Suman Bhattacharyya

Oakland (CA)’s new chief information officer Tony Batalla said he would work to reduce internet access gaps in the city and support digital literacy efforts. Oakland is home to a major port, adjacent to the University of California, Berkeley, and near Silicon Valley, but along with those economic advantages are some neighborhoods in the city beset by crime and poverty. Batalla, who started May 2, sees internet access and technology helping address the needs of those communities.