Recorded On: February 23, 2018
Air Date: February 26, 2018
Last year, Eugene was chosen from 47 cities that vied to be the next Mozilla Gigabit City. Winners receive national recognition and grants totaling $300,000 for projects utilizing emerging technology to improve education and expand workforce development. Eugene was chosen because of its collaborative tech community, supportive environment for startups, and widely deployed fiber infrastructure.
In May 2017, Mozilla put out the initial request for proposals for promising projects in the greater-Eugene area - projects that use connectivity 250-times normal speeds to make learning more engaging, equitable and impactful. Winners were selected by a committee of local executives, artists, technologists, and students with the first round of grants being awarded in November. The current round of grant-driven projects is still ongoing, and will conclude later this month with the next 16-week grant period running from March - July. You will hear and see demonstrations of the dynamic and innovative projects. Attend the program and be dazzled by the technology at this "Show and Tell" presentation.
Speaker Biographies:
Matt Sayre has more than two decades of experience in tech and is currently the Vice President of the Technology Association of Oregon. Matt focuses on building community in the tech industry, as a way to increase economic prosperity for our region and was instrumental in bringing the "Mozilla Gigabit City" designation to the city of Eugene - he continues to work closely with the Mozilla grantees in expanding the impact throughout the region.
Craig Wiroll is the Mozilla Portfolio Manager in Eugene and oversees the selection, implementation, and management of the Mozilla funded projects. Craig is a two-time Americorps alum, worked in the Obama White House, and graduated with a Master's in Public Administration from the U of O.
Joe Maruschak, first questioner, started a company that developed multiplayer games for the web and the original Xbox console. From 2014 to the present he has been Executive Director of RAIN Eugene and the Chief Startup Officer of the RAIN Eugene Accelerator and has advised many early and growth-stage companies in fields as diverse as communications, health and safety, education, and biotech.
Project presentations by:
Eric Braman, The Lane Arts Council: Gigabit Residencies
Joe Bellona, Harmonic Laboratory: City Synth
Erin Maloney, Lane Stem: Coder In Residence (AKA Gigabots)
Program Coordinators: Joel Korin and Paul Thompson
Copyright KLCC, 2018
