Tune in to Episode 1 below, or listen on Spotify to hear Lili’s compelling story and how YOU can get involved with Let’s Make It Count and the 2020 National Census Data Competition. It’s 2020 and Your Voice Matters.
In this week’s episode—our very first one!—we interview Lili Gangas, Chief Technology Community Officer at Kapor Center of Oakland, California. During the conversation, Lili talks about her role at Kapor, her journey from young immigrant to electrical engineer, then to establishing programs that focus on closing the digital divide for school-aged youth in underrepresented communities in California.
Lili’s incredible story starts with her immigration to the United States when she was just six years old. Her family, which included Lili, her sister, and their mother, left Bolivia to establish a new life of opportunity for the girls. Lili’s mother raised her girls alone, often working two or three jobs at a time, and all the while deeply instilling in her daughters the value of prioritizing their education. Lili did just that, and worked her way through inadequately funded schools in her district, where she excelled, particularly in math.
It was during her years of growing up in Los Angeles and attending school in a diverse, yet underfunded school district, that Lili experienced the gap of opportunities afforded to her and her peers. The disparity in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) options comes down to what’s known as the digital divide, which occurs when access to and use of information technologies is unevenly distributed, thereby creating a technological gap, which translates into fewer opportunities for learning and educational support programs. Lili is driven to bridge the digital divide so that the brilliance of today’s youth does not go unanswered due to the lack of funding in schools nationwide.
In our conversation with Lili, she explains the mission of the Kapor Center, the vision of the 100 Days of Action for Racial Justice campaign, and why it is essential to be involved in getting the most accurate count possible in this year’s Census. Hint: It directly impacts funds for education, emergency services, neighborhood parks, and more.
More Resources:
High School Students & Teachers: Join the Let’s Make It Count National Census Data Competition
