You never know who you'll meet at the Broadband Communities Summit

On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage live from the Broadband Community Summit in Houston, Texas. 

We talk with Heather Gate, Executive Vice President of Digital Transformation for Connected Nation about the summit and the topic she's focused on. But as you'll hear, things didn't quite go as we'd planned. I like to call this one. You never know who you're gonna meet when you're with Heather Gate.

Recommended Links:

• WSU and CNIXP project
• Wichita State University (WSU)
• Digital Lift
• Heather Gate LinkedIn
• Tonya Witherspoon LinkedIn
• Kami Griffiths LinkedIn

Chapters

• 2:22 Tonya Witherspoons panel
• 3:29 What Tonya hopes comes out of IXP launch
• 6:15 How Kami Griffiths started at Digital Lift
• 7:43 What is the importance of networking at a conference
• 10:49 Upcoming digital literacy training trends
• 12:26 The importance of the evolution of the Digital Divide

Transcript

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (00:05):
This is Connected Nation, an award-winning podcast focused on all things broadband from closing the digital divide to improving your internet speeds. We talk technology topics that impact all of us, our families, and our neighborhoods. We continue our coverage today from the Broadband Community Summit. On this episode, I talk with Heather Gate, executive Vice President of Digital Transformation for Connected Nation about the summit and the topic she's focused on. But as you'll hear, things didn't quite go as we'd planned. I like to call this one. You never know who you're gonna meet when you're with Heather Gate. I'm Jessica Denson, and this is Connected Nation. I'm continuing my coverage from the Broadband Community Summit, taking place in Houston, Texas, June 24th and 25th. And I'm talking with Heather Gate and Tanya Witherspoon just went by us. Hi, Tanya <laugh>. How are you doing? I'm doing just fine. How are you? Great. Last time we saw you, we were doing the, uh, groundbreaking for the IXP across from the university. Yes. That was super 

Tonya Witherspoon, WSU (01:09):
Exciting. 

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (01:10):
Yeah. What, 

Tonya Witherspoon, WSU (01:10):
What a week. 

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (01:11):
How are things going? 

Tonya Witherspoon, WSU (01:12):
Oh, we're moving along. Groundbreaking, you know, digging dirt uhhuh, <affirmative>, and getting it all set up. I can't wait for the ribbon 

Jessica Denson (01:18):
Cutting. Yeah. I feel like your whole energy has shifted from before when we were, everything was very, oh, what's gonna happen? What's next? When we're going through a lot of hoops and, and, uh, fixing red tape and that kind of thing. You seem a little more relaxed now, <laugh>. Yes, yes. We 

Tonya Witherspoon (01:33):
Are now in real building and, and not just minutiae of, you know, paperwork and red tape, as you said. So it's a lot more fun to do 

Jessica Denson (01:41):
This. It was such an exciting event. 

Tonya Witherspoon (01:43):
Yeah. It 

Jessica Denson (01:43):
Was. So many people attended. Yeah. Uh, have you been hearing great things 

Tonya Witherspoon (01:46):
Since? Oh, yeah. It made a real big ripple of, you know, information. People are, you know, asking a lot more questions. That's why I'm excited to be here, uh, with you guys again, to get some more stuff to take back and, you know, get everybody even more excited. But I love that everybody's asking questions. 

Jessica Denson (02:03):
It's so exciting. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. And I mean, by this time next year, we could have something, right? Oh, 

Tonya Witherspoon (02:08):
Yeah. Is that the goal? Early? Yeah, 

Jessica Denson (02:09):
Early 

Tonya Witherspoon (02:09):
Next year. Yeah. No, it'll be earlier than this time, for sure. 

Jessica Denson (02:12):
Exciting. 

Tonya Witherspoon (02:13):
Yeah. By this time at this, at this conference, again, we should be speaking about great things happening. 

Jessica Denson (02:18):
Yeah. And you spoke last night on a panel, didn't you? 

Tonya Witherspoon (02:20):
Yeah, I did. 

Jessica Denson (02:21):
Yeah. How did that go? 

