Creating greater access to digital technology has emerged as an aspiration with broad potential. At the individual level, digital access enhances or constrains opportunities for participation in modern society. At the community level, it is evolving as a measure of community health and vitality. At the regional level, infrastructure and access are baselines for economic competitiveness.

To pursue this aspiration, in June 2020, The Patterson Foundation created its Digital Access for All (DA4A) initiative, which explores the efforts of multiple sectors working to enhance access to technology that connects people in ways that foster inclusion and well-being.

Three essential elements or three “legs of the stool” emerged as critically important through The Patterson Foundation’s in-depth research and interviews with national thought-leaders in the digital access arena. The three essential elements of digital access are:

• Connecting: The ability to connect to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet
• Devices: Possessing the right device for one’s needs
• Skills/Support: Having access to the necessary training and support to use devices and programs effectively while solving technical issues when they arise

All three need to be present and work together for digital access for all to be achieved.

For more than a decade, The Patterson Foundation’s initiatives have emphasized embracing technology and maximizing its benefits to strengthen their work

Digital access is a basic necessity to connect to a variety of vital services that have increasingly shifted to an online format, including those related to education, health, and employment — a necessity that many asset-limited families and communities struggle to acquire. Discovering efforts and entities that are moving the needle on this issue and how each of them are working on it creates an opportunity to strengthen efforts to overcome the common obstacles to digital access.

Suncoast Digital Connect is a virtual “Learning Thursdays” webinar series created by The Patterson Foundation’s Digital Access for All initiative. Inspired by the innovations shared at the Suncoast Connect Symposium, the series aims to educate, engage, and catalyze action around digital opportunity. Each webinar brings together thought leaders, innovators, and advocates advancing digital access across the region and beyond. Topics spotlight affordable internet, reliable devices, and the digital skills and support that enable individuals and communities to thrive.

In celebration of the fifth year of the Digital Access for All initiative, The Patterson Foundation hosted the Suncoast Connect Symposium on March 11 + 12 with various activities designed to engage and educate attendees from across the region and beyond on the essential elements of digital access: connectivity, devices, and skills training/support.

Suncoast Digital Connect: A “Learning Thursdays” Webinar Series is designed to convene thought leaders, innovators, and advocates who are advancing digital access across our region and beyond. Each session spotlights essential components of a digitally inclusive future, including affordable internet access, reliable devices, and the digital skills and support needed to thrive.

Fall 2025

• Thursday, September 4, 2025: It takes a Community of Champions with Kathy Bisbee, Director, Alliance for Digital Equity. In this session, Kathy Bisbee shared her work in the rural and urban communities of Western Massachusetts, as the facilitative leader of a coalition of over 200 organizations working to eliminate digital inequities. Learn more here | Watch the recording here.
  
  
• Thursday, October 9, 2025: Building a Digital Equity Ecosystem: Lessons from the Center for Digital Equity with Bruce Clark, Digital Inclusion Project Manager, Center for Digital Equity at Queens University of Charlotte explored how communities can create and sustain a digital equity ecosystem that ensures every resident has access to the tools, skills, and support they need to thrive in today’s digital world. Learn more here | Watch the recording here.
  
  
• Thursday, November 6, 2025 — Building Sustainable Digital Equity with Estefania Zavala. In Long Beach, California, the Cambodia Town Learn and Earn Program offers a strong model for sustainable digital inclusion without relying on federal funding. Learn more here | Watch the recording here.
  
  
• Thursday, December 4, 2025 — From Digital Inclusion to Digital Ecology: Designing the Next Chapter of Connection with Kyla Williams Tate. Her presentation invited us to see digital inclusion not just as access, but as a living ecosystem where infrastructure, policy, and people are interconnected. Learn more here | Watch the recording here.

Spring 2025

• Thursday, January 23, 2025 — The Role of the Century: How Digital Navigators Prepare, Enable, and Enrich Communities in Our Modern World with Maribel Martinez, Consultant, The Patterson Foundation. Learn more here.
  
  
• Thursday, February 6, 2025 — AI Tools and YOU! with Kevin McNulty, Co-Founder and President, NetWeave Social Networking. Learn more here | Watch the recording here.
  
  

Fall 2024

• Thursday, December 5, 2024 — The Future of Emergency Management: Integrating Technology Across the Disaster Lifecycle with Tom Kitchen Jr, Manager, Emergency Management (MECM, CEM), The Hospital and Health System Association of Pennsylvania. Learn more here | Watch the recording here.