In this episode of The Social Leader, Fr. Justin Mathews talks with Tom Esselman, CEO of Connecting For Good, a nonprofit providing access, tools, training, and partnerships to promote digital citizenship in low income communities. Fr. Justin and Tom discuss the economic and systemic factors affecting access to training and technology, promoting self-advocacy, and the importance of increased connectivity — technologically and relationally.
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EPISODE 10 — TRANSCRIPT
Father Justin Mathews: Hey everyone, welcome to The Social Leader podcast, episode 10. Our goal in this podcast is to help you learn to lead with greater social impact. I'm Father Justin Mathews. Real quick before we begin today's episode, I want to let you know that this podcast is presented by Reconciliation Services, a nonprofit social venture in Kansas City, working to cultivate a community seeking racial and economic reconciliation to reveal the strength of all. You can find out more about Reconciliation Services programs and even support our work at rs3101.org. Today's show is sponsored by Thelma’s Kitchen, Kansas City's first donate-what-you-can restaurant, open for lunch again starting in June. Lastly, if you like today's show, go visit TheSocialLeader.org where you can sign up to find out more about a new e-course called Social Leader Essentials launching very soon. Okay, now on with our show.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, our lives have been jarringly shifted into the digital world. However, from rural areas where broadband doesn't exist to poor urban areas where it's unaffordable, millions are going without internet access just when they need it the most. We use the internet to learn, to work, to communicate, to socialize, however, some groups are virtually digitally excluded. For some the adaptation to digital life and work wasn't that difficult, but for a large number of Americans, broadband connectivity simply isn't available or it's just not affordable. The problem’s known as the digital divide and it's one that's dogged lawmakers and policymakers for years. Many, like the FCC commissioner, said that the coronavirus crisis is exposing the hard truths about the scope of the digital divide. Well, today I'm talking with Tom Esselman, the CEO of Connecting For Good about digital inclusion and social leadership. Connecting For Good is an organization that's linking access and opportunities for digital skills, training, hardware, and connectivity for people of all ages. Formerly, Tom was an executive at Hallmark Cards for 22 years where he led the development of technology enhanced products, actually one of my favorite things, including those little cards that sing to you or that you can record on. It's pretty cool. Welcome Tom to The Social Leader podcast.
Tom Esselman: Thanks, Father Justin. I'm thrilled to be here.
Fr. Justin: Well, I want to dive right into our questions and talk a little bit about social leadership as we move on. So, first and foremost, the reality is that we need to kind of begin by clarifying some terminology. So what do you mean when you talk about digital inclusion? And why is connectivity so elusive for so many people?
Tom: I think the term the digital divide is probably most commonly used to talk about the gap between those who have access to technology and those who don't. Digital inclusion we're trying to pitch as a more positive term and a more comprehensive term and it basically means five things: (1) access to a computer device that is affordable enough that you can own, (2) access to internet connectivity, (3) the digital literacy skills to be able to use something beyond just a cell phone, (4) online content and the availability of content that is for productive use, and (5) IT support because invariably when you do get a computer and Wi-Fi and you learn how to use computers, we're all subject to needing help from time to time. So there's literally a National Digital Inclusion Alliance, based in Columbus, Ohio, and it has defined digital inclusion as including those five things.
Fr. Justin: I know you've been very involved, not just here in the region around Kansas City, but also nationally, and you've spoken all over and you've been involved in lobbying and policy. So we want to really get into this but let me back up and say that even if households officially have a device with access to the internet, the reality is during COVID that it's really highlighted during this lockdown that we have to be more careful, I think, with our definition of what an internet connection really is or what kind of devices are really helping us when we're home. Because I was thinking about it, maybe you've got a cell phone, maybe you've got the ability to get on and watch a movie or surf the web or something like that, but it's not the right device let's say for writing an essay or doing your homework if you're a kid who's doing school from home. So how important is it to get the actual hardware to families or to individuals, even if they have access?
