PIT Newsletter

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PIT UNiverse Newsletters

May 2022: Summer Student Video Contest

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PIT-UN is inviting students to create a video to show what PIT means to them and get the chance to win a cash prize. Plus, the 2022 PIT-UN Convening is open for registration.

April 2022: Network Challenge Evaluation Committee

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PIT-UN is looking for experts to assess this year’s Network Challenge (Year 4) proposals by serving on the Evaluation Committee.

March 2022: PIT-UN Partnership and a New PIT Book

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In this issue, we look at the role each PIT-UN partner plays in MIT’s and UC Berkeley’s National Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics. Plus, a book excerpt from The Tech That Comes Next, by Amy Sample Ward and Afua Bruce.

February 2022: New Members & Member Recommitments

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PIT-UN announces five new members and members reaffirm Their Commitment to field-building with a focus on equity and social justice

January 2022: PIT-UN 2021 Year in Review

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The Year in Review issue looks back at the field-building outcomes from PIT-UN members in 2021. In addition, six new 2021 Network Challenges grantees are announced.

Previous Years

2021 Newsletters

December 2021

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The co-founders of U.S. Digital Corps discuss their initiative and how PIT will look in the future. Plus, the University of Michigan’s PIT Knowledge Network brings underrepresented lived experiences under the spotlight with a group of BIPOC public interest technology (PIT) practitioners.

November 2021

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This issue provides an inside look at the 31 2021 Network Challenge grantees working to build the PIT field by centering race, social justice, and ethics.

October 2021

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In this issue, we launch the PIT in Practice Q&A series, which profiles PIT practitioners who are helping define the field to learn about their PIT journey and outlook, in their words. We also look at how the NYU Alliance for Public Interest Technology came about, and hear from trailblazer Fran Bernamn about where the field is headed.

September 2021

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This issue is edited by and for students. Learn what it’s like for students working on social impact projects, navigating the path to becoming a PIT practitioner, uncovering the emerging PIT job landscape, building a supportive community on Discord, and charting their own paths through an undefined (mine) field of interdisciplinary coursework, internships, first jobs, or a new mid-career direction.

August 2021

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We talk to three members about the launch of pitcases.org, a case studies and resources for the PIT community. We also detail Miami Dade College’s GISEC project, a three-pronged approach to address underrepresentation in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and to enhance technological applications of public interest. Plus, we provide a round up of must-reads and upcoming events from the PIT universe.

July 2021

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The newsletter takes a brief pause for July. In the meantime, PIT-UN’s director, Andreen Soley, shares recent developments and project successes from the growing Network.

June 2021

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We look at PIT practitioners who are working on a project to illuminate how the racial divide in New York City is itself a public health crisis. We also meet Network member Cal Poly State University, in San Luis Obispo, California, and speak to grantee Katie Cumiskey at The City University of New York’s College of Staten Island. Finally, Editor-in-Chief Karen Bannan talks to Daisy Magnus-Aryitey, co-founder of Code the Dream.

May 2021

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Two New America public interest tech practitioners testify before Congress, we meet Network member Worcester Polytechnic Institute and speak to grantees at MIT, and Karen Bannan talks to Network members about their successful collaborations through PIT-UN.

April 2021

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Watch our book talk with the authors of “Power to the Public,” hear from grantees at UC Berkeley, learn about our new member University of Illinois at Chicago, catch up with PIT student leaders at Stanford, and read up on “America’s dirty secret.”

March 2021

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We welcome seven new institutions to PIT-UN, spotlight grantees at the University of Virginia, talk to Moya Bailey about her new book on misogynoir and digital activism, and recap PIT’s event at NYC Open Data Week. Plus, save the date for the 2021 Annual Convening Nov. 1-2!

February 2021

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#BlackTechFutures co-founder Fallon Wilson discusses fixing the leaky pipeline for Black students in STEM, we hear from grantees at Georgetown Law, spotlight the University of California, Santa Cruz, and learn about taking the “slow lane” in problem-solving from PIT fellow Sascha Haselmayer.

January 2021

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Coding it Forward co-founder Chris Kuang shares his “Digital Corps” proposal, we profile grantees at The University of the South, turn our spotlight to Nazareth College, hear from former Presidential Innovation Fellow Clarice Chan about “corporate civic responsibility,” and sit down with TechCongress founder Travis Moore to learn about the Congressional Innovation Fellowship.

2020 Newsletters

December 2020

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We recap several panels from the Annual Convening, including discussions on racial equity in PIT, pursuing a PIT career, and insights from our Network Challenge grantees.

November 2020

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We preview the 2020 PIT-UN Virtual Convening, spotlight The George Washington University’s PIT programming, talk to new 2020 Network Challenge grantees, and hear from the founders of Impactful.

October 2020

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A look at policy questions around facial recognition, the public interest potential of natural language processing, election integrity, and more.

September 2020

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This month, our Launch Pad feature story examines the many ways your university can work with local governments, providing tips to help you do so more successfully.

The PIT List

A roundup of the latest public interest technology happenings from the PIT universe.

