California Emerging Technology Fund

Delivering on the Promise of Telehealth to Improve Health Status in California
2020-10-22 08:30 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Click For Overview
Click For 10/22 Conference Agenda
Click For 10/22 Participants
Click For 10/22 Speaker Presentations
Click For Preliminary Conclusions and Recommendations
Click For 10/22 Chat Comments
Click For 10/22 Video Replay

The COVID-19 pandemic shelter-in-place and social distancing orders spotlighted the need for all Californians to be able to use telehealth and exposed the existing digital access inequities. It illuminated the imperative for investments in constructing high-speed Internet infrastructure capable of supporting telehealth services and for getting all residents online with appropriate computing devices and functional digital literacy. California has not optimized the use of Telehealth to close gaps for medically-underserved communities and economically-segregated neighborhoods, which also are home to the most digitally-disadvantaged residents.
It is essential for policymakers who seek to achieve Digital Equity to understand how to effectively integrate the use of technology into all institutions and systems, including the delivery of health and medical care. CETF is joining with partner organizations to convene Fact-Finding Listening Conferences to gather data and input for an Action Plan to inform State and Federal policymakers about how to optimize the use of Telehealth in California.
The Purpose of Fact-Finding Listening Conferences is to:

Understand the status of Telehealth in California.
Identify the gaps and barriers to optimizing Telehealth to improve health status for Californians.
Develop an Action Plan to advance Telehealth policy and funding in California.

The Fact-Finding will focus on Panels of Presenters comprised of health and medical care providers and with Responders comprised of government agencies, statewide associations, and healthcare foundations:

Community Clinics Serving Medically-Underserved Populations (FQHCs)
Senior Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities and Assisted Living)
Managed Health Care Plans – Private and Public
Medical Centers

There also will be featured “Calls to Action” by policymakers and a Briefing on the status of Telehealth in California to kick off the Fact-Finding. Stakeholders will be invited to submit written comments and recommendations to inform the Action Plan for Telehealth in California.

Presented by the CETF Telehealth Committee

Barb Johnston Yellowlees, Committee Chair
President
The Castleton Group
Dorian Traube
Associate Professor
Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work
University of Southern California

The Honorable Martha M. Escutia
Former California State Senator
Vice President
State Government Relations and Special Counsel
University of Southern California
Jim Kirkland
General Counsel
Trimble, Inc.
Melinda White
CEO
Transit Wireless

Live Video | Broadband Breakfast Interview With Sunne Wright McPeak
2020-09-30 09:00 - 10:00
Sunne Wright McPeak Calls For Bold Leadership:
Time to Overcome Bureaucratic Inertia to Achieve Digital Equity
Oakland and Los Angeles, CA – The global pandemic has exposed the nation’s economic divide and that concentrated persistent poverty is rooted in institutionalized racism, says California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) President and CEO Sunne Wright McPeak. “The reality screams for systematic change that is within our grasp if policymakers and regulators are willing to overcome bureaucratic inertia and breakthrough government silos,” she adds.
Sunne Wright McPeak will be sharing her successful strategy for collaborating with lawmakers, regulators, corporations, industry leaders, civic groups and, community-based organizations to close the Digital Divide during a BroadbandBreakfast live streamed interview. She has led CETF since its founding by the California Public Utilities Commission in 2006.
Amid the pandemic that requires distance learning, telehealth and online commerce, CETF is working at all levels to urge Internet Service Provider (ISPs) to step up and provide affordable consumer-friendly solutions that will provide those in greatest need the ability to connect with schools, doctors and businesses. “Never has the imperative for reliable, affordable and available high-speed Internet been more urgent. It’s only a matter of leadership, from not only government, but stakeholders, community-based organizations and industry too, to overcome bureaucratic inertia and say “yes” to a more connected California and nation,” says Sunne Wright McPeak.
BroadbandBreakfast Live Online
Champions of Broadband
Wednesday, September 30th
9AM-10AM PT
No Registration Required – Link for live stream and later replay:
http://broadbandbreakfast.com/2020/09/broadband-breakfast-live-online-on-wednesday-september-30/
BroadbandBreakfast is an influential national media outlet covering news and policy around broadband technology and Digital Inclusion.
If you are interested in speaking with or hosting Sunne Wright McPeak for a public policy discussion, or would like more information about CETF initiatives, please contact CETF Communications Associate, Nadine Hugg: nadine.hugg@cetfund.org.