Tom: Well, we've known this for years and Connecting For Good, by the way, is eight years old. But what we've learned from just the last two and a half months during the COVID-19 crisis has really been more of a reinforcement of what we've known all along, and that is this. First and foremost, the most urgent need that came boiling to the surface was when schools were closed for spring break and then they realized they weren't coming back from spring break, and families that have their kids staying at home but also being required to do schoolwork, that put a whole new level of urgency to the parents who weren't equipped at home with anything more than a cell phone. Even if the kids had a tablet or a laptop that they were given from school, if they didn't have a Wi-Fi connection at home that was going to put a lot of extra stress on the parents, who were now tasked with making sure that their kids actually kept up with their schoolwork, even though they weren't physically in school. And to put a finer point on it, Father Justin, we learned, and it was actually during my days back at Hallmark that I got a chance to spend some time with Microsoft and their research group. And one of the studies they looked at was the difference between how people interact with mobile devices versus devices that have what's called a situated display. And so whenever you can have a home computer system, or a desktop as they're called, that's located in one spot in your home, much the way a dishwasher or a toaster is always in the same place in your home, it promotes much more productive use and you don't have as many tendencies to drop the device or misplace the device or otherwise put it out of use. So we've really seen a difference by making available to families during the crisis, to make sure that even though they have a cell phone with the capability of even some people who are good at doing some things on a cell phone, we really push getting a desktop or a laptop that can be plugged in and situated in your home. And it has really enhanced the productivity of the whole family.
Fr. Justin: Yeah, you brought up something I'd never thought of, which is, I guess I would have assumed that the more mobile devices, the more it could be used, but you're actually saying that some sort of stability or location in the home is actually what leads to greater adoption, or how is that working?
Tom: What we're seeing here is the greater society becoming more acutely aware of the impact of the digital divide. In other words, most of us have grown up taking for granted that we can access the internet either by sitting down at a desk or by walking around with a mobile device. But the fact that we've had access to both has made us that much more productive. But you don't stop to think, when the only access you've ever had the capability of using is mobile, once you sit yourself down in a stable environment, you have no way of knowing until it happens, how much more it can stimulate your focus in your ability to be more productive. And so we try to keep our thoughts on the silver lining of this crisis. And if more people in the community who have grown up with digital access can recognize how important it is to bolster families who have only had one or the other so you have a more complete set of tools, that's what ultimately helps people feel like they're part of the digital age. And unless you've been without one or the other, you would have no way of knowing that.
Fr. Justin: I think about educators because they've been scrambling to move instruction online, and the Senate Joint Economic Committee I read said that there's this so-called homework gap that's affecting roughly 12 million children across the country, according to some studies. They've also shown that low income students, students of color are most often those who lack broadband access, especially at home. So what can be done to overcome these digital inequities?
Tom: We, of course, have been working on it for eight years, and we've finally seen a glimpse of the possibility that at some point, we could start thinking about internet at home the same way we think about electricity or running water. Because I think, Father Justin, until we reach that point, we're gonna always be beset with the long term reinforcing notions that if I'm generationally poor, I will have only access to what I can get through a government assistance phone or any subsidies I might get to pay for my communications. I will use it for a cell phone before I would use it for a home cable or home internet system. And so if we can remove that barrier from the lives of the neediest in our community, I think it will start to promote the back end, which is what I was talking about, a more productive sense that I can actually be a digital citizen. So we're doing our work day in and day out just to get people computers and get people solutions to internet and little transactional things, but what we're really pushing for as an organization and why we stay connected to national issues is to use what we're learning as really acute evidence of how much our society could be impacted when people go into an apartment or home to live in don't have to think twice about whether they're going to have internet or not, that it's just part of what you have, the same way you would have electricity and running water.
Fr. Justin: That's an interesting point. If you think about particularly right now, during COVID, people are ordering from GrubHub and Uber Eats because they're afraid of going to the grocery store. And if you don't have internet access and the devices and if you don't think of the internet in today's day and age, like a utility, not having access to the device and the internet's really only a part of digital inclusion. And I love how you talk about the internet being so necessary that it's a utility, it's like water or public transit. But what are the other barriers that can help us understand digital inclusion and digital exclusion? What are some of those other barriers?
Tom: Well, I'm gonna try and explain it as succinctly as possible. But what we've experienced, Connecting For Good, in our eight short years, has showcased kind of an evolution of learning about all these different barriers and I'll try to explain. When it started out eight years ago, it was all about one thing, access to the internet. What prompted it was Google Fiber had the world's fastest highest quality internet and they picked Kansas City as the first city to come and introduce it and right away that was the birth of Connecting For Good. We started thinking about all the families who either weren't going to be able to afford it or otherwise would view it as some kind of a luxury Item. And so we focused on one of the things to get people their own affordable internet. And interestingly, along the way, as Google Fiber was going into housing authority complexes and starting to offer it for free to low income communities, in some cases only 70-80% of the residents chose to sign up for it.
