Digital Inclusion Fellowship over an image of two older woman working on a laptop with a younger woman nearby

Applications are open for the 2020 Digital Inclusion Fellowship

By: Leana Mayzlina
Posted on

Over the last few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically exposed digital inequity across the U.S. While services have been moving online for the past decade, the sudden rush to move everything online, including attending classes, applying for government benefits, and practicing religion, has left many Americans excluded from fully participating in their communities. With almost a third of U.S. adults not using home broadband, even those who are comfortable navigating online are finding their internet connections taxed as multiple family members all try to make video calls simultaneously.

NTEN has long advocated that every organization needs to recognize the role of digital equity in meeting its mission. Our annual Digital Inclusion Fellowship is a precious opportunity to expand your programs and strengthen community ties.

About the fellowship

Launched in 2015 in partnership with Google Fiber, the Digital Inclusion Fellowship builds capacity and leadership in nonprofits to address digital inequity in their communities. Fellows join a year-long, project-based, professional development cohort. They create and implement ambitious projects to increase opportunities for adults in their communities to learn essential digital skills and will receive grants to help launch their programs.

Previous fellows have implemented impressive and groundbreaking projects. Emma Hernandez, a fellow in San Antonio, launched a hotspot lending program that allows library patrons to bring their connectivity home. She also developed a volunteer program that supported 200 library patrons in connecting with workforce resources. Felicia Tillman, a fellow from Atlanta, formed partnerships to bring digital literacy training to uniquely sweet spaces. You can read more about past fellows’ projects (and get inspired to start your own!) in our Digital Inclusion Toolkit, program fact sheets, and blog.

Learn more

  1. Read full details about the application process and the required commitment
  2. Read about the experiences of the 2019 fellows in their own words
  3. RSVP for a free video call with me on Tuesday, May 19, at 11 PT, to learn more and ask questions

We are deeply grateful to Google Fiber, the Cleveland Foundation, and Meyer Memorial Trust, our Cohort 6 sponsors, for their commitment to digital equity and supporting the Digital Inclusion Fellowship.

Leana Mayzlina
Senior Program Manager
NTEN

I'm passionate about embracing technology to achieve transformative social change. I believe that solutions to some of the world's biggest challenges can be found in grassroots communities from Chile to Kenya and that technology is the megaphone for their voice and agency.

Before NTEN, I was the Digital Action Campaigns Manager for World Pulse, where I developed international initiatives to deliver grassroots women leaders' testimonies and visions to decision-makers and influential forums. I've been back in the Pacific Northwest for almost a decade after seven years spent working in Latin America, where I managed international cooperation programs in areas ranging from poverty alleviation to social entrepreneurship. A native of Ukraine, I speak Russian, English, Spanish, and um pouquinho de português and have a B.A. in Spanish and Latin American Studies from Pitzer College and an M.A. in International Studies from the University of Chile.

Outside of office hours, you're most likely to find me hiking with my rescue pup Atlas, discovering new brews (of the caffeinated kind!), and packing my backpack for my next adventure.