Dr. Stephanie Cawthon is one of only three featured speakers at the Future of Tech Commission’s Texas Town Hall on Thursday, May 26, at 9:30 a.m.
One of the first of a limited number of town halls throughout the nation, this event will help develop an actionable bipartisan technology policy agenda for the United States. It will focus on two key issues: how the administration can support and proliferate technological innovation for the future of education and workforce, and cultivating tech equity and digital access for all.
This 90-minute virtual town hall is hosted by Commission Co-Chair and former Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, President and CEO of Texas 2036, and will convene leaders from across Texas to engage with speakers, participate in audience polls, and provide more detailed feedback that will inform a report with recommendations to federal agencies. Closed captioning will be available. [Register for the event.]
Speakers, Moderators, and Panel
Joining Dr. Cawthon as a featured speaker are Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Mike Morath, Texas Commissioner of Education.
The Texas Town Hall’s panel includes Nicole Anderson, AVP of Corporate Social Responsibility and President of the AT&T Foundation; Larry Berger, CEO of Amplify; Pedro Martinez, Superintendent of San Antonio ISD; Dr. Joe May, Chancellor of Dallas College; Alfreda Norman, Senior Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas; and Dr. Wynn Rosser, President & CEO of TLL Temple Foundation.
Event moderators are Evan Smith, CEO of the Texas Tribune, and Sen. Kirk Watson, Dean of the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston.
About the Future of Tech Commission
The Future of Tech Commission is a private, independent and bipartisan working group developed in response to discussions with the White House and the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to recommend a comprehensive tech policy agenda for the nation. The ideas and feedback generated from this event and diverse communities and groups across the country will be used to craft key tech policy measures, and set the stage to implement a robust tech agenda with bipartisan support.
Others are watching closely, including Politico, which recently reported in its Morning Tech (MT) column:
A group of leaders including Common Sense Media’s Jim Steyer, former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and former Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, is launching a commission that will assemble a “blueprint” for a comprehensive tech policy agenda under Biden, with a focus on soliciting input from people inside as well as outside Washington, D.C.
“A comprehensive tech policy agenda for the country is long overdue,” Steyer told MT.
By the summer, the commission will compile solutions for government and industry on topics including privacy, antitrust, digital equity, and content moderation. They’ve already had conversations with the White House, FCC and lawmakers ahead of this launch. The group will focus on soliciting input across the U.S., ensuring that any tech agenda incorporates views from people outside of the D.C. bubble. They will spend the next few months talking to policymakers, regulators, experts and tech industry leaders nationwide.
The [commission] is already drawing attention from key players in Bidenworld, including acting FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel. “It’s good to look beyond Washington for new ideas and solutions,” Rosenworcel said in a statement to MT.