Background Information *

Beliefs, Vision, and Mission *

Organizational Overview *

The Technology Access Center *

Community Kids *

Plugged In Enterprises *

Special Projects *

Plugged In Staff Qualifications and Board of Directors *

Organizational Budget 1998-99 *

Background Information

In 1990, Plugged In’s co-founders, Bart Decrem and Bill Goetz, began computer training as volunteers at the Boys and Girls Club in Menlo Park, a town on the border of East Palo Alto, a low-income, primarily black and Hispanic community in the midst of Silicon Valley. In Fall 1992, seed funding from the Echoing Green Foundation helped create Plugged In under its original name, East Palo Alto Center for Technology.

The non-profit organization quickly outgrew the space available at the club, changed its name to Plugged In – Learning Through Technology, and moved to its current location in downtown East Palo Alto. It broadened its mission to become a community technology resource supporting individuals, non-profit organizations, and small businesses. Plugged In has received international, national, and regional attention for its innovative programs and accomplishments.

From January 1993 to the summer of 1997, Plugged In experienced rapid growth. Its user grew to 500 visits per week, it grew from a one-room laboratory to three buildings, and its budget doubled in size each year. During this period, Plugged In completed two major projects:

• With funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program, Plugged In teens created an online community resource center, epa.net. (www.epa.net) In 18 months, epa.net connected more then 20 community groups to the Internet and provided 15 local agencies with technical support. This project won the Global Information Infrastructure Award for community service.

• In partnership with America Online, teenagers at Plugged In created a premiere teen online forum, Plug In! Each month, it received 50,000 visits from teenagers around the nation. In early 1998, Plugged In spun it out as a new, independent non-profit organization called OpenVoice. It operates a new show called On the Line and provides engaging content for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young’s Forever Young Foundation web site. (www.foreveryoung.org) The Foundation financially aids a wide variety of organizations that promote the health and development of children and those providing children protection from abuse through shelters, education, and therapy.

The spin-out of Plug In! was part of a reorganization that began in early 1998 that focuses Plugged In on three programs that address its primary mission:

• Community Kids, a technology-based after-school program: To its technology focus, a visual arts component was added.
• The Technology Access Center: The center was redesigned according to the primary needs of the community as demonstrated through usage patterns. Activities and materials in the Center focus on helping people find jobs, start small businesses, obtain health information, and receive high school homework assistance.
• Plugged In Enterprises, a teen-operated web page design business: Plugged In Enterprises incorporated a new youth development model that focuses on productivity incentives and increases teen participation in business management.

During the 1998-99 program year, Plugged In will complete this restructuring, focusing on program documentation and quality. We also expect to move the organization, due to the fact a major city redevelopment project will force us out of our present site. We are seeking a new location in East Palo Alto.

Beliefs, Vision, and Mission

Plugged In was created out of a belief by the East Palo Alto community and Silicon Valley industry leaders that the modern world is in the midst of a profound transformation in which personal computer and Internet technologies play a critical role. However, some groups in our society are not being included in this progress, which we believe is a detriment not only to the disenfranchised, but also to our society. A recent study by the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration showed that blacks, Hispanics and low-income households are increasingly falling behind the rest of the population in computer ownership. We believe that people must have access to computing and Internet resources in order to participate in the emerging information economy. We also believe that the voices of low-income communities add a valuable perspective to the emerging public discussions on the Internet.

In the five years that Plugged In has existed, we have demonstrated the transformational power of training and demonstrations of technology access to benefit diverse constituencies in East Palo Alto and the high-technology community. In doing so, Plugged In is a model for how universal access to information technologies can be a window to economic, educational, and social opportunity.

East Palo Alto is an under-served community of talented people who have the potential to develop valuable skills when the opportunity is available. Although the East Palo Alto community has little access to resources and services such as computers and the Internet, many know what they want to achieve and will actively seek the resources available. Plugged In’s success shows that even our most economically disadvantaged community members are willing and able to take advantage of the resources that we make available.

In short, Plugged In’s is the place where everyone in East Palo Alto comes to get what they need to empower themselves in the ways that technology access makes possible. Our goal is to offer all residents of East Palo Alto access to personal computer, Internet and related technologies, with the opportunity to make full use of them to create and advance their economic, educational, and social goals.

Plugged In offer three primary services. Below is a brief description of each one.

