Georgia's First Digital Equity Administrator
Takiyah Thomas, Digital Equity Administrator for Clayton County, Ga., sits down with Dara Brown during Net Inclusion 2024 in Philadelphia for a discussion about the work she is leading as the first digital equity administrator for any county or municipality in Georgia.
Video Transcript
Brown: Across the nation, communities are working hard to expand access to broadband internet, but some areas are breaking new ground. Hello. I'm Dara Brown. This is "Getting Connected." Joining me is Takiyah Thomas. She is the Digital Equity Administrator for Clayton County in Georgia. Takiyah, thank you so much for being here.
Thomas: Thank you.
Brown: Takiyah, you are the first person to hold this role in Georgia. Tell me about this.
Thomas: Well, it is an honor to be the first digital equity administrator and to be the first municipality to have a Office of Digital Equity in the whole state. So we take a lot of time working with our public, making sure they have access to the internet, making sure they have access to digital skills. We do free digital skills training. And making sure they have access to devices in the home.
Brown: And how else are you bridging this digital divide?
Thomas: Well, our digital skills training is our baby, I guess you can say. It's what we're focusing on to get our skill level of our community to a more equitable level because that's where digital equity comes in. "Can you use technology? Do you have technology? Do you have access to the internet?" So that's what we focus on.
Brown: This is a new position, so where do you see this going?
Thomas: Well, we hope to have more support from federal monies that will give residents access to internet in the home. If we didn't learn anything else from the COVID pandemic, we learned that we have to have internet in the home. And our libraries are being inundated with residents that don't have skills. They're — the libraries are taking a lot of time helping them use the computer. So the skills is lacking. There's a big gap with the skills. And the fact that they have to go to the library, or go to the parking lot at Walmart, or go to a Barnes & Noble, or a coffee shop to use the free Wi-Fi. So we have a lot of work ahead of us but we are up for it.
Brown: Takiyah Thomas, Digital Equity Administrator from Clayton County, Georgia. Thank you so much for being here.
Thomas: Thank you for having me.
Brown: And thanks to you, as well, for watching. I'm Dara Brown.