Fr. Justin: Well, why would that be? If somebody is going to offer you free broadband, even if it's five megabit download or something, which I think is what the free service was from Google at least at the time. Why would somebody not want it? And then the other question I have is were landlords not interested in bringing into their buildings? I know I'm clergy, but I'm kind of a layman, so help illumine some of that for me, why wouldn't you want it?
Tom: Yeah, and this is where the social venturing experience and perspective really helps because there are a lot of deeply embedded economic structures that dictate the way internet has been provided. And also along with that is the marketing tools. Google was one of the world's largest companies and if you're a low income, transient, individual or household, you're not going to feel comfortable giving your personal private information to the largest company in the world, particularly if you've grown up without understanding technology. We would go to sign up events and some residents would say, “I am worried about that Wi Fi access point that they're going to put for free in my apartment that has a camera in it and that they're just using this as a way to spy on me.”
Fr. Justin: But are millennials, though, in those low income communities, and Gen Xers, are they saying that too? I always hear about the younger kids being digitally literate from the time they're leaving the hospital. But are you saying you found people of all ages were sort of digitally illiterate if they didn't grow up with it?
Tom: Now you bring up a good point. I mean, a lot of those types of comments that I shared with you came from older adults who didn't understand technology, but their teenage kids and working age adults also have trust issues when it comes to working with big companies. So it is a matter of trust, it's a matter of kind of having empathy with those that you're serving. And we found that, to answer the question about what other factors are keeping people from being connected, landlords don't want to get stuck in a contract where they have residents who they don't know if they're going to stay in their lease from month to month. And they're worried about their own trust factors with the companies that they sign up for. So to boil it down to how Connecting For Good has dealt with this and where we're moving forward is we have to make sure that we're treating everybody in the community that has been suffering from this digital divide not as a statistic or as a number. These are human beings, and these are families, and they have issues they're trying to deal with. And so our efforts to try to close the digital divide and provide those five components of digital inclusion is about reaching out and collaborating and working with groups that can fundamentally have a level of trust with the people that we're trying to help so that they can see the benefit without feeling like they're being coerced into it because it's a commercial transaction.
Fr. Jusin: When you talk about trust, that's something that at Reconciliation Services we can really resonate with. We run a counseling and trauma therapy program and one of the reasons that people don't go get counseling even though they've been witness to gunfire or been through all sorts of traumas is that there's historic abuses, there's historic exclusion, racial and economic, and then that trust isn't there. I want to tell everybody that I'd love for you to comment. Definitely share your comments, share your experiences with the digital divide and digital inclusion. Share your thoughts. Tom, you mentioned a word that's one of my favorites and you talked about social venturing. So Connecting For Good recently announced, I think right before COVID, that there was going to be a merger with the Surplus Exchange, which is a longtime digital literacy advocate and computer recycling organization in Kansas City. So talk about this merger. Why was this merger important for the future of Connecting For Good and how does it reposition Connecting For Good as a nonprofit organization?
Tom: I came to Connecting For Good four years ago, so four years after we were founded, and the earlier premise of just building Wi-Fi networks and computer labs to help low income communities get access to the internet, there wasn't any financial sustainability in that. And so part of my goal, of course, coming from a Hallmark background, I think in business terms, but I also think about the emotional connection between people. And so we saw that when we were providing digital literacy training and helping people get connected to the internet, if they didn't have a computer, we were getting donations of computers and we were doing our best, but it was always a hit or miss. The Surplus Exchange had a business that involves positioning itself as an IT service company. They got certified for data privacy and data security when it comes to wiping hard drives and things like that that are major concerns for businesses who donate computers. And over the years the board of directors who ran Surplus Exchange had kind of exhausted their ability to lead the organization after they had some management turnover and they asked Connecting For Good if we would be willing to take on the business.
Fr. Justin: That's a perfect partnership for you guys. It's like tailor-made for you.
