Tech Wave Across the Country – Lessons Learned from Silicon Valley
This event took place on October 14, 2021.
From Austin to Atlanta, Boulder to Bend, cities across the country are greeting the arrival of tech companies and workers with equal parts excitement and apprehension. The diffusion of the tech industry beyond Silicon Valley brings an alluring promise of economic growth to places that desperately need it, but with it comes the fear of displacing existing residents and businesses in the process—and mimicking much of the inequality that has plagued Silicon Valley.
San Francisco and the broader Bay Area have been contending with tech’s explosive growth and its consequences for the last four decades. We’ve learned some painful lessons about how to welcome tech-driven growth without driving displacement. What can the rest of the country learn from the Bay Area so that other cities don’t repeat the same mistakes?
On Thursday, October 14th at 12pm PT/3pm ET, we’ll be having a discussion on how other U.S. cities can take hard-earned lessons from the Bay to ensure that their growing tech industries can create economic prosperity for everyone.
The webinar will be moderated by Megan Abell, Director of Advocacy at TechEquity. Panelists include:
- Leigh-Ann A. Buchanan, Esq., President of aīre ventures
- Maria Noel Fernandez, Deputy Executive Director of Working Partnerships USA
- German Calderon, Community Manager at TechEquity Collaborative
Thanks to AppLovin for sponsoring this event.
About the Speakers
Leigh-Ann is a writer, strategic advisor, and sought-after speaker on REDI (racial equity, diversity and inclusion) strategies for organizations and innovation ecosystems. NY Times, Inc. Magazine, NPR, NBC, South Florida Times, Miami Herald, Al Jezeera, American Psychological Association, and the ABA Law Journal have featured her thoughts and contributions.
She focuses her energy on projects that bridge systemic access and opportunity gaps, with a concentration on tech, entrepreneurship and high impact leaders. As an advisor, she has supported innovation and technology leaders at Fortune 500 companies including Google, Facebook, Delta, P&G Ventures, AirBnB, HSBC and UBS. As a founder, she has launched ventures from concept to scale, raising over $4.5 million in equity free capital to scale numerous ventures.
Leigh-Ann has been recognized as one of the Most Influential Black Business Leaders in South Florida, a McClatchy Florida Influencer, one of Miami’s 50 Most Powerful and Influential Black Business Leaders, a Black Enterprise Magazine Tech Trailblazer and the American Bar Association Top 40 Young Lawyers.
She is the Founder of Nyah Project and currently serves as the President of the venture studio, aīre ventures. She co-hosts the Innovation City podcast and produces storytelling projects.
Maria Noel brings over a decade of organizing experience to the movement for a just economy. As Deputy Executive Director, she oversees Working Partnerships USA’s organizing, communications, and operations departments, building coalitions and community power to win groundbreaking change for working families.
She is the campaign director for Silicon Valley Rising, a coordinated regional effort that’s inspiring an inclusive tech-driven economy. So far, the SVR campaign has helped over 5,500 service workers in the tech industry organize for better wages and a voice at work.
As Working Partnerships USA’s organizing director from 2014 to 2017, Maria Noel was instrumental in developing organizing and campaign strategies that won a $15/hr minimum wage in eight Silicon Valley cities, the first-in-the-nation Opportunity to Work ballot initiative, and other policies that are improving the lives of working people and their families. She led the organization’s non-partisan civic engagement programs that are building a strong grassroots base of low-income voters of color in Silicon Valley.
Previously, she worked with the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council on successful issue campaigns to raise the minimum wage, pass a general tax for county safety net services, and more. She was district director for the previous California State Speaker Pro Tempore and joined that office after spending three years as a community organizer through Sacred Heart Community Service’s policy and organizing department where she led successful campaigns to protect senior services, defend immigrant rights and increase resources for the most underserved areas of San Jose.
She also spent three years teaching English and Social Studies in Bogota, Colombia after having spent several years working for then-City of San Jose Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez.
Maria Noel lives in south San Jose with her husband, son Tadeo and her dog Rocco. She is a board member of the National Partnership for Working Families.
German Calderon is the Community Manager for TechEquity Collaborative. Prior to working at TechEquity Collaborative, German was interning for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union where he advocated for workers rights and empowered workers to become leaders. Through collective bargaining, facilitating rallies and working as a team, German developed organizing skills and further pursued his passion of helping others in need achieve success.
German is a recent graduate of the University of California Santa Cruz. During his time there, he joined an on-campus organization called Empowering Latino Advancement Through Education and Development. He brought academic support to his peers and ensured that every member had what they needed to become successful in college and graduate school. He also worked for the Disability Resource Center on campus where he helped students with disabilities find alternative and accessible ways of completing assigned readings. German is excited to channel his skills into TechEquity Collaborative and help create a Bay Area that works for everyone.
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This webinar is hosted on Zoom; register for free to get access to the webinar link. We can’t wait to see you there!
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