#OaklandUndivided

Thank you to California Forward for inviting #OaklandUndivided to present at the 2024 California Economic Summit. #OaklandUndivided Director Patrick Messac shared insights on authentic community engagement, responsive government, and more with Amy Cortina Mathias, Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, UNITE-LA, Claudia Sanchez, Project and Program Supervisor to the Public Advisor’s Office California Public Utilities Commission, and Tahra Goraya, President and CEO of the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP).

Thank you to Everyone On for inviting #OaklandUndivided Deputy Director Georgia Savage and Director of Community Impact Cinthia Diaz Medrano, MPA for a roundtable discussion on digital equity in the Bay Area. We’re grateful to work alongside you in the pursuit of a more connected and equitable community.

#OaklandUndivided is proud to support the Oakland Unified School District student internship program that is not only supporting universal home digital access for all Oakland public school students, but also preparing the next generation of leaders in tech who have acquired many skills, including WISE Industry Certification. WISE Certification #TheLinkOUSD #McClymondHighSchool

Our very own Deputy Director, Georgia Savage, was the keynote speaker for Building for Digital Equity (#B4DE)’s livestream event “Coalition Building for Success.” Watch and learn the strategies that have been effective in building our coalition, including forming partnerships, identifying the need in our community, removing the barriers to community participation, and sustaining the work. The complete presentation is available on YouTube now!

#OaklandUndivided is proud to support Oakland Unified School District’s trailblazing Student Repair Internship Program! Led by Samantha Nunez, the program has been making waves; this summer alone, OUSD student interns repaired 3,198 computers to keep their classmates and communities connected! At a recent event celebrating the passage of California’s Right to Repair Law, Samantha explained, “The Oakland Unified School District’s Student Tech Repair Program empowers students to repair computers, ensuring all students have functional devices for home and school use, while promoting sustainability and offering learning opportunities." Congratulations to our Student Interns for expanding digital access & advocating to ensure sustainability and environmentally conscious policies.

Digital discrimination has a systematic, provable impact on low-income and marginalized consumers. #AB2239 (Assemblymember Mia Bonta) targets these issues head-on. Senate Appropriations Committee Members: Support equity & vote YES on #AB2239! Senator Anna Caballero, Senator Angelique Ashby, Senator Josh Becker Senator Steven Bradford, Senator Aisha Wahab, Brian Jones

We did it! The California Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously to fund Oakland Connect—the City of Oakland’s $15 million grant proposal to expand access to reliable, high-speed internet in East and West Oakland. The vote to approve the application represents the culmination of over two years of leadership from the City of Oakland and advocacy from #OaklandUndivided#OaklandUndivided to improve internet availability and performance in West Oakland, Fruitvale, and East Oakland. Thank you to all of those who worked on making this grant happen, including support letters from Senator Nancy Skinner, Assemblymember Mia Bonta, Superintendent Nathan Miley, and Alameda County Superintendent of Schools Alysse Castro. A special thank you to those who attended the Voting Meeting in person to provide public comment, including Oakland Housing Authority Executive Director Patricia Wells, City of Oakland CIO Tony Batalla, and Broadband Manager Luisa Calumpong, Homies Empowerment Caretaker Diego Rodriguez, Everyone On Senior Programs Manager Gabriela Andrada, Tech Equity Fellow Daniella Espinoza from The Greenlining Institute and community advocates Jawharah and Brandy. Read the full press release: https://lnkd.in/ggYAjGsc

The state’s shift to fully digital testing marks a new era of education and we cannot leave Oakland youth behind. Access to reliable internet is absolutely essential! #OaklandUndivided calls on our State partners — @California Governor Gavin Newsom, California Department of Technology (CDT), and California Public Utilities Commission — to fulfill their promise to make transformational broadband infrastructure investments in Oakland! #DigitalEquityNow #FixTheMaps Click the link below to read Shomik Mukherjee's article in the The Mercury News highlighting what last weekend’s event tells us about digital equity concerns statewide! https://lnkd.in/gvUQ3DQr

Digital discrimination ends with us as AB 2239 passed the Assembly vote! 🙌 Huge thanks to Assemblymember Mia Bonta, California Alliance for Digital Equity, SEIU, Insure the Uninsured Project, and NextGen Policy for bringing the voice of the people to Sacramento. Now, we’re on the Senate. Add your voice to the chorus calling for an end to digital discrimination by signing the AB 2239 support letter: https://lnkd.in/gxZfYG95

The budget is a reflection of the State’s priorities, and for too long, historically marginalized communities like East and West Oakland have been neglected. This once-in-a-generation investment can be different. We urge the Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Technology to invest in the communities bearing the brunt of the digital divide. Do not ask us—yet again—to wait for a more convenient season.