After five years in prison, Matthew had no résumé, no up-to-date skills, no quiet place to search for work, no money to pay for internet, and hadn’t used a computer in half a decade. That all changed when he walked into a STEM Alliance technology course at a YWCA. Matthew completed 15 hours of digital skills training and earned a Chromebook and a fully paid, one-year mobile hotspot. In his words, “That hotspot was far more than internet access—it was my lifeline. It let me complete online certifications in psychology and other courses while living in a structured treatment apartment with no Wi-Fi. It allowed me to build a professional résumé, apply to several jobs, continue online education, and develop professional relationships. Most importantly, it gave me dignity – the feeling that society still believed I could contribute again.”
Matthew’s digital navigator was Alex Paute Martinez. In Matthew’s exit survey, he stated “I want to commend Alex and his co-worker, Luz, for their exceptional efforts in educating us and ensuring that our knowledge is applicable and valuable in today’s world.” Alex, please stand up.
Alex is a hero. This room is full of heroes.
Despite the loss of federal funding, despite too many conversations on what words we use to describe our work and despite the struggle for financial support from philanthropy being tugged in too many directions, the field of digital inclusion is still here. YOU are still here. In fact, this room is 700 strong!
Digital inclusion is its own distinct field. We help people with access to and use of technology because we want to support their economic stability, their health, their education, and their civic engagement. While we work in cooperation with the fields of workforce, adult education, economic development and healthcare, we cannot – we will not – lose the distinctness of the field of digital inclusion.
You, the NDIA Community, strengthen our collective work. When you share what works, when you share the mistakes you’ve made and the lessons you’ve learned from them, each of us learns to serve the Matthew’s of our communities better. You, the NDIA Community, strengthen each other. You strengthen the NDIA team. You strengthen me. We may create the spaces for this co-learning and support, but you are the ones who make those spaces real. NDIA exists to support you. And today, we celebrate you.
- If you are now or have previously served on the NDIA board of directors, please stand up. Stay standing up, please.
- If you organized a Birds-of-a-Feather for any Net Inclusion, please stand up.
- If you are speaking at this Net Inclusion or have been a speaker at a previous Net Inclusion, please stand up.
- If you have participated in an NDIA working group, please stand up.
- If you have engaged with other attendees on Whova, please stand up.
- If you have taught someone how to reset a password, please stand up.
- If you are going to keep fighting for digital equity in your community, please stand up.
Now look around you, you’re not alone. We’re in this together.
The cancellation of the Digital Equity Act was not only a loss of funds that would have helped millions of people get a job, take a class, or talk to their doctor – It was a loss in building digital inclusion ecosystems in places where the most vulnerable struggle. These are the communities you all choose to work in. You have not chosen the easy career. You do not make widgets and then go home, forgetting about the widgets until the next day. You carry the struggles of your community members with you when you walk into your own home. During the Covid-19 pandemic, you figured out how to provide remote assistance in service of this very human work. And now some of you are providing remote services again – this time to community members afraid to leave their homes. This work is not for the faint of heart.
Since we all refuse to simply cry into our beer (or coffee), how do we collectively move forward? How do we preserve and expand our work? I have some thoughts:
1. Do not stop. (Yes, take much needed breaks.) But do not stop. Keep guiding your community members to affordable internet choices. Keep getting computers into their homes, keep teaching them how to be safe online, keep teaching them how to digitally conduct any aspect of life.
3. Increase awareness. Collect numbers and stories. Use those numbers to explain what you do and why you do it. Tell stories about the lives you are impacting. Share them with your local press. Be sure everyone in your community knows about your Matthews. Your Alexs. And be sure the NDIA team does too. We repeat your stories!
4. Advocate. I get that this might be the most difficult thing to do for many of you. You are already so busy. And that is why NDIA has templates, and we guide you on who to talk to and what to discuss. Your local and state elected officials and leaders need to understand why digital access and digital skills are so essential to the community they serve.
5.Understand AI. Or try to. Experiment with it. Read and discuss the ethical issues. And guide this learning within your community. If you do not support them, who will? Furthermore, direct your funding searches to A.I. focused opportunities.
Friends, 2025 was a hard year. My 2025 bingo card definitely did not have “sue the federal government” on it. 2026 feels a bit like a wild card. Will it be more-of-the-same? Or can our country collectively embrace decency and compassion?
There is a lot we cannot control. But each of us can do our part to keep this dream of digital equity alive. So, I leave you with three words for 2026:
Resist.
Dream.
Do.