Presenting the 2024 Digital Equity Champions!

One of Net Inclusion’s cherished traditions is presenting the recipients of the prestigious Charles Benton Digital Equity Award. Named for Charles Benton, the founder of Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) created the awards to recognize leadership and dedication in advancing digital equity. Since NDIA’s creation of the award in 2016, we have recognized 15 Digital Equity Champions, and we are thrilled to welcome this year’s remarkable awardees:

• 2024 Digital Equity Champion – Emerging Leader: Karimullah Kamwar, Digital Empowerment Manager, Syracuse Northeast Community Center - Karim brought his wife and five children from Afghanistan to settle in Syracuse. Within one year, he became the manager of the Digital Empower Program with the Syracuse Northeast Community Center. Under his leadership, the Syracuse Northeast Community Center built an inclusive multicultural team including four Digital Navigators. He has integrated this work with other essential services offered through the community center—such as a food pantry, employment program, youth/senior program, and health connections—in order to build true self-reliance.
• 2024 Digital Equity Champion: Norma E. Fernandez, CEO, EveryoneOn - Norma became CEO of EveryoneOn in late 2019 and found herself leading the organization during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, she grew and diversified the board and staff, created a strategic framework, and oversaw the implementation of the organization’s first-ever Digital Skills Academy, a training program for individuals and organizations. This has resulted in more funds raised from diverse sources, new partnerships, and expansion in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and Milwaukee. 
• 2024 Digital Equity Champion: Adrienne Pruszynski, Founder & Program Director, Renaissance 21 - Adrienne has been a Digital Equity and Inclusion Warrior for more than 15 years, working to close STEM/STEAM equity gaps for youth at the grassroots level from Seattle to Ecuador. She is one of the three founders of Renaissance 21, and is a founder and Program Director of the lead initiative Star Tech Global Academy (STGA).