Code for America Summit, Bringing diverse tech talent to government: Strengthening the pipeline. The virtual session will showcase the main barriers that universities and colleges face when working with the government, show how other institutions can build collaboration pathways that prepare the next generation of public interest technology leaders, and explore how to attract top tech talent in civic and public organizations. (May 18 | 2-3 PM ET)
All Tech Is Human’s Responsible Tech Summit: Improving Digital Spaces is an all-day summit bringing together 120 leaders across civil society, government, industry, and academia who are working toward improving the health and vibrancy of digital spaces. These are the people and organizations focused on reducing harms, expanding education, and reimagining what an ideal digital space aligned with the human experience looks like. This special gathering is being held at the Consulate General of Canada in New York (co-host); filled with networking, fireside chats, panels, and moments for collaboration. (May 20 | 9 AM-5 PM ET)
AnitaB.org, Tech for Good Mentoring Circle virtual speed networking event needs PIT mentors to come talk to the AnitaB.org membership about their career. Find out more by emailing Andrea Elizondo at andreae@anitab.org. (May 25 | 12 pm PST)
William & Mary Law School: 2022 Online Summer Program. CLCT has developed a series of introductory law classes for high school and university students. Online classes last from four to a maximum of 14 hours and are designed for students who are keen to explore what studying law entails, and for those who have a passion for government studies. There are three classes offered and they run from June through July.

SSIR, Keys to Unlocking an Inclusive and Just Tech Future. Raymar Hampshire, Jessica Taketa, and Tayo Fabusuyi of the University of Michigan Public Interest Technology Knowledge Network (PIT-KN) lay out important steps for doing PIT work rooted in inviting the knowledge and experiences of marginalized communities into the public discourse.
SSIR, Public Interest Technology: Bridge to the Future. Chuck Robbins, Chair and CEO of Cisco, and Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation – two leaders from business and philanthropy – share recommendations for building stronger internal teams and a cross-sector ecosystem focused on designing technology with the needs of the public in mind.
Forbes, How Do You Diversify And Strengthen The Cybersecurity Field? Recently, the National Security Agency (NSA) teamed up with Bowie State University, a Historically Black University in Bowie, Maryland, for an 8-week intensive program focused on diversifying the cybersecurity profession and engaging African American students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The program culminated with the students presenting their research to NSA leaders and representatives from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence during a virtual challenge showcase.
Op-Ed: Building Ethics in Public Interest Technology. Andreen Soley, director of PIT at New America, argues that PIT-UN-funded projects demonstrate the viability of a university-to-government or university-to-nonprofit pipeline for future public interest technologists. Yet, these early gains will only matter if we extrapolate the deeper lessons of the Network Challenge projects.
Data.org, Rising Equitable Community Data Ecosystems (RECoDE) Report. Drawing from the insights of nearly 500 people, representing communities across the United States, this report shares findings and actionable recommendations for creating equitable community data ecosystems. While US-based, the report themes transcend national boundaries, as we all wrestle with the role of data, and tech in our lives.
Wired, Can an Online Course Help Big Tech Find Its Soul?. The Foundations of Humane Technology is an eight-hour class for Silicon Valley’s disillusioned workers. Learn more about the course.
Cornell Tech is hiring a Public Interest Tech (PiTech) Initiative Director. PiTech is seeking an inaugural Initiative Director to run this newly-launched program, whose impact is critically important to the Cornell Tech campus mission. Apply here.
Harvard’s Tech Study Plans Now Available. Harvard is pleased to announce a special research opportunity – curating descriptions of research experiments that, if conducted, could yield timely publishable results with real-world impact. These experiments are ideal for class projects, independent studies, quick research papers, and thesis work. They are aimed for undergraduates but also work for graduate students. Visit techstudies.net to learn more.
What can browser history inadvertently reveal about a person’s health? The Penn-CMU Digital Health Privacy Initiative is trying to answer that question by mapping third-party tracking across the online health ecosystem. Their work shows possible implications for ad targeting, credit scores, insurance coverage, and more.
Bridging the Computer Science-Law Divide. Georgetown University’s Institute for Technology Law and Policy and Boston University’s School of Law and Faculty of Computing and Data Science partnered to write this report, which is funded by a PIT-UN grant. The report compiles practical advice for bridging Computer Science and Law in academic environments. Intended for university administrators, professors in computer science and law, and graduate and law students, this report distills advice drawn from dozens of experts who have already successfully built bridges in institutions ranging from large public research universities to small liberal arts colleges.

