Our mission and vision

LA Tech4Good’s mission is to foster social change by teaching equitable and ethical data practices

We believe data can be actively employed to mitigate injustices and build a more equitable world. Data must be employed with an equity lens, as a key tool in our toolbox, as we work for racial justice, gender equality, equitable healthcare, and more.

We also advocate for professional data norms rooted in equity, ethics, and data sovereignty, and the concept of data justice, contributing to social change through technology.

What does data equity mean to us? It is a set of principles and practices that guide anyone who works with data (especially data related to people) through every step of a data project through a lens of justice, equity, and inclusivity. It is a framing for all data work from start to finish as well as an end goal, “both an outcome and a process.”

What we do

We design and sponsor data equity skills workshops and webinars, send out a monthly newsletter (well, 2 actually), host interesting articles, and hold both virtual and in-person events in select cities. Inclusion and equity inform our work; we strive to address the gap between the power of data and our ability to use it to benefit humanity. We envision possibilities for change, working alongside volunteers, contributors and partner organizations who are experts in their fields.

Workshops

Our Leading Equitable Data Practices programming offers practical resources and workshop-style training in responsible data practices. We believe that – in a world where data is power – being an informed data user can mitigate inequalities and build a more equitable world. As we strive for social justice, racial justice, gender equality, and equitable access to technology, education, and healthcare, responsible data is a critical tool in our toolboxes. We work to help establish, in partnership with like-minded orgs, norms for data practices that are rooted in equity, ethics and data sovereignty, and which contribute to social justice through technology.

Events

We host panels and mixers, and speak at classes, conferences, and webinars. Email us to discuss a collaboration.

Newsletters

Our monthly newsletter originates with Regina Walton, director of SFTech4Good, for an audience mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area. We have a second newsletter curated for our national audience, with important tech journalism, events happening around the country, and updates from ourselves and our partner organizations.

Join the national mailing list here and the SFTech4Good list here.

Blog posts and guest articles

Our content focuses on practical implementations of data equity best practices. Check them out here. Or email us to discuss sharing your work in a guest post.

Events

We hosted four interesting events in late 2023 – click through to find recaps, recordings and resources!
• Healthcare Data Equity with Defining Point Coaching & Consulting and Bold Digital Health
• Ethics in the Age of AI with RoundTable Technology
• Using and Visualizing Data Responsibly with PolicyViz
• We spoke at the Society of Women Engineers annual conference in Los Angeles and hosted a Responsible Data and Women in AI Happy Hour for conference attendees

You can also visit our events page or our join one of our Meetups (LA / SF) to see events as they are scheduled.

Here are some of our favorite events over the last few years:

Integrating ethics into the product development cycle | in-person event with the Product Managers Association of Los Angeles | June 2023 | Read more

Data equity for healthcare professionals | 4-part virtual workshop series with leading experts in the field | April 2022 | Read more

Coded Bias | documentary screening and virtual facilitated discussion | February 2020 | Read more

Breaking the telehealth divide: What I’ve learned from my community | virtual fireside chat | June 2020 | Read more

A brief history

January 2024: Starting off the year with a strong cohort in our Data Equity Skills training course.

2023: Got our first grant from The Internet Society to fund our workshops!

2021: Established our Steering Committee as a working board

2020: Hosted our first Data Equity + Ethics Workshop series. Presented on intersectionality at Data Con LA and brought a strong nonprofit presence to their Data for Good track. Defined our mission for new pandemic conditions, embracing thought leadership and guest articles Launched a Digital for All campaign in response to Covid-19

2019: Moved to nonprofit status as a fiscally sponsored project of Social Good Fund

2015: Held our first event under the LA Tech4Good name, hosting monthly Meetup gatherings in Los Angeles for nonprofit tech training

2008: TechSoup established the initial NetSquared Meetup group with an audience of nonprofit IT staff

Who we are

We are a community of learners and doers from across the country who implement and amplify innovative technology-driven practices, promote community-driven solutions, and provide thought leadership.