Data Fall Speaker Series – Dr. Fallon Wilson & Jurnell Cockhren

Data Fluencies Speaker Series, 4th October from 12:30- 1:30pm PST

Fallon Wilson & Jurnell Cockhren (Black Tech Futures Institute) 

Dr. Fallon Wilson is the vice president of policy at the Multicultural Media and Telecommunication Internet Council (MMTC) where she launched a national campaign, Black Churches 4 Broadband to support digital access in black communities. She is also the co-founder of #BlackTechFutures Research Institute which is funded by Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s 2020 Open Knowledge grant. #BlackTechFutures Research Institute builds a national network of city-based researchers and practitioners conducting research on sustainable local black tech ecosystems. Prior to launching the #BlackTechFutures Research Institute, Dr. Wilson was the former research director for Black Tech Mecca where she developed the SMART Black Tech Ecosystem Assessment Framework. As a member of the Federal Communications Commission’s Communications Equity and Diversity Council, Dr. Wilson chairs the Digital Inclusion & Anchor Institution Subgroup. Dr. Wilson is a 2019 TEDx Speaker (e.g. Stop Ignoring Black Women and Hear of Our Tech Prophecies).

Jurnell Cockhren has over a decade of experience in creating and contributing to open source software, Jurnell has worked in various fields, including neuroscience, optics and astronomy. Jurnell acts as the CTO of Black Science Network, and Instructor at the Nashville Software School. In 2012, Jurnell founded Sophicware, a Tech Firm and Think Tank. It’s mission: to enable the general public with computing tools that enables them to contribute to solving problems they encounter in their communities everyday.

This is a hybrid event.

Email: ddi_comms@sfu.ca for the zoom link.