Transformative Justice and Knowledge Production in Tech. Techno-capitalism is renegotiating the social contract but knowledge about technologies is too often sequestered behind the locked doors of industry. Given these obstacles, how can researchers both inside and outside of tech companies do the difficult work of research, critique, and resistance? Dr. Safiya Umoja Noble, co-founder of UCLA’s C2I2 and Dr. Timnit Gebru, founder of Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research (DAIR), join J Khadijah Abdurahman to discuss these questions further.
On the Evidence: Ensuring Equity as Wastewater Testing Matures in the United States. On this episode of On the Evidence, guests Dr. Na’Taki Osborne Jelks, Dr. Otakuye Conroy-Ben, and Aparna Keshaviah discuss the challenges of and opportunities for ensuring an equitable approach to wastewater monitoring, and the importance of representation from historic Black neighborhoods, Indigenous communities, and rural communities.
Forward Thinking on the social contract in a postpandemic world with Minouche Shafik and Andrew Sheng. In this episode guest interviewer Jonathan Woetzel talks with two leading economists spanning Europe and Asia about the state of the social contract that underpins society.

An interdisciplinary undergraduate major in data science and social systems at Stanford University, beginning in September 2022, will equip the next generation of leaders to work at the intersection of statistics, computation, and the social sciences on important social problems such as poverty and inequality, polarization, criminal justice, and urban development.
A professional master of engineering degree in engineering, law and policy, housed in the Penn State School of Engineering Design, Technology, and Professional Programs, will launch in spring 2022. The 30-credit, non-thesis residential degree will prepare students from diverse engineering backgrounds to become innovative leaders of change by enhancing their technical and professional skills to address societal changes and the rapid progress of technology and globalization.

PIT Resources

A curated list of public interest technology resources from the PIT universe.

PITCases.org, a PIT case study platform.
Case Studies in Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
PIT Open Educational Resources (City University of New York)
Instructional case studies (The Tech Policy Lab at University of Washington)
Human Contexts and Ethics Toolkit (University of California, Berkeley)
Ethics, Society, and Technology Hub (Stanford University)
Policy Innovation Lab Playbook (Carnegie Mellon University)
AI Litigation Database (The George Washington University)
Technology Ethics in Action: Critical and Interdisciplinary Perspectives. A Special Issue of the Journal of Social Computing.
Ensuring Scholarly Access to Government Archives and Records: A Collaboration of Virginia Tech and the National Archives and Records Administration. (Virginia Tech)
The Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics – Clinic Resources. (UC Berkeley, MIT, Indiana University, University of Alabama, UGA, Rochester Institute of Technology)
Stanford Cardinal Careers PIT Edition, April 2022. (Stanford University)

Challenges and Opportunities for BIPOC Public Interest Technology (PIT) Entrepreneurs (University of Michigan). Panelists representing various perspectives in public interest technology ecosystem provide an overview of what a “PIT entrepreneur” is, discuss the challenges faced by BIPOC PIT entrepreneurs, offer a student perspective of participation in a PIT-focused experiential learning course, and gather feedback from panelists and attendees on pathways to support BIPOC PIT entrepreneurs.
TechCongress Congressional Innovation Fellowship Webinar. The TechCongress team and alumni discuss the Congressional Innovation Fellowship and what it’s really like to serve as a technologist in Congress.
Building a Cybersecurity Clinic (MIT). In this conversation, Professor Lawrence Susskind and his students, with the help of Stephanie Helm, director of the Massachusetts Cybersecurity Center at the Mass Tech Collaborative, explain how universities and colleges can launch their own regional public interest technology clinics, engage local and regional organizations as clients, and identify best practices in their clinical education model.
Educating Future Data Workers About Ethics, Bias. Moderated by PIT-UN’s director Andreen Soley, speakers Meredith Broussard, a data journalism professor at New York University; the Rev. Dr. Kathleen M. Cumiskey, a professor in the Psychology Department, and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program of the City University of New York’s College of Staten Island (CSI); Mihir Kshirsagar, who runs the technology policy clinic of Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology Policy; and Mona Sloane, a senior research scientist at the NYU Center for Responsible AI, took on the idea of ethics and bias in data work and discussed why educating future data workers is so important. The conversation highlighted some of the inherent problems with data, including the fact that there’s no escaping bias.
Power to the Public: A Discussion about the Promise of Public Interest Technology. Co-authors Tara Dawson McGuinness and Hana Schank discuss examples of real change that have been brought by governments and nonprofits using data. They highlight how designing policies alongside and with the people they serve — and focusing on how they are delivered — are important pillars of how organizations must work to succeed in the digital age.

Submit A Project

Promote your public interest technology case study, project, or process on PITcases.org. We are always looking for case narratives, syllabuses, and other resources to add to our growing collection.

Discover the Latest PIT News

PIT Newsletter

Get the latest PIT News

May 2022: Summer Student Video Contest

April 2022: Network Challenge Evaluation Committee

March 2022: PIT-UN Partnership and a New PIT Book

February 2022: New Members & Member Recommitments

January 2022: PIT-UN 2021 Year in Review

Previous Years

December 2021

November 2021

October 2021

September 2021

August 2021

July 2021

June 2021

May 2021

April 2021

March 2021

February 2021

January 2021

December 2020

November 2020

October 2020

September 2020

The PIT List

PIT Resources

The Tech That Comes Next Book Event Recap

Schmidt Futures Builds New Fellowship for Exceptional STEM Talent in the Quad Countries

PIT-UN Members React: Q&A on a Socio-Technical Approach to Audit Automated Hiring Tools