The Technology Access Center

The Technology Access Center is a cross between the library of tomorrow, a self-paced learning studio, and copy center. It provides community members of all ages with free access to computers and the Internet. We operate a drop-in computer center that is open seven days a week. Children use the center to practice basic skills such as reading, writing, and math. Teens use the computers to do online research for school, write school papers, and work on personal web pages. Adults look for jobs on the Internet, put together their resume, and use our fax machine to apply for jobs. Others use Plugged In as their virtual office: they use our computers for everything from bookkeeping to maintaining their web sites and can even set up voice-mail accounts.

Plugged In Enterprises

Plugged In Enterprises is a web page design business run by teenagers. The program provides intensive education in the latest web design technology, supports the teens in managing client projects, and provides them with authentic work experience and structure. The program is unique in that it teaches the wide-range of skills necessary to take part in the information revolution. Customers have included Hewlett Packard, Pacific Bell, and Free At Last, a drug and alcohol recovery program.

Education

Community Kids is an after-school, multi-media studio and literacy center for neighborhood children between the ages of six and twelve. It cultivates the creative spirit by giving children tools for self-expression. It strengthens critical thinking and problem solving skills by exercising their minds. Primary focus is given to storytelling and the arts: visual and graphic. A special emphasis is given to new technologies.

Organizational Chart

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The Technology Access Center

For more information, visit: www.pluggedin.org/community/index.html

The Technology Access Center is a cross between the library of tomorrow, a self-paced learning studio, and copy center. It provides community members of all ages with free access to computers and the Internet. The drop-in center is open seven days a week. Children use the center to practice basic skills such as reading, writing, and math. Teens use the computers to do online research for school, write school papers, and work on personal web pages. Adults look for jobs on the Internet, put together their resume, and use our fax machine to apply for jobs. Others use Plugged In as their virtual office: they use our computers for everything from bookkeeping to maintaining their web sites. Community members can even set up voice-mail accounts.

Community members are welcome to use technology for work, study, business, entertainment, or communication. Plugged In does not advocate specific goals for its customers but instead provides tools for community members to discover, develop, and achieve their goals. We encourage and support independent exploration and experimentation. The Technology Access Center serves as a resource for people of all skill and experience levels, from the person who has never before used a computer, to the one who comes in to use advanced multimedia software such as Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Director. Access services for adults and teens are offered and staffed separately from those offered to children.

Description of services:

• Ages of users: 14 and up; children under 14 are welcome when supervised by an adult.
• Twelve Hewlett Packard computers with Intel Pentium processors running Windows 95. Software applications includes the Microsoft Office 97 suite, Netscape Communicator, web design software and six more Macintosh computers, mostly running the PowerPC processor, running Microsoft Word 5.1, Netscape Navigator and more. All computers are connected to the Internet using a fast DSL line donated by Pacific Bell. All computers are connected to a high-quality laser printer.
• Available peripherals include a scanner, printer, color printer, and digital camera.
• Available office resources include a copy machine, fax machine, telephone, and basic office supplies.
• The Technology Access Center also organizes relevant Internet and written information into four community resource areas on the Plugged In web site: Jobs, Small Business, Homework Assistance, and Health.

Available resources:

• Staff members will provide an orientation to each new user and ongoing trouble-shooting and technical assistance.
• A variety of self-tutorial materials are available through the Access Center, including hard copy materials on basic computer use (self-tutorials of the sort available at Kinko’s), self-help books, web-based interactive tutorials and goal-focused, self-paced curricula such as "How to become an administrative assistant," "How to become a web page designer," etc..
• Language issues: English/Spanish bilingual staff members are available to assist Spanish-speakers for at least 10 hours per week.

A. Project Goals

• Increase computer sessions from approximately 13,000 to 18,000.
• Create a health-related information resource on the web. This will be added to the resources we have for job seeking, business building, and after-school studying.
• Host at least one special project for middle school students, such as, a chess tournament.
• Provide orientation to each new user.
• Provide improved technical assistance and advice to computer users.
• Produce all internal written materials in English and Spanish.
• Provide teenagers with SAT preparation tutorials.
• Provide teenagers with high school tutorial software.

B. Evaluation Methods

• We will have each visitor register when they enter the Technology Access Center.
• We will produce orientation materials and count how many orientations we host.
• We will train staff to deliver technical assistance and monitor their performance.
• We will have materials in Spanish.
• We will teach teenagers to use SAT and high school software.