Tonya Witherspoon (02:22):
It went really, really great. Yeah. It was, uh, um, three different sessions I'll put together really about rural, um, broadband connectivity, Uhhuh, <affirmative>, and the speakers were all fabulous. Yeah. 

Jessica Denson (02:34):
Any good questions? 

Tonya Witherspoon (02:35):
Um, just the, the importance of Middle Mile before Last Mile. You know, Uhhuh, <affirmative>, we can't think, when you're in a big city, you think of Last Mile because all the middle miles already there. And in rural there isn't any Middle Mile, so you can't start with last Mile, 

Jessica Denson (02:49):
Right. 

Tonya Witherspoon (02:50):
You've gotta get infrastructure closer to the core first, you know, and a lot of talk about, of course, fiber versus Leo and, you know mm-hmm <affirmative>. All of the, all of the technical, you know, considerations of, you know, what's sustainable, you know, infrastructure and what we need to put in. But no, it was a great session. There were a lot of, lot of conversations. It was a large group of people already here too. 

Jessica Denson (03:12):
Yes. Its a lot of people pre Yeah. A 

Tonya Witherspoon (03:14):
Pre-conference session. It was packed. 

Jessica Denson (03:16):
Yeah. And, uh, Wichita State University, uh, go shockers, love the campus Love innovation campus. The fact that you're thinking ahead of everyone else. What do you hope comes out of everything that we you've been doing with the IXP? 

Tonya Witherspoon (03:29):
Um, internet for all. I mean, connecting everyone, digital equity. Um, I, I'm really energized by the conversations here about, um, smart buildings and apartments and, you know, um, multi multifamily homes. 

Jessica Denson (03:46):
Mm-hmm 

Tonya Witherspoon (03:47):
<affirmative>. And I'm gonna take that back because that, that's really something that could, could help Wichita a lot to have, you know, really high tech connected multifamily homes, especially in the areas, um, you know, that need it the most. Uhhuh, <affirmative>, let's not put that on these families. Let's let them move into homes that are ready. 

Jessica Denson (04:08):
Yeah. There's some great organizations in there that are Tonya Witherspoon (04:10):

Talking about it. There are. So I'm, that's my new, I I am learning and learning and I'm taking aback. 

Jessica Denson (04:15):
That's your next, 

Tonya Witherspoon (04:16):
I've already set up some meetings Yeah. With some developers, uh, for next week, because that's something we need to do. 

Jessica Denson (04:22):
I have no doubt you will achieve, because I've seen you in, in process working through those things. So thank you for stopping. I grabbed her in the middle of Heather's interview. Sorry. Thank you, Tanya. Yes. It's great to see you guys. Great to see you. Uh, again, we're talking with Heather. Heather Gate was kindly was kind enough to share the, uh, mic with, uh, Tanya Witherspoon, who's with Wichita State University. Heather Gate, say hello, 

Heather Gate, Connected Nation (04:47):
<laugh>. Hello, Jessica. How are you doing today? 

Jessica Denson (04:49):
Good. Executive Vice President of Digital Transformation for Connected Nation. Um, why do you keep waving over at Molly? Uh, Molly with our team as well. <laugh>. 

Heather Gate, Connected Nation (05:00):
Oh, we're just getting ready for lunch. 

Jessica Denson (05:03):
<laugh>. Oh, <laugh>. I don't blame you. I don't blame you. Go, go. Stand in line for lunch. <laugh>. Oh, is that what's going on? I was wondering and the wonderful Kami. Hi. How are you doing? Who are you with? Kami Digital Lift. 

Kami Griffiths, Digital Lift (05:15):
Digital Lift. 

Jessica Denson (05:15):
What does Digital Lift do? 

Kami Griffiths, Digital Lift (05:17):
We help close the digital divide by training trainers and providing basic digital skills to those who don't know how to use their devices. 

Jessica Denson (05:23):
Oh. So definitely within your framework, Heather. So tell me what you know about the organization. 

Heather Gate (05:28):
Cammy's. Wonderful. <laugh>. 

Jessica Denson (05:30):
Cammy, come closer. We're gonna do multiple interviews of this podcast. Just whoever comes by. Wave us down. <laugh>. Just kidding. And Cammy, what is your role with the, with Digital Lift 

Kami Griffiths (05:40):
Founding executive director? 