Tom: It couldn't have been better. We had a steep learning curve to kind of understand how we could become vertically integrated because essentially that's what we are now. We operate a nearly 70,000 square foot warehouse in the West Bottoms. We've had to clean it up. We've had to go through the process of understanding and getting set up for certification standards for data privacy and security with regard to data destruction. And now we're positioning ourselves to the business community as an IT service company that can help you dispose of your old IT assets. And where for-profit recyclers charge a fee and they're just trying to see how they can maximize their profit, a nonprofit recycler will always look to focus on what could be reused. So if there's desktop and laptop computers that we pick up, we won't charge you a fee and you as a business will get the double benefit of knowing that we're helping the community by refurbishing and redistributing those computers back out into the low income community.
Fr. Justin: What I love about that is that it's also kind of pushing Connecting For Good to the forefront of green tech in a way. You guys are providing not just an awesome service and sustainability for the organization, but there's a lot of junk that gets just thrown away that has mercury and other sorts of things that shouldn't be in the landfills. Right? I think that regenerative aspect is really big right now.
Tom: It's huge. Nothing that we take in ever goes into a landfill land that's part of our certification standards. It takes me back, Father J, when I was first interviewing for the job at Connecting For Good. Finally, I can see it through. I had a platform that talked about four outcome areas. You'll be familiar with them because they kind of resound with what our former mayor and I would say our current mayor believes in but they are education, employment, economic impact, and the environment. And for my four years here, we've been pretty good on education, employment, and economic impact, but the environment was never something that we could lay claim to as Connecting For Good other than through partnerships. Well now that is just as big of an outcome as any of the other three, and it's also providing a nice pathway to financial sustainability, because we can turn broken down electronic components into a revenue stream with downstream vendors who are also certified for environmental responsibility.
Fr. Justin: I think that's so important, Tom, because I always tell people at Reconciliation Services that yesterday's fundraising model is not going to fuel today and tomorrow's innovation and it's certainly not going to solve the social problems as complex as they are. I want to jump in a little bit on the personal level, because I'd love it if you would tell me about why you chose to dedicate your life and your leadership, after 22 years at Hallmark, to this cause of digital inclusion.
Tom: Well, I got to know Steve Jobs’ philosophies of innovation a lot when I was working at Hallmark as innovation director. He talks about how for dots to connect in your future, you have to trust, you have to follow your heart, you have to know you're doing the right things. And the experience I had at Hallmark showed me that technology enhances products. For older adults in particular who are less comfortable, they actually loved being able to open up a card and hear a few bars of What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong.
Fr. Justin: I remember the first time I opened one of those things, Tom, it was like, wow, this is amazing! And then my kids’ grandparents recorded themselves telling a Christmas story and sent it to the kids. It was brilliant stuff you guys were doing.
Tom: So for me, all of a sudden, I realized how technology could be an empowering tool for people who otherwise thought differently about the way they connect with people. I left Hallmark in 2012 to go work in Southwest Florida with older adults and innovation and that was my first foray into nonprofit. And then when I learned about Connecting For Good, it was based on someone who knew me from my Hallmark days who saw how much opportunity there was to turn technology into a tool that could help others. And while I was very familiar with the gap in comfort level with technology among older adults, what I hadn't been aware of is the digital divide and how much it affects people just based on their income and their racial and socioeconomic status. And so when I joined Connecting For Good I was able to take a lot of the great experience I got from the brand essence of Hallmark and all the people and volunteering I did at Hallmark and focus on how we could do something that still has a very much of a business enterprise type of pathway. But it's clearly about filling gaps for those who have just gone without access to things that are so vital to their normal day to day livelihood. And that's just made it seem for me like it's not a job at all. I would dare say that I wouldn't feel as fulfilled as I am now had I not had the business experience, particularly at a company like Hallmark, but just knowing that I can combine that experience with the ability to help people in a way that now has some financial sustainability is really exciting.
Fr. Justin: Well, I commend you for not only your innovative work globally at hallmark, which is inspiring in and of itself. You could have gone to Florida and just been on the beach after a career like that. The thing is that you've dedicated yourself, not only while you were at Hallmark, but also now after you're retired, 22 years at Hallmark, to what we call social leadership and really advancing from your position of access, your position of power, or procurement, whatever it may be, to advancing this particular social cause with the access and the leadership that you could bring to it which is what this podcast is all about, learning to lead with greater social impact from wherever we are. So I always end every podcast with this question, and it's really something I'd love for you to just sort of get very personal with us, but what advice would you give to leaders still in the corporate world, who want to make a greater social impact?
