Volunteer Activities

New Jersey Public Policy Research Institute (NJPPRI)
http://www.njppri.org

I currently sit on the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Public Policy Research Institute (NJPPRI) and serve as Vice Chairperson responsible for the Programs Committe. My involvement with the organization began in 2003. NJPPRI identifies, analyzes and disseminates information critical to informed public policy development in and for the African-American community in New Jersey and the region. Founded in 1977 by a group of African-American professionals, whom I considered to be role models and mentors, NJPPRI reviews and evaluates public policies that lead to positive outcomes and improved conditions in the African-American community. Since its inception, NJPPRI has established a solid record in analyzing positions on education, housing, tax reform, and many other issues. NJPPRI has called on and employed a variety of means for promoting discussion and influencing public policy, including timely reports, policy conferences and capacity building.

The Creating Community Connections Project
http://www.camfieldestates.net

The Creating Community Connections Project is an ongoing effort at Camfield Estates, a low- to moderate-income housing development in Roxbury, MA, in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).. From 1999 to 2001, while pursuing his Ph.D. at the MIT Media Laboratory, I worked with Dr. Richard O'Bryant, then a doctoral student in the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning, and residents at Camfield Estates to initiate this projec. It represented one of the first comprehensive community efforts to address the "digital divide" and demonstrate how low-income individuals, families and a community can use information and communications technology to support their interests and needs.

With support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Hewlett-Packard Company, RCN, Microsoft, ArsDigita Corporation, Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency (MHFA), Lucent Technologies, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Institute for African-American Electronic Commerce (IAAEC), Youth Build of Boston, the William Monroe Trotter Institute at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, and others, Richard and I were able to offer every family a new computer, high-speed Internet access, comprehensive training at the community technology center on the premises, coupled with a web-based information and communications system, and an overarching agenda to leverage this technological infrastructure for the purpose of building community.

Having completed a formal evaluation of the project, the early results for the participating families included strengthened relationships with neighbors, increased community involvement, improved communication and information flow at the development, and a positive shift in residents’ attitudes and perceptions of themselves as learners. The project remains active today. The project has been featured on television, radio, newspapers and magazines nationwide including Fox News Boston, National Public Radio (NPR), CNN.com, The Boston Globe, The New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer, among others.

Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network (NTEN)
http://www.nten.org

In 2004, I graciously accepted the invitation to join the Board of Directors of the Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network (NTEN). NTEN aspires to a world where all nonprofit organizations skillfully and confidently use technology to meet community needs and fulfill their missions. NTEN is a membership organization of nonprofit technology and
program staff and technology providers. Its members share the common goal of helping nonprofits use all aspects of technology more effectively. NTEN believes that technology can allow nonprofits to work with greater social impact. NTEN works to enable its members to do their jobs better and to help their organizations strategically use technology so that those organizations can, in turn, make the world a better, more just, and more equitable place. NTEN facilitates the exchange of knowledge and information within its community, connecting its members to each other, providing professional development opportunities, educating its constituency on issues of technology use in nonprofits, and spearheading research, advocacy, and education on technology issues affecting the entire nonprofit community.

Community Technology Centers' Network (CTCNet)
http://www.ctcnet.org

I have served on the Board of Advisors for the Community Technology Centers' Network (CTCNet) since 2002. CTCNet was founded on the recognition that in an increasingly technologically dominated society, people who are economically disadvantaged will be left further behind if they are not provided access to and training on information tools. CTCNet envisions a society in which all people are equitably empowered with these tools and is committed to achieving this end. CTCNet is a US-based network of more than 1000 organizations united in their commitment to improve the educational, economic, cultural and political life of their communities through technology. CTCNet provides resources and advocacy to improve the quality and sustainability of community technology centers and programs at the local, national and international level. CTCNet works together with its member organizations to provide networking, capacity building, program development, and partnership opportunities.

Institute for Innovation in Government Technology (IIGT)
http://www.iigt.org

The Institute for Innovation in Government Technology (IIGT) appointed me as Chairperson of their Corporate Advisory Board in 2004. IIGT provides technical and innovation consulting services to clients in government, corporate, nonprofit and academic sectors. The organizaiton collaborates with global partners to invent, test, transfer and sustain innovations in communications and information technology (CIT) systems applied to critical public policy issues. IIGT iscommitted to helping citizens improve access to government information, services and participation in democratic structures. The Institute helps people think about the future, build partnerships for change, invent solutions to information or service problems, “do more with less”, test new applications and models, and install systems. Success is measures by work that sustains improvements in government performance that benefit citizens.