KC Digital Drive Forward to the Future | Reception & Future-raiser

KC Digital Drive was founded in 2012 by the City of Kansas City, MO, and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, KS, to address the digital equity issues revealed when Google Fiber launched in Kansas City, and to mitigate the gaps in adapting to emerging technologies in the bi-state region.

Today, the region relies on our expertise, innovation capacity, project delivery experience, community engagement, and agility to leverage innovation to:

• Decrease socioeconomic differences in the use of new technologies;
• Lead the development of technology solutions for vexing public problems; and
• Increase the adoption of emerging technology.

2022 marks 10 years that KC Digital Drive has been pursuing our mission of making Kansas City a digital leader. This year’s ‘Forward to the Future’ fundraiser is a celebration of a decade of impact in inclusion and innovation, in ecosystem building and community engagement, and is a collective recognition of the journey ventured and an inspiring cast forward into the future.

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4:30 Networking

5:00 Welcome and opening remarks - Aaron Deacon

5:10 City Perspectives

Mayor Quinton Lucas, Kansas City, MO and Mayor Tyrone Garner, Unified Government of Wyandotte County & Kansas City, KS

5:30 Back to the Future Panel

Aaron Deacon, Managing Director, KC Digital Drive

Riddhiman Das, Co-Founder & CEO, TripleBlind

Rachel Hack Merlo, Head of Government Relations (Central Region & Orange County, CA), Google Fiber

Sly James, Co-Founder, WickhamJames Strategic Solutions, Former Mayor of Kansas City, MO

6:15 Forward to the Future - Aaron Deacon

Project Highlights from our Resource Networks

• Clear My Record - Marilyn Harp, Executive Director, Kansas Legal Services
• The Connect KC - Kiley Larson, PhD, Researcher in Residence, KC Digital Drive; Lisa Koch, AICP, AssociateDirector, University of Kansas Transportation Center
• Internet Access Support Program - Clyde McQueen, CEO, Full Employment Council
• School of Nursing MetaVersity - Kesa Herlihy, PhD, RN, CNE, Clinical Associate Professor, University of Kansas School of Nursing
• Rural Breast Cancer - Scott Gunnigle, Vice President, MediView