Jessica Denson (05:43):
Oh, we've got women wonderful in charge in this podcast. I love it. We had Tanya Witherspoon who leads the innovation campus. We have Heather Gate, who leads our digital transformation. And now you who founded this great organization. So how long has Digital Lift been 

Kami Griffiths (05:56):
Around? 17 years started in San Francisco, and now we're across the country. I live in Austin, Texas. 

Jessica Denson (06:03):
Oh, Austin, Texas. I love that place. It's my hometown. Yeah. Barton Springs, though, has gotten hard to get to now everybody knows about it. 

Kami Griffiths (06:10):
Yeah. Not a secret. Not a Secret 

Jessica Denson (06:11):
Town. So what got you to start, uh, digital Lift? 

Kami Griffiths (06:15):
I was a volunteer computer instructor in New York City, and I never got any training. So if you're like, put into a position where you're helping people learn how to use the computer with no training, it's a little awkward. And so when I worked for the parks department, 'cause they did actually hire me because I'm pretty good at helping people use the internet and fun. You gotta make it fun and engaging. 

Jessica Denson (06:38):
<laugh>, Heather's trying to bell on me. Wait one second, Heather. We'll be five minutes. 

Kami Griffiths (06:42):
Um, what we did in New York City was a really great way to help people get online, which is having a network of locations all around the city and trainers who are trained and deployed to help with the basic digital skills. So I took that idea, and when I moved back to the Bay Area, I inevitably started this nonprofit, which was called Community Tech Network up until a few months ago. And so we first started training, uh, the, the learners directly through our partners. And then, uh, a few years ago we started training trainers and being more intentional about, um, expanding our impact through that kind of train the trainer and building capacity of other agencies. 

Jessica Denson (07:19):
So Kami, were you joining the group also to try to go get lunch and I stopped you? Yes. <laugh>. I know they're all like waving me down. We want to eat. We want to eat Heather. We're all on the same 

Heather Gate (07:30):
Panel at at one 

Jessica Denson (07:31):
O'clock. Oh, okay. So we'll be I'll make it quick, I promise. With this interview. So, Heather, like this just really says something, don't you think? 

Heather Gate (07:38):
Yes. Jessica Denson (07:38):

The fact that we could just stop people, the importance of networking, right? Talk about that. 

Heather Gate (07:43):
Yeah. I think, you know, and we're gonna talk about this in our panel, that you'll find a lot of providers here and a lot of, um, different people that are in either broadband, uh, digital empowerment and things like that. But when it comes to solving the issue of the digital divide in the United States, it takes everybody, right? Everybody has a role to play because the infrastructure deploy, deploy deployment folks create a foundation. But success is truly realized when people are actually using and maximizing on the opportunities that come from having access. So it is equally important to have the infrastructure and to make sure that people are empowered to use it. Mm-hmm. Because if you're a business, you need staff that can use your technology in order for you to maximize on profits. You need your clients to be able to access your, your, um, your services, right? If you're a local government, the way you deploy information can be done in a way that's affordable. When people are actually using computers, it makes no sense for a local government to be sending all their messages using technology when their community is not technology savvy or they don't have access to, to, to technology. And so everybody has a role to play when it comes to bridging the digital device 

Jessica Denson (09:09):
As my little cough in the background. Sorry about that, Heather. That's 

Heather Gate (09:12):
Okay. I'm so excited about like, keep talking while she 

Jessica Denson (09:14):
She's talking. You know, it's funny when you, when you talk about that, because Camie just told me that when she first started, um, her job in New York City, that she didn't even, she wasn't trained in how to use a computer. So how important do you think it is to network 

Kami Griffiths (09:26):
Like this? 

Jessica Denson (09:27):
To 

Kami Griffiths (09:27):
Clarify? It wasn't trained to be a trainer. Oh, I 

Jessica Denson (09:30):
Apologize. Yeah. 

Kami Griffiths (09:31):
I had experience using a computer and felt it was really critical that other people had those same skills. 'cause if you're not using the internet, you can't apply for jobs and all these things, right? We've come to you take it for granted, but there's still millions of people that don't. So it's, it's up to those of us who are working directly with them, libraries, senior centers, housing developments to help our community get the basic skills and know how to do the basics. But the basics aren't basic anymore, right? 

