Fall 2021 Digital Equity Leadership Lab Cohort Announcement
Fall 2021 Digital Equity Leadership Lab Cohort Announcement
The Robert W. Deutsch Foundation is thrilled to announce the twenty-five participants selected for our second Digital Equity Leadership Lab (DELL) Cohort. DELL is a seven-week program designed for city residents who want to increase their understanding of the internet and strengthen their ability to advocate for fast, affordable and reliable broadband for all of Baltimore’s neighborhoods.
Grounded in the belief that the internet is the most powerful technology of our lifetime, DELL recognizes community advocates have been taught very little about how the internet, and its related technologies, work. DELL was designed to support resident advocates working to close the digital divide in Baltimore, with a focus on building an increased understanding of how the internet and internet regulation work so that community members can imagine and build new solutions for their communities.
At the end of the program, participants are eligible to collaboratively apply for collaborative small-project grants. Last year’s grants supported a “Digital Equity Fair” and a series of “Youth as Digital Ambassadors” listening sessions.
The 2021 Fall DELL Participants are:
Alvin White, PCs for People
Tee-Kay McDonald, Village Learning Place
Warren Gatewood, PCs for People
Minju Zukowski, The 29th Street Community Center
Patricia Gaither, Mt. Sinai Baptist Church
Lo Smith, Enoch Pratt Free Library
Annie Malone, Village Learning Place
Justin Eames, City Neighbors High School
Gretchen LeGrand, Code in the Schools
Charlene Rock-Foster, Not Without Black Women
David Deutsch, RWD Foundation
Sunnie Jones, Code in the Schools
Daniel Wasse, Village Learning Place
Ishaan Pathak, Central Baltimore Partnership
Ann Harvey, Enoch Pratt Free Library
Renee Angelo-Mauk, MENTOR Maryland & Charm City Fringe
Dion Bowen, Fayette Street Outreach & Innovation Works
Tiera Tucker, Village Learning Place
Peymaan Motevalli-Aliabadi, Wide Angle Youth Media
April Lewis, Open Works
Nathalie Werebe, The 29th Street Community Center
Christopher Warman, Baltimore Community Foundation
Camille Kashaka, Motor House
Yvonne Fisher, Harwood Community Association, The 29th Street Community Center
Tiffany Welch, Media Rhythm Institute
“Since our founding, Robert W. Deutsch Foundation has been involved in efforts to bring, what was then known as the ‘world wide web,’ to communities that could benefit from the opportunities it created. Three decades later we remain committed to the belief that the internet should be treated as equitable public infrastructure with the potential to generate enormous community benefits,” said Jane Brown, foundation President.
amalia deloney, Vice President and Director of Digital Equity added, “The power of the internet is undeniable, it should be a force for social good, solving real problems in local communities. This requires not only that all residents have fast, affordable and reliable access, but that community members are equipped with the right tools, training and support to bring their unique perspectives and experiences forward as we redesign solutions. This is especially true for Baltimore’s communities of color who have been historically underserved and marginalized. DELL was designed for these very reasons.”
Over the course of six-weeks DELL participants will be joined by the following national experts:
Andrew Afflerbach, CEO and Chief Technology Officer, CTC Technology & Energy
Dana Floberg, Associate Director of Broadband Policy, Free Press
Chris Mitchell, Director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative, Institute for Local Self Reliance
Gigi Sohn, Distinguished Fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy and a Benton Senior Fellow
Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, Former Commissioner and Acting Chairwoman of the FCC
Darrah Blackwater, Indigenous Law & Policy Fellow, University of Arizona
Councilor Jonathan Paz, City Council, Waltham, MA
Danielle Chynoweth, Board Chair, Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center
Brandon Forester, National Organizer for Internet Rights and Platform Accountability, MediaJustice
Presentation topics include, but are not limited to: FCC Advocacy, How the Internet Works, Community Networks, the Internet and Racial Justice, and the Telecom Industry.