diversity

Wireless Network Installation and Community Outreach

Organization: 
Technology for All
VISTA Name: 
James Carlson
Program Start: 
6/2006
Program End: 
6/2007
Project Description: 

James worked for Technology For All in our TFA-Wireless social enterprise. TFA-Wireless is a joint research project with TFA and Rice University. The network provides free wireless internet to low income under resourced community in South East Houston. His efforts were focused in the area of community wireless networking with primary areas of responsibility covering implementation, administration and expansion of a multi-node wireless mesh network providing covering 3 Sq Km.

Project Outcome: 

As a graduate Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech the technical requirements of his position were quickly mastered. In addition to the technical aspects of the project James had worked in the area of community engagement as a regular as part of his responsibilities. The community is primarily Latino, many of which are recent or first generation immigrants. The biggest hurdle for James in this area was the language barrier as James was not conversational in Spanish. The opportunity and challenges in this type of research network abound. Regardless of these challenges, James was highly successful in increasing the range and scope of services we can offer the residents of these areas and his presence will be missed from both in the interpersonal arena as well as his technical proficiency.

CAMINOS Pathways Learning Center

Location:
San Francisco, CA

Located in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District, CAMINOS enables low-income, Latina immigrants to create opportunities for self and economic improvement through access to technology. CAMINOS is a non-profit organization dedicated to using technology to improve the lives of Latina immigrants. By enabling unemployed or underemployed Latina, immigrant women move from manual or service labor to office and technology-based work, thus interrupting the cycle of poverty and social isolation affecting Latina immigrant women’s health and wellbeing.

CAMINOS works to ensure that low-income Latina immigrant women in the community can reap the benefits of the information revolution that is fundamentally changing our economic and social structure. Without programs such as ours, poor communities would miss the opportunity to be integrated into the technological era, further exacerbating existing equity problems.

Our programs work together to empower Latina immigrant women to build living-wage careers within the information and technology sector.dive

Boat People SOS - Atlanta, GA

Location:
Doraville, GA

We are a national Vietnamese-American community-based organization with the mission to “empower, organize, and equip Vietnamese individuals and communities in their pursuit of liberty and dignity.”

Since 1980, one in 10 Vietnamese Americans has received assistance from BPSOS while still in Vietnam, on the high seas, in a refugee camp, or after arriving in the United States.

Through our 18 office locations in the U.S. and four office locations in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, we provide a web of services to support individuals, families, and communities.

Boat People SOS - Washington, DC

Location:
Washington, DC

We are a national Vietnamese-American community-based organization with the mission to “empower, organize, and equip Vietnamese individuals and communities in their pursuit of liberty and dignity.”

Since 1980, one in 10 Vietnamese Americans has received assistance from BPSOS while still in Vietnam, on the high seas, in a refugee camp, or after arriving in the United States.

Through our 18 office locations in the U.S. and four office locations in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, we provide a web of services to support individuals, families, and communities.

Boat People SOS - Virginia

Location:
Falls Church, VA

We are a national Vietnamese-American community-based organization with the mission to “empower, organize, and equip Vietnamese individuals and communities in their pursuit of liberty and dignity.”

Since 1980, one in 10 Vietnamese Americans has received assistance from BPSOS while still in Vietnam, on the high seas, in a refugee camp, or after arriving in the United States.

Through our 18 office locations in the U.S. and four office locations in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, we provide a web of services to support individuals, families, and communities.

The San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Transgender Community Center

Location:
San Diego, CA

The mission of The San Diego LGBT Community Center is to enhance and sustain the health and well-being of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and HIV communities by providing activities, programs, and services that:

Create community,
Empower community members,
Provide essential resources,
Advocate for civil and human rights, and
Embrace, promote and support our cultural diversity.

The Center houses more than 50 programs, projects and services that reach out to the LGBT, HIV/AIDS and allied communities. We provide direct program services to the many different facets of the LGBT community, including youth, seniors, families, LGBT Latino community members and their families, and those struggling with HIV. In 2008 The Center served more than 25,000 San Diego community members, and through its events, activities and advocacy, touched the lives of thousands more.

Pui Tak Center

Location:
Chicago, IL

Pui Tak Center is a church-based community. Each year, we serve over 3000 Chinese immigrants through ESL classes and tutoring for adults, children and youth programs, services for new immigrants, family literacy, school, a music program, computer center and outreach programs.

Kwong Kow Chinese School, Inc.

Location:
Boston, MA

KKCS currently offers Afterschool Program, Weekend Program, Summer Program, & Continuing Education Program. All of which consist of very rich Chinese Language and Chinese Culture courses while integrating some core Western education courses into the curriculum. Students range from Kindergarten through all ages.

Korean American Community Services

Location:
Chicago, IL

Our mission at KACS is to celebrate our ethnicity and to empower all members of the community by providing educational, legal, health and social services.
We have created this web site as a public service, offering information about our agency and services, as well as matters
of concern to our constituents and supporters.

Fenway CDC Boston

Location:
Boston, MA

Fenway CDC is a membership organization that works to achieve greater residential stability and diversity in the Fenway neighborhood. We engage residents in community planning, develop affordable housing, and advocate for community services primarily aimed at meeting the needs of low- and moderate-income residents. We envision the Fenway as an urban village - a model of smart growth and sustainability where both residential and institutional neighbors thrive. Toward this end, we seek to capitalize on the opportunities and address the challenges arising from the Fenway’s unique concentration of world-renowned institutions, which are important drivers of the regional economy.

Transmission Project