Tom: It's something that I continue to evolve in my learning about, but the advice that I have been able to give to a few people who have contacted me since I've left is what I shared just a few minutes ago, you have to know something that's driving you in your heart. I think it can't easily be something that you just make up. You have to look at what your life's pathway has put you in contact with. Going back to Steve Jobs, he took a class on penmanship that ultimately led him to create new and different fonts for Mac computers. So, for me, having had the experience that I had is something I drew from in a really positive way. And so I would tell people just follow your heart based on the experiences that you've had that feel authentically part of who you are. Because the one thing that can be sniffed out really easily in the nonprofit world, and maybe less easily in the business world, you have to be authentic in what you're doing and the people that you're working with. You can't cover it up with a profit margin. And so it really comes through, particularly at the level of the staffing and volunteers, and then the people that you're working with, whether you call them clients, customers or whatnot. I will just summarize it in this one phrase, which I know you're familiar with, because it's part of revealing strengths. And that has to do with walking with people, doing things with people not doing things for people. And if you can approach a nonprofit initiative from that perspective, that you're on a journey and you're joining hands with people, you're not there to do something that will save them. I think that approach will serve anyone really well who wants to go into nonprofit work.
Fr. Justin: Well, I love what you said. We're trying to actually help people who aren't nonprofit leaders begin to think like social venturers, begin to think like people who are working for passion driven, purpose driven organizations. But I love what you said about sort of finding your natural passion, going deep and really understanding it, being as authentic as you can. And when you said that I thought about, just being real about it, millennials, in particular, are wanting to work for companies that go beyond the product and so these issues of being a social leader really have to do with retention and recruitment and employee engagement, as well as the social leadership in the community. And I love that you did that at Hallmark. Love that after Hallmark, you've dedicated yourself to doing the same thing as a nonprofit leader. So if you are ever in the area come by and let's keep talking about this because I know that you could talk about this issue all day long. You're super passionate about our topic. Thank you so much for joining us today. Tell our listeners how they can connect with you and how they can help, Tom.
Tom: Well, our website is ConnectingForGood.org and you can email us info@connectingforgood.org. Check out our Facebook page and our Twitter feed. Father Justin, I just want to thank you. You understand so many of the principles that we've talked about, the idea of doing things at the same level as any strong business would do. If you provide quality service to people and you're treating them as your friends and you're walking with them, it's just all about being authentic and doing things with quality, then I think you're gonna achieve the outcomes that you need and you'll be able to make sure you have some sustainability to it. And I've learned that from what you've been doing at Reconciliation Services. And I know that you also agree we both have learning curves that we're continuing to go up and as we see ways to keep going, and I just appreciate having the opportunity to spend this time with you and to be part of what you're doing and what we're working on together in Kansas City.
Fr. Justin: Thank you so much for joining us today. I will never forget when Connecting For Good was just getting off the ground that we actually had you guys here in Reconciliation Services. I won't say that the offices were amazing. I'm pretty sure you were in our old basement, but the services that you provided and the education and the digital literacy work and the access to tech and software, it was fantastic. We were glad to play just the smallest part in the incubation of what I think is a really important organization for our region, who's lifting up things that we need to be talking about, especially now during COVID on a national level. So Tom, hang with me for a minute. Thank you again so much for being with us today.
Tom: Thanks again.
Fr. Justin: Alright, well, thanks again for listening today. If you like today's podcast, I have a favor to ask of you. Please follow the podcast on YouTube, iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. This will really help us share the show with more people. Make sure that you smash the like button, share it out on social media, and hit the little bell on YouTube so that you can also tune in to watch the show live on Reconciliation Services Facebook page. We broadcast every Tuesday at 12:30pm central. Lastly, if you like today's show and you want to learn how to lead with greater social impact, remember to visit TheSocialLeader.org, sign up to find out more about our new e-course called the Social Leader Essentials, which is launching very soon, answer a few short questions online, and then one of our team members is going to reach out to you to see if the course is right for you. So until next time, learn to lead with greater social impact. See you then.