Heather Gate (09:58):
Yeah. 

Kami Griffiths (09:58):
To apply for a job, there's many complicated steps. And guess what? Every application is different. And sometimes you have to create multiple accounts, and it's very confusing. So I just get really powered up by helping people with that power to do the things online that we take for granted. Right. 

Jessica Denson (10:15):
And Heather, for you, you've, you've served on the FEC committee, you've worked in this space for decades. Um, I'm not gonna date you, uh, as in time dating <laugh>, I'll take you out to lunch. I was like, oh gosh, <laugh>. But, um, for you in this space, um, how important is it to continue to have organizations that are working towards digital literacy and not just, um, the workspace, but also in AI and other trends. Do we need to keep our mo our, our eye on the ball with those things, with what's next? 

Heather Gate (10:49):
Oh, absolutely. When it comes to the digital divide, we, it will never go away as much as we want to. And the reason why it'll never go away, it's not because we're not good at our jobs, it's that technology evolves. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. A lot. You know, I remember when I first started working in this space, we were literally explaining to people what a computer is and, you know, what is a mouse? And now we don't have to do that type of training. It's a different type of training that we have to do now. And so we have had to evolve over time as the technology changing. And right now we're in this era of ai. 

Kami Griffiths (11:28):
Mm-hmm 

Heather Gate (11:29):
<affirmative>. And, you know, somebody said something to me interesting when it comes to ai, because the moment you bring AI up, the big conversation that will come up is AI is gonna take jobs away. I'll tell you what, I heard somebody say this last week. No. The person that knows how to use AI is gonna take your job away. 

Jessica Denson (11:47):
Yeah. 

Heather Gate (11:47):
Because that means they're, they can be more efficient at their job if they know how to use it properly. And so, in terms of what is next for the digital divide, it continues to evolve. And Cammie and I and our organizations have to sort of process how we're training now to account for ai. Because again, if you're not able to make your resume really well and adopt AI tools ethically, by the way, we're not talking about going to AI and generating a resume. We're ta talking about knowing how to use prompts to create frameworks 

Jessica Denson (12:24):
To be part of the conversation. Be part of 

Heather Gate (12:26):
It to be. Exactly. Yeah. And so part of that is the digital divide will continue to evolve. There'll continue to be opportunities for us to, to, to, um, to train people, to make sure people have the tools. And as time has gone on, I think people, business owners, and even governments, we're at a point where people are just sort of making assumptions about our society. 

Kami Griffiths (12:50):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>. 

Heather Gate (12:51):
Where they're developing products that are built to just be electronic. And what that does is it immediately excludes people, right. Because 

Jessica Denson (13:00):
Yeah. We 

Heather Gate (13:00):
Still have a segment of the population that are not participating. And so we want to make sure that those people can have the same opportunity to compete, to look for jobs or to live the life they want 

Jessica Denson (13:13):
To live. They want to live. Yeah. 

Heather Gate (13:14):
Yeah. It's not about changing people or altering their, it's about helping them be the best they can be using the technology that we have. 

Jessica Denson (13:24):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, and I, I, I could ask you both a ton more questions, but I don't wanna be, uh, <laugh>. I, I, I don't wanna keep you away from lunch, and I know you have a one o'clock panel, so I'm gonna let both of you go. I will include a link to Gigi Lift in the description of this podcast and to, uh, Wichita State University, Wich. Tanya left Y'all. She went for, she went for lunch. She's like, forget it, I'm out. Uh, but thank you so much, Camie, uh, Camie Griffiths, uh, Griffith. Am I saying that right? Yeah. And Heather Gate, I appreciate, appreciate you both very much. Thank you 

Heather Gate (13:57):
So much. 

Jessica Denson (14:03):
We'll continue our coverage from the Broadband Community Summit on our next episode of Connected Nation. I'm Jessica Denson. Thanks for listening. If you wanna know more about us, head to connected nation.org or find our latest episodes on your favorite podcast platforms.