Advocating for Digital Equity at the State Level

The Benton State Education Project is building coalitions to advocate on broadband issues at the state level. The coalitions bring together diverse stakeholders — anchor institutions, broadband offices, state legislators, ISPs, businesses, and concerned individuals — and help them define and achieve their goals for digital equity. This showcase will highlight lessons learned after a year of coalition building. 

Drew Garner

Director of Policy Engagement- Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

Jennifer Blatz

Program Director- Greater Pittsburgh Digital Inclusion Alliance

Free WiFi in Affordable and Public Housing

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council and EducationSuperHighway are supporting Urban Edge, a  Boston-based community development corporation, in deploying an apartment WiFi network within 880 units across multiple buildings in the Columbus Avenue Corridor. Partners will discuss the planning process along with its challenges and opportunities. 

Tony Schloss

General Manager,
Apartment Wi-Fi- Education Superhighway

Will Pfeffer

Civic Technologist- Metropolitan Area Planning Council

A Model for Digital Inclusion Partnerships

Common Sense Media has collaborated with several CAIs, government agencies, schools, and nonprofit organizations in Phoenix and Arizona to launch digital inclusion awareness campaigns and develop a model approach to building and navigating cross-sector partnerships for digital inclusion work.

Ilana Lowery

Arizona Regional Director- Common Sense Media

Erin Lorandos

Digital Equity Program Manager- Arizona Commerce Authority 

A New Kind of Community Anchor: Maine's Connectivity Hubs

Maine awarded 12 Connectivity Hub grants in June 2024 to support its digital equity plan and strengthen its network of community anchor institutions. Hear from the state and a grant recipient about the genesis of the program, progress to date, lessons learned along the way, and why Connectivity Hubs are such an important cornerstone of the Maine Digital Equity Plan.  

Maggie Drummond-Bahl

Director Of Strategic Partnerships- Maine Connectivity Authority

Kathryn Harnish

Director, Strategic Initiatives & Communications- Aroostook Agency on Aging

Nebraska Libraries Get Over the CIPA Compliance Hurdle

The Nebraska Library Commission has worked with its libraries to provide a fully managed and funded DNS filtering solution, helping them overcome CIPA compliance hurdles and take greater advantage of E-rate.

Andrew Sherman

Library Technology Support Specialist- Nebraska Library Commission 

Advancing Digital Equity in South Texas Communities

Methodist Healthcare Ministries (MHM) is fostering digital inclusion throughout communities in its 74-county service region.  Their work focuses on improving the digital equity ecosystem, increasing devices access, improving digital skills, and supporting public benefit adoption.

Monica Gonzalez

Digital Equity Supervisor- Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.

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Together is a Superpower: How anchor institutions can collaborate to shape a digital literacy landscape

The Marylanders Online team at the University of Maryland Extension and Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library have developed Pratt Adventure & Beyond, a hybrid train-the-trainer curriculum for digital navigators. This initiative empowers library staff to provide digital skills training, fostering a sustainable digital literacy ecosystem in Baltimore and Maryland. Join us to discuss this partnership's vision and how to leverage resources from both institutions to bridge the digital divide.  

Uhjin Sim

Instructional Designer- University of Maryland

Regina Paige

Training Manager, Enoch Pratt Free Library

Virginia Public-Private Partnership is Connecting 6,000 Unserved Homes

Shenandoah County Government (VA) and Shentel, a local ISP, are leveraging nearly $50M of private, County, and State money to extend broadband services to more than 6,000 currently unserved homes, businesses, and community anchor institution in the community.

Doug Culler

Doug Culler, Director of IT-  Shenandoah County Public Schools

Bryan Byrd

Gov't & Community Affairs Specialist- Shentel

Next Level Coalition-Building in Kansas City

This showcase spotlights a brand-new nonprofit designed to leverage libraries and other anchor institutions to foster greater collaboration and more balanced and equitable funding in a region that has long been considered one of the leading digital inclusion communities in the US.

Tom Esselman

Executive Director- Digital Equity Program Office of Greater Kansas City

Carrie Coogan

Deputy Director for Public Affairs and Community Engagement- Kansas City Public Library