C. Expenses and Revenue

The annual budget for the Technology Access Center is $140,000. It generates revenue of $900/month on membership fees, photocopying, faxes, bus passes, and other services. The rest of the budget is contributed by private sources. Current contributors to this program are California Wellness Foundation, Pacific Bell, Lotus Corporation, and Romic Environmental Technologies Corporation.

Last April, Plugged In introduced a new membership fee program. It costs adults $15 per month, four hours of volunteer service, or a $1 per visit. The membership program has generated an average of 20 volunteers per month.

Community Kids

Children’s Program Manager: Këri Bolding (keri@pluggedin.org)

For more information, visit: www.pluggedin.org/kids/index.html

Community Kids is an after-school, multimedia studio and literacy center for neighborhood children between the ages of six and twelve. It cultivates the creative spirit by giving children tools for self-expression. It strengthens critical thinking and problem solving skills by exercising their minds. Primary focus is given to storytelling and the arts: visual and graphic. A special emphasis is given to new technologies.

The program operates every school day from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The program’s space is divided into two sections: the Technology Studio and the Arts Center.

The Technology Studio

The Technology Studio consists of three computer islands:

• The Literacy Center: This center is sponsored by volunteers from the Stanford University School of Education. The primary activity at this center is story boarding focused on reading comprehension. Children read stories such as Glowbird, a literacy-based software package with stories on ecological themes. Once they read the stories, they write original story-lines and create graphics.

• The Digital Arts Center: This center focuses on graphic design and desktop publishing. Each child begins the program by creating their own name tag using a digital camera to photograph themselves and write their names. They also create their own place mats, greeting cards, and slide shows. The final project is a photo year book. The kids use Print Shop Deluxe and Kid Pix.

• The Independent Exploration Center: This center features a variety of software applications from which the students can choose:

The Arts Center

Each day the children complete an art project. The goal of the projects is to develop the kids’ creative skills and create a forum for self-expression and community reflection.

During the school year, the children will make things like paper mache animals, tapestries, wire sculptures, stuffed animals, pen and pencil drawings, circle weaves, mosaics, and baskets.

A. Project Goals

• Serve at least 20 students per day. Each quarter, each student will do the following:

1. Complete 15 art projects. For example, each child will complete one mosaic art project that will integrate basic color usage skills to create an 11’x 14’ collage.
2. Receive 20 hours of computer time. Students will use this time for independent projects, the exploration of educational software applications, and writing e-mail and stories.
3. Complete 10 structured computer projects. For example, each child will design and their own slideshow composition. It will integrate sounds, graphics, pictures, and writing.
4. Master three software applications. The students will select the applications from those above.
5. Complete six literacy activities. For example, the students will write a four- to ten-page book based upon creatures from the Little Planet Reading Series.
6. Complete one "all-children’s" project. Each child will complete their own yearbook page. It will include a digital photograph, three items describing themselves, and their e-mail address. The yearbooks will be distributed to the children and their parents.

• Collaborate with Children’s Book Press and complete one small group literacy project per quarter.
• Explore a collaboration with the San Francisco 49er’s Academy, a middle school in East Palo Alto.
• Create an internship program with the Service Learning Program of Sacred Heart Academy, a high school in Atherton, a neighboring town.
• Recruit 10 community volunteers to work with the students in the program.
• Assure that all students have operating knowledge of the PC, and know the basic components of the computer. (CPU, mouse, monitor, etc.)
• Document lessons that focus on literacy improvement and computer skills.

B. Evaluation Methods

• Each child will register when they enter the program.
• A record of the number of projects completed will be maintained for each student.
• On software applications with evaluation capacity, scores and grades will be monitored.

C. Expenses and Revenue

The annual budget for the Children’s Program is $147,000. The children’s activities are free to their parents.

Current contributors to this program are Allen and Company, Community Foundation Silicon Valley, the Grove Family Foundation, and the Sand Hill Foundation.

Plugged In Enterprises

Plugged In Enterprises Manager: Julian Lacey (julian@pluggedin.org)

For more information, visit: www.pluggedin.org/pie

Plugged In Enterprises began in 1996 as an educational program for teenagers in leading- edge computer technology. In the first phase, forty-six teenagers were introduced to the basics: word processing, spreadsheets, and basic graphic design. As the teenagers learned, they were placed in one of two businesses according to their interests: a web page design business or an online content company. The online company produced Plug In!, a premiere teen discussion forum on America Online with an audience of 50,000. The web page design business created web sites and connected the community to the Internet. As was stated earlier, its most significant project is epa.net, an online community resource center.

