Joshua Edmonds is the Chief Executive Officer of DigitalC, a nonprofit technology social enterprise headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, committed to disruptive telecommunications, digital equity, and facilitating community-based collaborations.
Prior to joining DigitalC, Joshua was appointed to serve as America’s first municipal Director of Digital Inclusion at the City of Detroit. There, he created the Office of Digital Inclusion (ODI), developed Detroit’s first municipal fiber optic broadband plan, established Connect 313, a 600+ member public private partnership devoted to bridging Detroit’s digital divide. In addition, Joshua was selected to testify in front of the US Congress on the matter of digital equity. During Joshua’s tenure, he oversaw the deployment of over $70M of public, private, and philanthropic capital earmarked for establishing digital equity in Detroit.
Joshua has served as a Digital Inclusion Policy Fellow at the University of Michigan, a Digital Innovation Fellow at The Cleveland Foundation, and a Cleveland Foundation Public Service Fellow at the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority working on President Obama’s ConnectHome initiative. Among others, Joshua has been recognized by Forbes, the Federal Communications Commission, Next Century Cities, Government Technology, the NAACP, and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance for his contributions to the field.
Joshua obtained his bachelor’s degree in English and Spanish from Notre Dame College, obtained his master’s degree in Public Policy (Technology) and International Affairs from Howard University.
Disrupting the Digital Divide
Join us to explore how DigitalC is using disruption to eradicate the digital divide - for good - in Cleveland and beyond. As a nonprofit social enterprise, DigitalC is deploying a state-of-the-art hybrid network that not only challenges but revolutionizes the conventional approaches to digital inclusivity. Through their $18/month, 100 Mbps symmetrical service - accompanied by their provocative rebrand - they are setting a new standard for what community-based networks can achieve by being a disruptive force in the urban digital divide. The session will provide insights into how creative community-centric approaches can be scaled and replicated, offering lessons and inspiration for other communities.