2023 Charles Benton Digital Equity Awards

A more equitable, more just society. What an audacious goal. But it is a goal that, I believe, everyone here shares. “It takes a village” is such an understatement. What it takes to reach this ambitious but increasingly necessary goal is all of us pulling in the same direction over many miles and many years. What it takes is commitment, innovation, leadership, and collaboration. Today we get to celebrate some digital equity heroes. These champions demonstrate the commitment, innovation, leadership, and collaboration we all need to embrace in our own work. Gathering to recognize their efforts will hopefully inspire us all when we return to our communities and push towards a more equitable, more just society. First up, our 2023 Charles Benton Digital Equity Emerging Leader, Angie Cooper, Executive Vice President and Chief Program Officer at Heartland Forward, a “think-and-do” tank based in Arkansas focused on advancing economic performance and opportunity in the center of the country. And this year we honor two Charles Benton Digital Equity Champions: 1) Catherine Crago Blanton the Head of Strategic Initiatives at the Housing Authority of the City of Austin Texas & Austin Pathways, a nonprofit that promotes the education and general welfare of low-income Austinites in subsidized housing programs. 2) Burt Lum, the Broadband Strategy Officer at the state’s Broadband & Digital Equity Office. When someone speaks broadband in the State of Hawaii, the first name mentioned is Burt Lum.