Plugged In Enterprises focuses on three areas: technical training, employment experience and life skill development:

Technical Training

Our technical training focuses on high-end software applications, workshops led by professionals from the technology industry, and industry mentorships:

• Production skills include graphic design, web publishing applications, and object-based programming.

• Field trips include visits to corporations such as Wired magazine and Macromedia.
• Technical skill training includes graphic design, animation, and HTML scripting.

Employment Experience

Employment at Plugged In Enterprise includes job skills workshops and performance evaluations. This component focuses on the skills needed to work effectively in a professional environment :

• Cultivate positive and productive relationships with co-workers.
• Conduct and participate in business meetings.
• Maintain a professional image and conduct.
• Communicate effectively with clients.

Life Skills Development

Life skills development is incorporated in all aspects of Plugged In Enterprise's training and business functions. In order to guide and monitor progress in this area, the program manager conducts regular evaluations and one-on-one meetings with team members. Skills that are emphasized include the following:

• Goal setting: meeting deadlines and delivering products
• Time management: dealing with distractions and scheduling tasks
• Timeliness: reliability and punctuality
• Organization: project planning and maintaining an effective and efficient work space.
• Creativity

The following is a description of the program’s day to day activities:

Each quarter at least nine students are recruited to participate in computer training courses. Training includes computer basics on Windows and Macintosh, the Internet, HTML and Adobe Photoshop basics. Each training session is 10 weeks long and is run by staff members and professionals from Silicon Valley. Each teenager is an intern on the production team for one month. Participants who demonstrate improved technical skills, an interest in acquiring job skills, and a desire to learn and improve themselves become permanent members of the Plugged In Enterprises Production Team.

The Production Team works on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and on Saturdays. They are paid $7.00 per hour and are eligible for raises. They run their own production meetings where they divide work assignments and responsibilities and update each other on their progress. They are supervised, guided, and mentored by Julian Lacey, Plugged In Enterprises Manager, a full-time employee. Typically, they manage five small clients at a time and one large client. The teenagers spend a quarter of their time receiving formal training on new applications and three-quarters of their time in production.

Overall, the Plugged-In Enterprises program strives to develop the wide-range of skills necessary to bring technology, entrepreneurship, and economic growth into a low-income community.

A. Project Goals

• Train 36 new teenagers in advanced computer software applications.
• Expand the size of the PIE production team from four to nine.
• Increase collaboration with community organizations and connect 36 community groups and individuals to the Internet.
• Increase the web site development repertoire of the young people to include mouse-overs and animation.
• Create an advisory council for the program consisting of Silicon Valley professionals and youth development experts.
• Document the successful initiatives and business structures.

B. Evaluation Methods

• Plugged In will track the progress of its students and conduct pre- and post-assessments

• At the end of each training session, the participants will have portfolios of their work.
• Members of the Plugged In Enterprises Production Team will earn money from paying customers.

C. Expenses and Revenue

Plugged In Enterprises generates $2,000 per month in revenue from web page clients. Major investors in this program are Cisco Systems, Intel Corporation, and the Butler Family Foundation.

Special Projects

A. Programmatic Improvement

1. Goals

• Document the best practices and lessons learned of each Plugged In program.
• Create evaluation mechanisms to demonstrate the impact of our work.
• Disseminate best practices and lessons learned.

2. Need

Each Plugged In program requires a distinct management and programmatic infrastructure. The following is an explanation of the unique nature of each program and the infrastructure needed to operate each of them.

a. The Technology Access Center

The Technology Access Center focuses on adults. It provides people with technological tools for work, business, and education. It is a dynamic community space that values practical solutions to everyday problems; peer learning and information exchange; and technological experimentation and exploration. The programmatic goals for next two years include the following:

• Add new services needed by the community: information resource on HIV/AIDS and information on online financial management.
• Hire an Assistant Manager for the Center.
• Recruit five more volunteers to teach evening computer classes for adults.
• Recruit more volunteers to serve as computer resource assistants.
• Document standard operating procedures for the program.
• Create and document an orientation and training program for new Technology Access Center Resource staff.
• Acquire more hard disk space for community members to save their documents and work.

b. The Children’s Program

The Children’s Program focuses on kids between the ages of six and twelve and concentrates its efforts on reinforcing academic and creative skills while fostering a high level of knowledge and comfort with technological tools. Program goals for the next two years include:

• Recruit more volunteers to provide one-on-one support to children especially in reading.
• Create quarterly computer curriculum.
• Design and document 52 computer learning projects.
• Create weekly themes upon which to base learning activities.