School2Home Leadership Academy
2020-02-19 08:00 - 2020-02-21 17:00 | Hotel Maya – a DoubleTree by Hilton, 700 Queensway Drive, Long Beach, CA, 90802, United States
Purpose of School2Home Leadership Academy: Focus on Academic Achievement

Support continued school leadership to close the Achievement Gap and Digital Divide.
Assess the effectiveness of the 2019 Action Plans in improving implementation of School2Home.
Chart a path for improved academic achievement by School2Home partners.

Transforming Schools and Neighborhoods through Digital Inclusion
2019-06-05 08:30 - 17:30 | UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center, 425 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Mobilizing Communities for Leadership in the
High-Tech Sector in the Los Angeles Region:
Transforming Schools and Neighborhoods through Digital Inclusion
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
The Optimist Room
Breakfast 7:30 AM
Program 8:30AM – 3:30PM
UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center
425 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Directions and Parking
FEATURED SPEAKERS
Móníca García, President
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board
Manuel Pastor, Professor of American Studies & Ethnicity
University of Southern California (USC)
Frances Gipson, Chief Academic Officer Division of Instruction
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)
Francisco Rodriguez, Chancellor
Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD)
Kamau Bobb, National STEM Expert, Founding Senior Director
Constellations Center for Equity in Computing
Georgia Institute of Technology
Oscar Menjivar, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Teens Exploring Technology
Jaime Casap, Education Evangelist, Google
JR DeShazo, Chair, Department of Public Policy
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Gary Segura, Dean, Luskin School of Public Policy
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Heather Hiles, President and CEO
California Online Community College
Eric Garcetti, Mayor
City of Los Angeles
Background
The Social Science Research Council’s Portrait of Los Angeles sponsored by Southern California Grantmakers provides a clear and disturbing characterization of life in one of America’s most populous metropolitan areas. The report reveals stunning differences in quality of life that are highly correlated with geography as well as race/ethnicity and the socioeconomic composition of communities. Utilizing the “Human Development Index” as its barometer, the report shows that in critical areas such as health, education, and income, gross inequities limit access to opportunity for many residents and contribute to the persistence of deeply entrenched social and economic disparities.
These inequities are exacerbated by the Digital Divide: the disparities in access to technology and the Internet that prevent the most disadvantaged households from fully participating in the 21st century economy. In Los Angeles County, many residents in the poorest communities are not able to get online at home and are unable to participate fully in the digital world. This impacts their ability to apply for jobs, access public services or communicate with their children’s teachers. For children in these communities who often attend under-resourced schools, the disparities in access to technology contributes to the disadvantages they face in preparing themselves for college and future careers that make it possible to break the cycle of poverty. These inter-related factors and forces of economic disparities in communities with concentrated and persistent poverty constitute a “wall of poverty” that can be tackled only with a comprehensive, multi-faceted strategy that transforms schools and neighborhoods with greater impacts at scale than accomplished to date.
Civic leaders and community organizations are partnering to convene thought leaders and policymakers to develop a Partnership Framework to align and integrate public and private resources and actions in low-income neighborhoods, building upon existing education improvement initiatives, place-based interventions, and digital inclusion strategies to change systems through purposeful collaboration with increased accountability for greater impact and better results for residents. It is envisioned that the Conference will provide the input to develop a “Partnership Framework” for changing systems to achieve improved outcomes.

Conference Goals

Explore possibilities for developing strong and sustainable partnerships among education, local government, and employers to address systemic issues related to inequality in the Los Angeles Region.
Identify existing efforts and strengthen new regional strategies for Digital Inclusion for youth and families.
Elevate and strengthen current efforts that promote the development of educational and professional pathways in the high tech sector and emerging industries for low-income youth in the Los Angeles Region.

School2Home Leadership Academy
2019-02-12 - 2019-02-14 | Sacramento, Sacramento, CA, 95814, United States
Our leaders convened in Sacramento on February 12 – 14, 2019. At the Capitol, they were welcomed by Assembly Education Committee Chair Patrick O’Donnell and Assemblymember Ash Kalra. They heard addresses from Tom Armelino, Executive Director of California Collaborative for Educational Excellence; Senator Connie Leyva, Senate Education Committee Chair; Kenneth Shelton, Techquity Expert; Geoff Belleau, California Department of Education Consultant; Cheryl Lemke, Evaluation Expert, and Micah Studer, Executive Director of Equity and Support Services for Yolo County Office of Education. They were even treated to a surprise visit by Assemblymember Bob Archuleta, whose godson is a School2Home participant.

Please enjoy the brief video of some of our attendees at the 2019 School2Home Leadership Academy in Sacramento.
