Thrive & SIAG Recovery Series: The Digital Divide in Silicon Valley’s Backyard: How Can We Achieve Equitable Access for All?

We live in one of the most tech intensive areas in the world, yet, right here in Silicon Valley, families are struggling with distance learning and working from home because of lack of access to internet, weak internet connections, or inadequate equipment. This divide is increasing the inequities in our society and compounding the multiple crises our most vulnerable are facing. Join us to learn about new and existing initiatives aimed at bridging this divide, and to discuss how we can work across sectors to solve this urgent problem so our local vulnerable families don’t fall even further behind.

Featuring: Jon Walton, Chief Information Officer, County of San Mateo; Paul Goodman, Technology Equity Director, Greenlining Institute; Jose Talavera, Community Organizer, Innovate Public Schools; Maria Elena Arteaga, Parent Leader, Innovate Public School; Nancy Poon Lue, Co-Founder, Advanced Education Research and Development Fund; Amina Fazlullah, Equity Policy Counsel, Common Sense Media; Susan E. Walters, Senior Vice President, California Emerging Technology Fund. This session will be facilitated by Maya Tussing, Partner and Co-Founder of Fairlight Advisors.

Presented by Thrive Alliance and the Social Impact Advisory Group (SIAG). Sponsored by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).

*Zoom information will be sent to registered attendees. ¿Necesita una traducción al español para el evento? Indicar en la registración.

PANELISTS

Jon Walton, Chief Information Officer, County of San Mateo

Jon Walton rejects the idea of government as a technology dinosaur and strives to utilize the newest technology to solve problems outside of the traditional government approach. His vision is to leverage County technology solutions into regional platforms that serve not only County employees, but also residents, businesses, and other agencies. Closing the Digital Divide to create digital equity and improving regional cyber security through shared solutions are two of his key initiatives. Jon is also a public-school board trustee, loves to spend time at the ocean with his sons, and racing cars.

Paul Goodman, Technology Equity Director of Greenlining Institute

Paul Goodman directs Greenlining’s work in technology policy. His work is grounded in the belief that all technology policy has racial equity impacts. Paul advocates for affordable and reliable telephone and high-speed broadband service for communities of color, including critical consumer protections like data privacy and net neutrality. His most recent work involves fighting algorithmic bias, ensuring that computerized decision-making does not have disparate effects on communities of color. While at Greenlining, Paul has successfully opposed the highly anti-consumer AT&T/T-Mobile and Comcast/Time Warner Cable mergers; helped obtain a $33 million settlement from Comcast for privacy violations, and advised the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on the use of big data to create alternatives to traditional credit scores.

Jose Talavera, Community Organizer, Innovate Public Schools

Jose Talavera is a community organizer with Innovate Public Schools in Redwood City with a passion for educational and social justice. He works with parent leaders from all Redwood City schools with the goals of equipping them to become change-agents in their own community and developing their leadership as advocates for better schooling and educational opportunities for the children in their community.

Maria Elena Arteaga, Parent Leader, Innovate Public Schools

Maria Elena Arteaga is a parent leader who has been involved with Innovate Public Schools for 7 years. In her time as a leader of Innovate, she has advocated for a better education for her children and other children in the community. Currently, María Elena is part of different parent committees in the Redwood City school district and is advocating for school leaders to create better ways of communication and inclusion with Spanish-speaking parents.

Nancy Poon Lue, Co-founder, Advanced Education Research & Development Fund

Nancy Poon Lue is the Co-Founder of the Advanced Education Research & Development Fund, a collaboration between the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate innovations in education. She previously served as Executive Director at the venture capital firm GSV, where she oversaw the launch of their education accelerator and network relations for their education portfolio. Prior to moving to the Bay Area, Lue was a senior official in the Obama Administration where she led the U.S. Department of Education’s strategic planning and performance management initiatives. Lue graduated with honors from Harvard College and Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is a Presidential Leadership Scholar and a Senior Fellow with the American Leadership Forum-Silicon Valley. She served as a member of the 2020 Biden-Harris Education Policy Committee.

Amina Fazlullah, Equity Policy Counsel, Common Sense Media

Amina Fazlullah serves as the Equity Policy Counsel at Common Sense Media. Amina has worked on a broad range of Internet policy issues including Universal Service, consumer protection, antitrust, net neutrality, spectrum policy and children's online privacy. Amina was formerly the Benton Foundation's Director of Policy in Washington, D.C., where she worked to further government policies to address communication needs of vulnerable communities. Before that, Amina worked with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, for the Honorable Chief Judge James M. Rosenbaum of the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, and at the Federal Communications Commission. She is graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School and Pennsylvania State University.

Susan E. Walters, Senior Vice President, California Emerging Technology Fund

Susan E. Walters is the Senior Vice President of California Emerging Technology Fund. Susan joined the Fund after working as the Regional Director of Community Relations for Citibank in Greater Southern California. Prior to Citibank she operated a small consulting practice in corporate social responsibility. The work focused on building strategic partnerships between nonprofit organizations and corporations, strategic planning, communications and marketing. Susan has also held senior position in Communications and Marketing with Odwalla and Pacific Bell. Prior to her work in the private sector Susan served as a senior staff member to Willie L. Brown, Jr. during his tenure as Speaker of the California Assembly. She is an alumna of the Coro Fellows Program, and received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Berkeley and a Masters of Public Policy degree from Claremont University. She serves of the Board of Directors for CD Tech, Bay Area Video Coalition, World Institute on Disability and the Center for Accessible Technology.

FACILITATED BY

Maya Tussing, Partner and Co-Founder of Fairlight Advisors

Maya Tussing provides investment and risk management services to nonprofits and philanthropic individuals. Prior to Fairlight, Maya was an investment advisor with Alesco Advisors where she co-led the West Coast office. Over the last 20 years, she has held senior risk management roles at firms such as BlackRock, Barclays Global Investors, Visa, and GE Capital. She is a graduate of Pomona College and holds an MBA in international finance from the University of Washington.