• Create connections with the teachers of the children involved in the program to receive feedback on their academic performance and to update the teacher on the child’s participation in the program.
• Visit other children’s programs to learn from their work.
• Create a manual describing how the program is operated, how student behavior is managed, and how a creative community atmosphere is fostered.

c. Plugged In Enterprises

Plugged In Enterprises focuses on teenagers and young people. This program is geared toward instilling entrepreneurial aspirations and business sense in young people. Simultaneously, the program feeds the technological appetites of its participants by pushing them to deliver advanced Internet products to demanding clients. The program goals for the program in the next two years are as follow:

• Create a wage structure and incentives program for the teen entrepreneurs.
• Write a manual for program management.
• Create job descriptions, assessments, and evaluation tools for measuring student progress.
• Document training curriculum.
• Create advisory council of Silicon Valley professionals to guide programmatic development/strategy and help the program stay on the cutting edge of web page development.
• Recruit 72 new recruits over two years.

B. Human Resources Management

1. Goals

• Review organizational wage and bonus structure.
• Review personnel policies.
• Revise job descriptions.
• Design job performance and evaluation tools.
• Host two staff training and program planning retreats.

2. Need

Plugged In has experienced significant staff turnover in the last five years. Part of this is a consequence of hiring young people and the volatile job market, but it is also due to a lack of experience at recruiting and evaluating candidates. Staff development is a high priority for the next two years.

The following is a description of the management structure for each program and the staff qualifications:

a. The Technology Access Center

The Technology Access Center requires a transparent management structure that allows people to get quick solutions for specific needs while feeling respected for their age and experience. Staff members need practical knowledge of a wide range of software applications and must be able to explain basic computer concepts repeatedly.

b. The Children’s Program

The Children’s Program requires a creative and simulating learning environment that is interesting to children at varying stages of mental and social development. Staff members need specialized knowledge of children’s software applications, must be highly creative, understand the development needs of children, and possess excellent group management skills.

c. Plugged In Enterprises

Plugged In Enterprises requires a youth development model that includes business development and client management capacity. The staff must have extensive knowledge in advanced software applications, business managment, and youth development. The staff must also have a passion for keeping up with new technology.

Plugged In’s current staff has the skills and talents described above. Our challenge is to support our staff in their work and professional development. For this purpose we are reviewing our current employment practices and management structure. This includes a review of the wage structure, a re-examination of our personnel policies, review of all personnel records, the completion of job descriptions, improvement staff evaluations, and the creation of individual development plans. Once these tasks are completed, systems will be in place that will help us better retain current personnel and hire new staff members.

C. Relocation

1. Goals

• Locate a new space for Plugged In.
• Create and implement a plan for financing the move.
• Collaborate with other non-profits in relocation efforts.
• Work with developers and city officials to coordinate strategy for the move.
• Participate in block relocation meetings.

2. Need

University Circle Partners and the City of East Palo Alto are tearing down our block to make way for a conference center and hotel. As a result, in the next year, Plugged In will be forced to relocate east of Highway 101. Three months ago, the Packard Foundation gave us a $10,000 grant to hire Chuck Marsh, a commercial real estate developer, to assist our efforts. Chuck is conducting research on space availability, land costs, rent costs, and property owners. Space is scarce and rentals are near impossible to find. Therefore, we are also assessing our ability to buy and build.

The relocation process, particularly if it entails buying land, may require us to start a capital fundraising campaign. Fortunately, Plugged In has $75,000 in reserve due to a generous gift by Apple Computer and General Magic co-founder Andy Hertzfeld, which be used as down payment for the relocation.

D. Strategic Planning

1. Goals

• Hire a strategic planning consultant.
• Design a work plan for strategic planning process.
• Implement the work plan.

2. Need

Plugged In’s Board of Directors has recognized that, in the next year, the organization must focus on the infrastructure projects presented above. Plugged In is developing a strategic plan to plan for growth and expansion after the relocation and other infrastructure issues are resolved.

Key questions that will addressed in the strategic plan include:

• Should Plugged In provide technical assistance and training to individuals and organizations interested in starting similar programs around the world?
• Is Plugged In doing all it can to serve the needs of East Palo Alto?
• Should we increase the size of current projects or add new programs?
• Should we consider starting a revenue-generating business?

