Christa Thorpe

Clara McCool

Dr. Sheryl Dasco

Susan Corbett

What’s the difference between broadband and internet? And what’s with all the work on utility poles these days? What are they doing and when will traffic improve? In “Women and Broadband: The Push for Digital Equity,” we will discuss answers to these questions, learn the basics about this “public utility,” and begin to understand how access or lack of access impacts the health, livelihood, and connections of women in our community. Moderated by Dr. Sheryl Dacso.

Midcoast Women provides opportunities for area women of all ages – including trans women and genderqueer women – to find and strengthen our individual and collective voices. The talk will feature the following speakers from Midcoast Women:

Susan Corbett is a preeminent authority and advocate for digital equity and digital inclusion, and works closely with economic development and rural organizations to promote broadband adoption. She is Founder and Executive Director of the National Digital Equity Center and the former CEO of Axiom Technologies.

Clara McCool engages with and supports community-driven broadband planning to help foster regional coordination to maximize broadband solutions through the Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG). She supports the coordination of Maine Broadband Coalition membership management, educational offerings, and program deployment.

Christa Thorpe is Community Development Officer at the Island Institute. Christa serves as the project lead of the Broadband team, helping to support Maine’s island and coastal communities in achieving equitable, high-speed internet connectivity.

Dr. Sheryl Dacso is a board certified healthcare lawyer at Seyfarth Shaw, LLP; she is Professor of Public Health at UT Graduate School of Public Health and an authority on Digital Health.

This event will take place in the library’s Community Room, with limited seating, and simultaneously streamed over Zoom; the Rockland Public Library is located at 80 Union Street. To attend via Zoom, registration is required in advance: https://networkmaine.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAofuyopjgiH9ZAZMyWYI0zFFuD-ZA9c7R9. For more information, please email elewis@rocklandmaine.gov.