Plugged In Staff Qualifications

Armando Arroyo, Technology Access Center Resource Person

My name is Armando Arroyo. My parents are originally from Mexico but I have been raised in East Palo Alto all my life. I graduated from Carlmont High School. graduated from Foothill College with an Associate of Arts in Individual Studies. I am currently studying Chicano Studies and English Literature. My favorite poem is: "She walks in Beauty" by Lord Byron,

"She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that’s best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes:

Thus mellowed to that tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

I enjoy most enjoy learning web page design and helping community members challenge patriarchal paradigms that society has placed in our communities. As we approach the new millennium, we must excel in technology. Plugged In is the seed that implements knowledge, thus allowing us to grow.

Andrew Bae, Technology Access Center Resource Person

Andrew was born in Norman, Oklahoma, but spent the majority of his childhood in Beaverton, Oregon. He came to the San Francisco Bay area to attend Stanford University, where he majored in Earth Systems and graduated in June of 1998. His hobbies are travel, movies, bicycling, walking, camping, and computing.

Këri Bolding, Children’s Program Manager

Këri is an artist and educator , who, after teaching in the area, and then starting her own visual arts organization, Expressions of Soul, has now joined the Plugged In team to run our Children's Program. The program combines creative technology and the visual arts, and brings the children of East Palo Alto together to learn and create. Këri graduated from Stanford University in 1995. Before joining Plugged In, Këri taught Drawing One, Basic Design, and Algebra One at St. Francis High School.

LaToya Butler, Bookkeeper/Office Manager

LaToya has been working at Plugged In for five years. I started roughly in 1993 as a volunteer just helping kids do simple games on the computer after school. I then I started doing some data entry and distribution. As the years went on I accumulated more responsibilities and I am currently the Office Manager/Bookkeeper.

Magda A. Escobar, Executive Director

Magda started her career as a Team Leader at City Year Boston after graduating from Stanford in 1992. She then spent some time as a consultant to the Commission on National and Community Service researching effective models for delivering technical assistance and training to national service programs around the country. Magda continued her work in national service by becoming the National Program Director at Public Allies in Washington DC. While there, she expanded the program from two to six cities across the United States.

Alvin Hall, Technology Access Center Resource Person/Janitor

Alvin was born in San Francisco, California. He moved to East Menlo Park in 1957. He then moved to Hawaii where he lived for ten years. He came back to California in 1982. Before coming to Plugged In, he worked in San Jose as a Drug Abuse counselor. Alvin recently completed a computer repair technician’s class at OICW.

Nathan Kuriger, Systems Administrator

Nathan joined Plugged In’s staff in September 1997. Nathan’s involvement with Plugged In started in 1992 when he was a student and a volunteer. Over the years, Nathan has taught computer education classes, designed web sites, and helped people complete projects for work and school in our Technology Access Center. During Summer 1997, Nathan was an intern at Cunningham Communications.

Julian Lacey, Manager of Plugged In Enterprises

He is a native of East Palo Alto. He completed his associate's degree in liberal arts at Canada College and is now studying computer science at San Jose State and interactive technologies at Foothill College. Julian got involved at Plugged In as a volunteer and since that time has served as a Technology Access Center staff member, instructor of Internet and HTML classes, and a technical assistant. Julian is responsible for coordinating the work of the teenagers and guiding their development.

Ti Sanders-Elpern

Ti Sanders-Elpern joined the Plugged In staff this September. She works with Keri in the Children’s Center helping to develop a literacy curriculum and to assist in the daily operation of the program. Ti comes to Plugged In through a partner organization called Public Allies. Public Allies trains young adults in leadership skills and service work. A major component of the ten month program is a community placement at a non-profit organization. Ti recently graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a BA in psychology, she has strong interests in children’s issues and is loving her work in the Community Kids program.

Plugged In Board of Directors

Nick Arnett, Member

Writer.

Bart Decrem, Treasurer

Founder, Plugged In.

Magda A. Escobar, Member

Co-Executive Director, Plugged In.

Patricia Foster, President

Community Services Coordinator, Catholic Charities.

William Goetz, Member

Director, Software Development, NewCom Technogies, Inc.

Muki Izora, Member

President, Izora Productions.

Avram Miller, Chairman

Vice President Corporate Business, Intel Corporation. (On sabbatical from 1/99 to 4/99.)

Glenda Savage, Member

Executive Director, Children’s Preservation Network.

Roger Stern, Secretary

Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

Michael Wishart, Member

Managing Director, Lehman Brothers.

Organizational Budget 1998-99